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We’re going to be saving TV episodes from sites such as Hulu, Comedy Central, CBS, and others using Orbit, a free download manager capable of saving streaming media (on the RTMP protocol, so Live HTTP Headers doesn’t quite work out here). Orbit is also an easier way of grabbing things such as YouTube and Google videos. However, there are limitations, and it’s currently not possible to download video from sites which use the Move Media Player (here’s a list of clients, so you’ll be unable to download with this method).
In our example, we’ll be saving a short segment of The Colbert Report featured on Comedy Central’s website. We’re going to assume you’ve already downloaded and installed Orbit (and have installed the appropriate browser plugin during the installation.)
When Orbit launches, you’ll notice an icon featuring a blue circle with a down arrow in it appearing in the taskbar. Right-click it, and click Grab++.
Above is the Grab++ window, which will start filling in with media it finds on webpages you load. Just leave it alone for now.
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We’re going to download “The Word – If At First You Don’t Secede.”
Some entries will file into the Grab++ window. In general, you probably want the entry with the following qualities:
Find it? Click it and make sure it’s checked, then click Download.
A download prompt will show up. I accepted the defaults, so an FLV file will be dumped in H:\Downloads\. That’s all!
Sometimes, however, the download may have some frames skipped, or the sound may not be in sync with the video. You can attempt to download again if this is the case. Now, convert it to a format of your choice or play it in the FLV player of your choice.
The Orbit downloader does not install according to your instructions. Even if you select NOT to make the orbit page your home page, it does it anyway. It often will break your internet connectivity in IE. When you uninstall it, it does not remove the Orbit toolbar.
Also, it is not compatible with the latest version of Firefox.
Frank: I noticed that the Orbit installer seemed to be more intrusive as the versions went along. I haven’t updated for that reason. I’ll take a look into alternative methods. Thanks for your input.
i’m usually pretty good at getting around the internet and finding ways to download what i need… but this Comedy Central video has been very stubborn:
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-june-15-2009/long-island-wants-to-secede
I’ve tried several programs, including this Orbit thing, and they all failed. Can someone PLEASE PLEASE help me??
Thanks!
— JoJo
When I tried to use it on hulu it saved the ad that came before the video.