[arec]

ehurdler, thank you. HUGE thank you, actually. Man, do I feel dumb. I used the m3u8 file you specified with ffmpeg and boom, it worked perfectly. I think I psyched myself out with how difficult this was going to be with keys and whatnot. I am very, very new to ffmpeg and have not had lots of time to fiddle with it.
I personally prefer .mp4 files as I put them on the ipad for the kids for when we drive around, and with my first video it played perfectly. Thank you again.
One more thing, if you don't mind me asking. My laptop is not 1080p. Do you know how I can get the 1080p version of that .m3u8 file to load so I can grab that instead of just 720p?