This FAQ comprises a set of questions and answers that help you solve problems related to Downtube. Before sending an email to the development team, take a look at these asked questions.

1 - Where can I see the Web help for the version 3.0?
Click here to see the webhelp in English or click here to see the webhelp in Portuguese. A popup will be opened and you will need to close your pop-up blocker to see this webhelp propertly.

2 – What is the default installation folder of the program?
The default folder is C:\Downtube. The program may only be installed in this folder and if you install it in another folder, you will notice some errors like this.

3 – What operational systems has Downtube really been tested in?
Downtube has been tested on Windows XP, Linux and FreeBSD with Wine 0.9.17

4 – Can I run Downtube for Windows on Linux?
Yes, you can run Downtube for Windows on Linux, because the program has been made to keep the compatibility with the newer versions of Wine. Thus, you do not need to wait for the Linux version to be ready and thus you can also run DT Windows on Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris and MacOS X.

5 – Why after I have finished to watch a video previously stored in my computer, the player keeps repeating the sound of the last 5 seconds, endlessly?
There is a bug in FFPLAY that causes such repetition and this always happens when the video finishes. This problem do not occur in Downtube 3 using WINE.

6 – Can I use another program to see my FLV videos in Downtube 3 for Linux?
Yes. You must delete file FFPLAY.exe and paste your favorite player in C:\Downtube folder and later rename it as FFPLAY.exe. Thus, the program will execute your favorite player as if it were FFPLAY itself. We recommend that you use Riva FLV Player to watch your videos.

7 – Can I use Downtube at another person’s home who has a connection faster than mine? After I have finished downloading the videos, what should I do to copy the videos to a CD-ROM?
Use the program as always and copy C:\Downtube\Converted folder to a CD-ROM.

If you want to watch your videos in Windows Media Player, QuickTime, RealPlayer, Radlight and others, you must convert your videos into MPEG. If you want to watch them at home, you may copy C:\Downtube\Converted folder from CD-ROM to the similar folder already existing in your computer and then use Riva FLV Player, FFPLAY or VLC to watch these videos.

8 - When I press the play button, the box/screen for YouTube videos continues blank. Have I done anything wrong?
You have not done anything wrong. Your Internet Explorer simply does not have Flash 9 (or later) plug-in enabled. If you want to update it, read the instructions related and download Adobe Flash 9 Player to your browser. Then, restart the program and you’re done!

In case you are running Linux, install Adobe Flash 7 (Windows) for the Mozilla ActiveX Control. I do not know how to make it and I do not guarantee total compatibility of Downtube Windows on Wine platform.

9 – Does a 5 minutes duration-video take 5 minutes to be downloaded?
Only, while watching a video, transfer rate needs to be high enough to transfer a video of 5 minutes in less than 5 minutes. To copy the video to your computer to watch later, such rate is not necessary. Below is a rough example of transfer rates to watch a video with no lag or interruption.

For instance: Video code: wNUsV0WTo_w
This video has 1284 kB (1,1 MB) and has a duration of 50 seconds. Almost all the videos from YouTube have a similar compression. Then the real rate of transference needs to be 1284/50 = 25,68 kB/s or 205,44 kbps, to be watched in real time. However, if you only want to copy these videos to store them in your computer, a transfer rate like that is not needed.

10 - Can I use another player instead of using the internal player of Downtube Desktop Lite 3?
No, you can only use the Windows Media Player to play videos, but if you want to watch FLV videos in WMP, please see the next topic.

11 – Why do I only hear the sound and do not see the pictures, when I download a video from YouTube and try to play it?
Likely, you do not have FFDSHOW codec installed. This codec is necessary for videos in format FLV to be played on Windows Media Player. This codec is an essential component of Downtube 3. Download it in: http://www.freecodecs.net/files/FFdshow-20061116-rev555.zip

12 – Why aren’t all videos from YouTube converted correctly?
Basically, because FFMPEG, that is the default encoder of the Downtube, does not get to recognize the formats that are different from “Flash Video 7.0”. The  “Flash Video” format is comparable to the Flash that is used in players of video sites.

Some videos from YouTube are different from the default versions, so sometimes you may encounter a video that is not in the standard format. If this happens, you should better have another encoder to do the task.

Search in the Internet for any of the encoders below:

MediaCoder (open-source software)
Xilisoft MPEG Encoder
Cinemaforge
Imtoo 3GP Converter
Imtoo MP4 Converter
Free MP4 Converter

All these programs can help you to convert the Flash Videos (* .FLV) into more common formats of video.

13 – Why does the video become “Black and White” when I try to play it in a DVD player, after I have converted it into the VideoCD format?
It is because the video is out of the color standard of your television set or DVD device. The video standards used in Brazil are PAL-M and NTSC. Popular software encoders do not recognize the PAL-M standard, therefore it is better for you to choose the NTSC standard that is the US standard and is more commonly supported by softwares encoders for MPEG videos. A very good and freeware software is TMPGEnc.

This software correctly converts MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 format video, native in Downtube, into MPEG-standard format to record in the VideoCD. Or if you prefer, use Nero 6 or superior to codify the videos.