Mind you, there’s a number of different methods that someone can use to do this; but many of them are complicated, and they often require multiple software programs.

The Free (though more complicated) Way

One method, which is outlined in this great article, involves first getting the FLV file from YouTube. You can do this by using various software programs or browser plugins, or manually extracting the FLV file by hacking the URL a bit.

Another method, as described in this blog post, involves installing a bookmarklet. When you visit a YouTube video, you click on the bookmarklet, and it will generate a link from which you can download an MP4. Alternatively, you can also install a greasemonkey script – if you’re a Firefox user – to automatically place the link next to YouTube videos that you watch.

The Cheap (and easy) Way

The tool that I like to use is called Cucusoft YouTube Mate. You can download videos off of YouTube with it with the free trial; but to convert to the many available video formats, you can purchase it for a small price. You can try it out for free – it will simply put a watermark on your converted video.

First, download Cucusoft YouTube Mate for Windows, and install it on your computer.

Next, find the YouTube video that you want to download, copy the URL onto your clipboard (Edit > Copy).

Now, download the video off of YouTube. Go to Download > New Download Job… on YouTube Mate. The “Video URL” field will be automatically populated with the URL that you copied, but if not, just paste it into the field (Ctrl + V), and press OK. Depending on the size of the video file, it may take awhile to download the video. It will download the file as an .flv, which YouTube Mate will be able to convert into a number of other formats in the next step.

Now, convert the YouTube video into an iPod compatible format. Make sure the video you just downloaded is selected in the file list, and choose the appropriate format in the “Profile” drop-down menu. You can convert the video into a format compatible with iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch, Apple TV, PSP, or Zune. MOV, WMV, MPG, and MP4 are just some of the formats you can convert YouTube videos to.

Now, load the YouTube video into your iTunes library, and sync it with your iPod – or, if you sync manually, drag the video from your iTunes library onto your iPod. You’re now ready to enjoy your YouTube videos on the go.

So, there’s a simple way you can download and convert YouTube videos, and load them onto your iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch, or other device.

Just a reminder, make sure you review YouTube’s Terms of Service and Copyright Notices to ensure you are using content within their guidelines.

Watch your favorite YouTube videos on planes, trains, buses, in the park – or even at work if YouTube is blocked (just don’t let your boss find out!). Here’s how to use it.