digg

Join DiggAbout

Donkeys and Elephants and Delegates,oh my!
Check out the most popular Elections 2008 content on Digg.

See the original image at makeuseof.com

4 Quick Ways To Download YouTube Videos Off The Net

makeuseof.com — YouTube, the most popular video sharing site on the internet, allows its users to upload and share videos easily but doesn’t provide any way to download them.

Bury
show profanity settings
expand all
  • tian2992, on 06/28/2008, -4/+6Nice, but MXtube is a really nice application for iPod Touch & iPhone http://mxweas.com/blog/ Still nice app to download MPEG4 videos.
    • poxonyou, on 06/29/2008, -0/+2I used file2hd. It works with Myspace too. Very clean, simple website, like Google.
      The best part is they have found how/where to access the original files before conversion. So, if the original MP3 uploaded was 320 kbps, you get that, not the 96kbps streaming version.
      Same for Youtuibe videos. If the original was a high, HD quality MPEG4 file, that's exactly what you'll get, not an MPEG4 version of the crappy, compressed Youtube file.
      • LastHand, on 06/29/2008, -1/+3www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBGIQ7ZuuiU
      • Dylan47, on 06/29/2008, -1/+2This is a very good and helpful video, i implore everyone to watch it.
    • Wyattx17, on 06/29/2008, -0/+6I use https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/300 ... DownloadHelper, I can download any flash object including mp3's streaming, videos and whatever is embedded in flash. Then I convert to whatever I need with http://www.erightsoft.com/SUPER.html.
    • davebo27, on 06/29/2008, -0/+1I like vixy.net
      it lets you get the file into 5 different formats, the only problem is its a little unreliable.
  • Power11, on 06/28/2008, -12/+9The kissyoutube.com link is the best, pretty simple tip to remember, just add a kiss! Lol.
  • emberjohn, on 06/28/2008, -8/+4I never tried downloading videos before..Now, it seems very easy.
  • asssa3000, on 06/28/2008, -3/+38There are hundreds of these type tools. These ones are really good . The only one thing that really makes me wonder , why video sharing sites do not let it do by default. I totally understand the issue of copyrights, but i you can make it customizable and enable or disable download feature for certain videos.
    • wisam, on 06/28/2008, -1/+2Yeah, just like Google Videos does. Yet most uploaders prefer not to "share".
    • netneutrality, on 06/29/2008, -4/+12Because it would greatly increase the bandwidth used if people downloaded nearly every video they watched.
      • Apokalyps2547, on 06/29/2008, -2/+5Though if people wanted to rewatch some favorite videos, wouldn't 1 download be smaller than many streams?

        I guess the real question is: how many streamed viewings would it take to equal or exceed the bandwidth spent on a single download? 2? 10? 100?

        (I dugg you up)
      • tingrin87, on 06/29/2008, -0/+1the way we 'hack' a download, we're just streamstealing.
        so, the download is the same as 1 pageview, as far as bandwidth.
      • DonutGuy, on 06/29/2008, -1/+2Using the methods in the article is a waste of bandwidth though, because you're re-downloading a video you've already watched, and is probably already on your machine provided you have a reasonable browser. Grabbing them directly from your browser cache saves on the bandwidth for everyone.
    • Thorpe, on 06/29/2008, -0/+5Probably because of the revenue from sponsors they want from people visiting video pages.
    • countof5, on 06/29/2008, -0/+1Vimeo gives the option to allow people to download the original video file. Much better than downloading compressed .flvs .
  • TechTraction, on 06/28/2008, -9/+4Exactly what I was looking for the other day.
  • Loyaleagle, on 06/28/2008, -12/+5I found this article super-helpful!
  • Shilpan9166, on 06/28/2008, -12/+4I was thinking about downloading some You Tube clips. This article is handy for that.
  • wisam, on 06/28/2008, -3/+4Unplug was a very good Firefox extension that was clever enough to parse playlist files and give you a link to the media file. It worked with most video websites and even with streaming videos. Unfortunately, it's hasn't been updated to work with Firefox 3 yet.

    https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/225 ...
  • UltramegaOK, on 06/28/2008, -4/+14DownloadThemAll!
    • WallnutBoy, on 06/28/2008, -2/+14I may sound noobish.. But I'm assuming you're referring to DownThemAll! ? If you are, how do you download youtube videos with it? o.O
    • UltramegaOK, on 06/28/2008, -1/+24I got confused. I use DownloadThemAll for my MP3 downloads, and a extension called DownloadHelper for online videos.

