Watching iPod movies is just one of the many ways you can enjoy your iPod. But hold on. Before you hit the Internet looking for movies to play on your iPod, there is something you should know. You cannot just click and play. First, you'll need some helper software to get the movie into a format your iPod can handle. Although there are some companies that want you to plunk down your credit card for that software, this isn't necessary. Once you finish reading this article, you'll know how the secret to downloading and converting movies into iPod movies for FREE!

Step #1 of this free process is to install the latest version of iTunes on your computer. This is easy because there is a free version of iTunes waiting for you on the Apple website. Just click on http://www.apple.com/itunes/, read through the system requirements, and begin the download. The iTunes installation program will guide you through the necessary steps.

With iTunes installed on your computer, you're one step closer to being able to watch iPod movies. The next step involves moving your preferred movie files into the iTunes directory. If you have not downloaded any movies yet, go to your online movie source and begin downloading. When the movie download is complete, there will be a .mov video file on your computer. Just drag and drop this video file into the iTunes video library.

Once the .mov video file is in the video library, a thumbnail image will appear. If several movies are in the library, you'll see several thumbnails. To select one for viewing, right-click on the desired movie file. From the menu that appears select, Convert selection for iPod.

Congratulations! You are now converting movies into iPod movies. The conversion process will be quick, lasting a few seconds to a few minutes. The amount of time it takes for conversion depends on the size of the video file being converted. The bigger the file size, the longer the conversion process. The converted file will be easy to identify because iTunes creates a new thumbnail for the converted movie file. It, too will reside in the iTunes Video library.

At this point, you're almost ready to view your iPod movies! The last step is to get iTunes in sync with iPod. Follow the normal procedure for syncing the two. Once you have finished this step, you're ready to watch iPod movies – for FREE!