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23 Ways to Download YouTube Videos

mashable.com — There are literally dozens of tools for downloading videos from YouTube and/or converting those YouTube videos to some format other than .flv. It ’s hard to pick the best one, as they all have pluses and minuses. Thus, we’ve chosen 23 YouTube downloader tools we’ve found to be actually working.

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  • IvanB, on 10/12/2007, -6/+17Great find, thanks for this!
    • msaleem, on 10/12/2007, -7/+18Any time IvanB.
    • colouredlights, on 10/12/2007, -12/+73Just f**k and get it over with.
    • fkr3, on 10/12/2007, -11/+7You couldn't narrow it down to less than 23 ways when most of them are pretty much the same?
    • mayurpatil, on 10/12/2007, -3/+12www.keepvid.com. The best
    • falcoboy7, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Most of the bigger websites (keepvid, javimoya) have outdated code and don't support anywhere close to the numbers of sites they claim. If you're looking for a site like that -- to get the flv file -- try http://clipnabber.com . If you want an all-in-one site, go with http://vixy.net which will convert it online (but adds a watermark to the end of the video).

      Otherwise I guess you could go with an actual app... but why...? I mean, this is web 2.0, right?
    • hmunkey, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Yup, gotta love it.

      Now if only YouTube will put an easy download option, maybe in mp4 (for ipods) and regular wmv.

      That would be great.
    • attention, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1none of these solutions (except zamzar which is kinda slow) work through a proxy that blocks youtube
    • brightmarc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I use http://www.savetube.com to save youtube videos. It's the easiest way.
  • mmalone, on 10/12/2007, -15/+2I wrote the PHP port of #21, the "youtube ripper." My post about it is at http://immike.net/blog/2007/04/08/youtube-video-ripper-in-php/ and you can use a hosted version at http://immike.net/scripts/youtube-links.php
    • lateralus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3you don't have to lie to kick it.

      jk
  • SmackMyMac, on 10/12/2007, -30/+1WTF?! Where is TubeSock?

    MAC OS
    http://stinkbot.com/Tubesock/ - TubeSock

    God, these lists are getting more and more lazy and weak.
    • 5555, on 10/12/2007, -0/+23Ummm why would I want to pay for that application when this site lists 23 ways to do it for free??
    • Rezatron, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3because he made it and wants your dosh!
  • Okari, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2I've had some problems with Zamzar. I tried to convert multiple videos, one at a time, from YouTube to .mp3, but I would only get around 3 minutes of each video. Can someone confirm this?
    • sctechguy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Well, I think your first wrong turn, was in trying to convert a video to mp3....
    • kidd3ckz, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Take, one, deep breath, and say the whole *****'ing sentence.
  • cheez, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6they forgot the countless greasemonkey scripts! this is the best one
    http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/8177
  • hello2usir, on 10/12/2007, -10/+4If Youtube video quality didn't suck ass, then I'd be more interested in this.
    • Innagadadavida, on 10/12/2007, -0/+18Ahhh - quit your complaining. The quality sucks because it's not meant to be downloaded. It's low for fast loading and minimal bandwidth.
    • hello2usir, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Exactly -- it's not meant to be downloaded.
  • flyspit, on 10/12/2007, -3/+0wheres the grabber for the OTHER sites ..me me ..i know..www.leechvideo.com thats who..not just the youtube *****.. ;)
  • jwalske, on 10/12/2007, -7/+0Can't you just change the extension type? (if thats what you call it) Whenever I download a video, I just tell it where to save the video, and before I do, I type this: nameofvideo.WMV or AVI. and it seems to work.
  • JustinPM, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Okie dokie, here's my way I do things.

    There's a firefox plugin called "Firebug" that basically allows you to see what objects are on the page and being called by the browser. Using this you just look for the flv and right click, hit copy location and chuck it into whatever you want to download with. Works with much more than just flvs too, mov files and a whole lot of other things, just depends how creative you are.
  • darkamster07, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8good list, but WTF with the Mac support? it only lists 1 app!
    here are some more for the Mac users:

    -TubeSock, can covert to ipod: http://stinkbot.com/Tubesock/
    -seatubes, this one does batch downloads: http://www.coolosxapps.net/2007/04/05/seatubes-batch-download-from-youtube/
    -TubeTV, this is my favorite, it has a mini web-browser in it, and it's free!: http://www.chimoosoft.com/products/tubetv/

    here is a good list of Mac YouTube downloading software:
    http://www.macupdate.com/search.php?arch=ppc&keywords=youtube&os=macosx

  • xlar54, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2...if only there was a way to like, point at words on the screen that could say something like "save this video to your own computer", or "save file" or something. Wow, that would be really cool... and the words could be in blue, with a line under them so as to easily differenciate from the other words on their website that you cant click on.

    If they DONT do it in order to keep people from downloading content, then... um, someone needs to send them this link... cats been out of that bag for quite awhile... its time to just open it up for downloads....
  • thatfleminggent, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1For Linux/UNIX (or any other OS where Python is available) there's Clive : http://home.gna.org/clive/
  • lukychmz, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3can someone explain to me why anyone would want to download videos from youtube anyways? they are crap quality and most of them are......just crap
    • darkamster07, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1the quality is about just right for an iPod of a PSP though, so if you want some TV show episodes, or just some random video, downloading it from YouTube is pretty easy.
  • Birty, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I just use Safari's Activity window, works for most embedded video.
    http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20040413101444491
  • Anonymous3, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1For the boring (no other plugin/app required) method go to the page that the video is on, look at the source code.
    Search for CDATA (with match case, there is only one CDATA in the source, but a whole two of mixed case)
    Two lines below that there is a big string of chars, copy the part from video_id to the end of the string without the last quot, e.g:
    video_id=hadxBZWxNrs&l=181&t=OEgsToPDskLnLUGUfPi5EEkEWxwHR9Ca&sk=pHX5mzjnyysdvB_1KlZ8kgU&sw=0.1
    Then append that to: http://www.youtube.com/get_video.php?
  • animaniac, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Why not just use a single bookmarklet? http://1024k.de/bookmarklets/video-bookmarklets.html
  • Nicko9y, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7I don't need 23 of theese. Just tell me which one is best..
  • hugejimmy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I use unplug...its a firefox plugin, the only problem I have is playing the videos because they are flash videos you have to convert them to another format to skip parts of the video without watching the whole thing. Anyone know how you can skip to certain parts of the flash video without converting the file?
  • sky1walker, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1
    is there any app for mac that batch downloads