      Here's the Firefox link for the download.
      https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/300 ...

      When on youtube just click on it and download the FLV. Then download a converter to watch it locally or put the video on another hosting site, private youtube account, or whatever you want.
      • WallnutBoy, on 06/28/2008, -0/+7Thanks. Love you.
      • Expl0siv0, on 06/29/2008, -0/+0this is the method that i use and it works great. plus it works for many other sites besides youtube.
      • TheGuruStud, on 06/29/2008, -0/+1Just play the FLV. Codecs are your friend.
      • passedoutghost, on 06/29/2008, -0/+1If you're using VLC you can play FLV files
    • 3leggedHorse, on 06/29/2008, -0/+2Greasemonkey script "download youtube as mp4"
    • thelock65, on 06/29/2008, -1/+2Pokemon!
  • Diggrock, on 06/28/2008, -3/+11If you have safari, you can open the activity window for the youtube page your browsing, double click on the video component, which is usually the biggest one. Once downloaded, just add the extension ".flv"
  • Garlik, on 06/29/2008, -15/+3none of my friends have any new comments
    please help me
    i need friends
  • EvilDude, on 06/29/2008, -5/+1Check out Ivy Video Converter,
    http://www.ipodsoft.com/site/pmwiki.php?n=Ivy.Home ...
    It has a firefox extension which will download and convert the video for you.
    http://www.ipodsoft.com/site/pmwiki.php?n=Ivy.Exte ...
  • scoottie, on 06/29/2008, -12/+2not really 4 ways .... more like 3 websites and a Firefox plugin
    • BlueStreak69, on 06/29/2008, -0/+5....which are 4 different ways.
  • SouljaBoyGoDie, on 06/29/2008, -18/+0Some great videos on Youtube for you to download... =]



    Top 10 Jackie Chan Stunts

    http://youtube.com/watch?v=cI1AwZN4ZYg



    Arby 'n' the Chief: Episode 7 - "Girls"

    http://youtube.com/watch?v=hH2yjZAoWRg


    Linkin Park Parody


    http://youtube.com/watch?v=JYNRhzX6gw8



    Where the Hell is Matt? (2008)


    http://youtube.com/watch?v=zlfKdbWwruY



    How to be Gangster



    http://youtube.com/watch?v=khFhF64P3VQ



    "Hahaha"


    http://youtube.com/watch?v=5P6UU6m3cqk


    "Sexy Girls Making Out and Touching"



    http://youtube.com/watch?v=gpkgJg0hexw


    God, I love Youtube and Digg. =]
  • JustinHopewell, on 06/29/2008, -2/+1Not real wild about the crap it wants me to download on the kissyoutube site... or when you click on the link to convert the file to another format and it brings up an ad for some software I've never heard of. Might be legitimate, but I think I'll try something else just the same.
  • netneutrality, on 06/29/2008, -1/+10I just watch the videos normally then copy them straight out of the Firefox cache folder. Sort the list of files by most recently modified first and look for a biggish one. Works for almost all video sites.
    • passedoutghost, on 06/29/2008, -0/+2What's the folder path?
      • countof5, on 06/29/2008, -0/+1about:cache?device=disk
        or
        about:cache?device=memory
      • passedoutghost, on 06/29/2008, -0/+0It's -> about:cache?device=memory

