As fun as it is to tote a digital camcorder everywhere, most of them are too bulky for showing off your footage. The more practical option is to carry those videos around on a device that's already by your side, such as an iPod or a cell phone. The problem is that home videos in their native format might be too large or incompatible with mobile gadgets. With media software like Roxio Easy Media Creator 9 Suite ($79.99), you can transfer your videos to nearly any mobile device-and conserve disk space. Here's how to get started.
1. Install Roxio Easy Media Creator 9 and start the program.
2. Import the footage stored on your digital camcorder to your PC using its bundled software or by dragging and dropping files to your hard drive.
3. In the Video menu, choose Capture Video. Select your device in the drop-down list. Select "Capture Entire Tape," or use the controls to indicate what part of the video you want to use.
4. Click on the Convert Video button in the Video menu.
5. Use the Media Selector to find the video file you want to convert.
6. If you want to shorten your video, click the Preview/Trim Movie button just above the listed movie(s).
7. Select the format you want to convert your movie to. Popular devices like the iPod and PSP have their own options, and Windows-based media players use the Windows Media Device option. For cell phones, choose the 3GP format.
8. Connect your mobile device to your PC. (If you don't have a USB cable for your cell phone, use a memory card.)
9. Select your output option to Portable Device Media and locate your iPod or cell phone.
10. Click the Copy button. Your video will begin to encode.
11. When the encoding process has finished, the video will transfer to your mobile device automatically.
