Dirpy Studio is a free web-based tool that allows you to save online streaming videos as offline files.
Before diving into the use of this tool, it’s important to consider some of the ethical and legal issues surrounding this tools and others like it. It is not the intention of this post to encourage or condone any illegal or unethical activities. That being said, so much of our culture is created and enacted through the visual communications that we share online, it is of vital importance that we equip ourselves with robust tools for participation, critique and creative contribution to the world of online video. I’d like to direct you to some great resources that address issues of fair use, copyright, online video and education where you can learn much more. First is the American University’s Center for Media and Social Impact’s code of best practices for fair use in online video. You can find this at cmsimpact.org/fair-use. Next is creativecommons.org, which is an online system for licensing and sharing your work in a way that allows for openness while still protecting intellectual property. Third and finally is criticalcommons.org, which is an online platform for hosting and sharing media clips for educational use in support of a community of fair and critical participation in media culture.
Once you’ve explored these topics and equipped yourself with a solid foundation of knowledge, the Dirpy tool itself is pretty straightforward and easy to use. Just head over to www.dirpy.com and then follow along with the video below.