        Thanks for that :D
  • str3ama, on 06/29/2008, -2/+8Am I the only one that thinks that article looked a lot like an advertorial?
    • JustinHopewell, on 06/29/2008, -0/+3After checking out the kissyoutube site, I started to feel that way.
  • MarkTaiwan, on 06/29/2008, -5/+5personally I use MediaConverter
    http://www.mediaconverter.org/
  • doshindude, on 06/29/2008, -7/+3Those sites are still pretty lame because they only save to either flv, 3gp or mp4 files....Why is it so freaking hard to make it downloadable as a .avi or .wmv file? And any program that claims to do it always sucks/is shareware. Wake me when there is a site that lets you download them as files I actually can use.
    • cadmiumpaint, on 06/29/2008, -1/+1you can play mp4 in quicktime. Then save as....and make it whatever you want. its not very difficult.
  • steveinfc, on 06/29/2008, -5/+0These are good sites, yes, and they work on YouTube. If you're looking for more flexibility to download other FLV files on other web sites like ESPN, ABC, and others, check out Moyea FLV Downloader (http://www.flvsoft.com/download_flv/). Only on the PC platform. It's worked VERY well for me in the items I've wanted to download and use for training, presentations, etc. It's a free app for download, but if you want to convert to other formats, you'll have to pay. However, MPEG Streamclip (http://www.squared5.com/) does a great job of transcoding FLV files to whatever format you want and THAT's free.
  • 3leggedHorse, on 06/29/2008, -4/+5Greasemonkey script "download youtube videos as mp4" that's what you people want.
    It puts a nice download link for you as well. Da monkey rulez again.
    • SRSco, on 06/29/2008, -0/+1This one wins. It's the best.
    • 3leggedHorse, on 06/29/2008, -0/+2As well as the sweet looking comments on digg, and the awesome looking google search.
      Soz but cant explain how much greasemonkey is my top FF plugin.
  • SomeImagination, on 06/29/2008, -5/+4So where else can you download Youtube videos other than "Off The Net"?
  • KillsTheWeak, on 06/29/2008, -8/+0http://www.ozooi.com/ does a bunch of sites.
    • KillsTheWeak, on 06/29/2008, -1/+0I swear people just digg down comments for the hell of it, pricks.
  • turpialito, on 06/29/2008, -5/+6Buried. Forget downloading. Just open your cache folder and they'll be there. Rename them to "whatever.flv" and get a flv player.
  • xirtap, on 06/29/2008, -8/+3Uh.. Why not download it from Youtube?
    Go to the youtube video you want, open the source for the page. Search for "fullscreen" then get the &t=.. id.
    Once you have that and the video_id go to: http://www.youtube.com/get_video?video_id=&t= And add them. The &t id goes in the &t, the video_id in the video_id.
    Example:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfKQ75F0XsA
    Get the &t(Which is = OEgsToPDskKsl-78Nv0A22HCQF6qFLZW)
    http://www.youtube.com/get_video?video_id=ZfKQ75F0 ...
  • onionlayer, on 06/29/2008, -6/+4Isn't saying to download a you tube video off the net a little redundant?
  • Axemantitan, on 06/29/2008, -2/+6http://www.zamzar.com/url/

    I use that, and I can have it emailed to me in any format I like, including .avi, .mov, .flv, .mp3, .mp4, .aac and others. Because it is emailed, I do not necessarily need my own computer to get the file, just a disc. I have downloaded many at a library and burned them to a CD-R and taken them home. This was useful when I couldn't afford home internet.
  • insomniacal, on 06/29/2008, -1/+1keepvid.com has been working for me
  • Spectangular, on 06/29/2008, -1/+6I like using http://keepvid.com - works for me.
    • Taktic, on 06/29/2008, -0/+1best one for me. lets you choose between HQ an regular. I love it.
  • Llanowar, on 06/29/2008, -1/+4I use vixy.net myself.
  • synned, on 06/29/2008, -1/+3www.zamzar.com
  • KingBroseph, on 06/29/2008, -2/+1plus you can put it in your bookmarks and when you are at a site such as youtube you can simply click it from your bookmark toolbar.
  • antdude, on 06/29/2008, -5/+1OrbitDownloader if you use Windows: http://www.orbitdownloader.com/
  • antdude, on 06/29/2008, -6/+1OrbitDownloader if you use Windows: http://www.orbitdownloader.com/
  • overkilpro, on 06/29/2008, -1/+1I would recommend downloading Tooble. It has a nice interface and converts the videos pretty fast.
    http://tooble.tv/index.php?page=download&display=n ...
  • swoosh_bnd, on 06/29/2008, -1/+6Download helper is great
    http://www.downloadhelper.net/
    • aenima987, on 06/29/2008, -0/+1That was the only one that worked for me :)
  • mrblue182, on 06/29/2008, -1/+1www.getmiro.com
  • Thorpe, on 06/29/2008, -1/+2I use Zamzar sometimes since you'll give them the link, wait for it to upload and then just wait for an e-mail (without needing to stay on the page to let it convert to a variety of formats).
  • ConfusedCartman, on 06/29/2008, -4/+1Dugg for Kevin Federline.
  • Hangly, on 06/29/2008, -1/+2I noticed in Ubuntu (and probably other Linucies) that the flash player downloads the whole file to your temp folder anyway. Just copy it to the desktop or wherever and rename it.
  • cadmiumpaint, on 06/29/2008, -1/+1If you use a Mac with Safari you can download the videos through the activity window. Its built into the app...not sure if that works on windows safari.

    then use a program like iSquint to convert the video to something useable. the whole process takes less than 2 minutes.
  • Ramenhood, on 06/29/2008, -1/+2Or use Freemusic Zilla...
  • AdamaObama, on 06/29/2008, -1/+1I use Tooble on my Mac.
  • DelMonte, on 06/29/2008, -1/+2There's a great solution I found, it's a bookmarklet called "QTYoutube". It should work in most browsers.

    It's a simple javascript link that you can put in your bookmarks and with a simple click it will replace the flash video in the current Youtube page with the Quicktime MPEG-4 version, which is higher quality than the "high quality" flash version. Once the video is downloaded you can instantly save it to your computer by choosing the appropriate option in the Quicktime plug-in menu (Save as source...)
  • biggerpicture, on 06/29/2008, -2/+1I use www.mediaconverter.org It has the software to download the video or just the sound. It also has a bit rate option and a couple other features. Plus most importantly it has different portals so you can download from other sites other than youtube like dailymotion and break.

    I only had a problem once where it wouldn't let me convert the vid to MP4. I don't know why that happened but it hasn't happened since.
  • fsuarez2005, on 06/29/2008, -1/+2Linux users: Stream YouTube video on your computer.

    mplayer -cache 800 `youtube-dl -g -u USERNAME -p PASSWORD http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLLRsn_nr6s`
  • Psyber1an, on 06/29/2008, -1/+3If you have RealPlayer installed, it puts a downoad link above the right corner when you cursor over the video...works LOTS of places, not just YouTube...
  • audiopackrat, on 06/29/2008, -2/+1You don't need any website assistance to save them. First install 'Unlocker'
    It is free at http://ccollomb.free.fr/unlocker/,
    then go find a flash video, let the video load completely, browse to C: > Documents and Settings > YOUR USERNAME > Local Settings > Temp, right click on fla***.tmp, choose unlocker from the context menu, select copy from the unlocker drop-down menu, and then save as an .flv wherever you want. This works on other sites that use .flv as well. If you decide to use this method keep a shortcut to the temp folder on your desktop.
  • traphik, on 06/29/2008, -2/+1For the videos that have been removed there is also http://revivetube.com
  • c1s777, on 06/29/2008, -1/+1thanks!! just what I wanted to know..
  • Fetching more discussions...
    Show 51 - 67 of 67 discussions
  •  

    Login or register to add a comment

    Create a new account or login to join in the conversation on Digg. You'll also be able to Digg stories to help promote things you like.


© Digg Inc. 2008 — Content posted by Digg users is dedicated to the public domain.
DIGG, DIGG IT, DUGG, DIGG THIS, Digg graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts, and other service names are the trademarks of Digg Inc.