    youtube/google videos and save it in .3gp (mobile phone) format?

    i tried zamzar but i need a mac app. i can find hundreds of app for windows but non for mac.this is the time i hate mac. no support.

  • alassiry, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4oh no, not that number! anything but 23!
  • mannbearpigg, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Get Tube is a tool for download video or audio on the You Tube site, DailyMotion site and Kewego site
  • panguin, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1If you just want a quick dirty pull from YouTube, Google Video, or the like, I recommend iTube.

    In one step, it downloads the video from the site, converts it to an .mp4, then imports it into iTunes.

    Oh wait. You guys don't use iTunes. Because even though it's useful, it's ubiquitous. And that makes it uncool for digg users.

    nvm.
  • betona, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1...and you still end up with a crappy, pixellated and over-compressed 450x340 version that isn't worth saving in the first place.

    I swear, we're going to look back on these times and chuckle with how we put with such horrible quality. Just like we put up with 16-color GIFs in the early days (yep, even 16-color pron). Divx Stage 6 is at least a step in the right direction, but still not all the way there.
  • Sanitarium, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I mostly use it to get music videos for my iPod and iRiver H300.
  • algo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1now if someone comes up with a solution that finds the original video, not in .flv format, i'd be interested in that ;)
  • ilovethissite, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0wonders what material you guys are trying to dub off youtube.

    original content or copyrighted
  • latpack, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Anyone know of a program that could batch-download all your favorites? I have about 100 videos marked off and hate having to manually click on each one to download.

    por favor!
  • bandoftheweek, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I don't understand why 23 were listed. I got inspiration and made a little tutorial with ONE way to download videos from youtube. http://imsergio.com/download-videos-from-youtube/
  • TheOneTrueGod, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0One word: Cache. Doesn't need extra software.

    Have a shortcut to your browsers cache ready. Whenever you want to have the current video, click the shortcut and sort by *date*. Windows users: View "details", not "symbols".

    The video would be the lowest-most (or highest-most) file not being html, jpg, gif or such. Also, it's mostly larger than a megabyte. In my case (Opera) it has a name like "opr02G3G.tmp".

    Wait until the whole video is loaded. If you refresh the file display, you see that its size has increased.

    Rename it to "Whatever Name.flv". FLV would be the best extension for FLashVideo. Doubleclick to watch.

    Oh, you don't have a file association. Download VideoLAN.org (works on "any" system). It can play Flash Video. Associate FLV with the player.

    ---------------------

    In short, once you have done it a few times: Click on browser cache icon, find the file, rename it. Copy it to your video collection.
  • supasharp, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Still a good list of sites to keep handy
  • digdig18, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Best Solution ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

    I find ZillaTube ( from http://www.zillatube.com ) very easy to use.

    You can have multiple downloads. Built-in player for youtube, mpg,avi,mp4, 3g, mp3, etc Just drop the downloaded files into it, and sit back, and view. Easy. And if you like it, you convert them to good quality videos. Do all these with just one program.

    No need to add flv extension to the file downloaded. ZillaTube is able to recognise it. Cool. The best for me and my friends.

    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  • cooldimens, on 10/11/2007, -1/+0hehehe :)

    youtube to avi:

    http://www.naevius.com/youtube_converter.htm
  • vidoho, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0You can download videos over 40 different video sharing sites with www.vidoho.com/download.php
    blip.tv , break, clipfish , collegehumor , current.tv , dailymotion , google , grouper , ifilm , izlesene , liveleak , livevideo , metacafe , myspace ,
    myvideo , pikniktube ,revver ,rutube.ru , sharkle, stupidvideos, teachertube, trilulilu.ro, twango, veoh, videa.hu, video.qq.com, vidivodo, vidmax, viewurself, vimeo, vmix, vsocial, vume, yahoo, youku, youtube, zippyvideos...
  • JHead, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Or you could just go to www.videocodezone.com/conversion.php.
    Specify the URL and output type(my favorite is MP4 for IPOD of course)
    and it spits out that file. Pretty cool. Only thing is they support
    YouTube, DailyMotion, MetaCafe and Break.com only at this point so hopefully they will have
    more video sites in future.
  • methodshop, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1it's pretty easy to just manually look at the code and save the file. you can do this on Mac or PC using Firefox, Safari or Internet Explorer.
    http://methodshop.com/gadgets/tutorials/youtuberip/index.shtml
  • scorpion032, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0If you are using Firefox on Windows as I do, You will find the file in the following folder:
    C:Documents and Settings[Windows User Name]Local SettingsApplication DataMozillaFirefoxProfiles47m02rml.defaultCache
    Just look for the file typically above 10 MB and you have it. Note that there is also one Audio only file aswell in which you may not be interested.
  • PornoFun, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0I prefer http://Get2PC.com
    its convert to *.AVI *.3GP AND *.MPG
  • recomend, on 10/18/2007, -0/+0My favorite site for download youtube videos is http://www.extreme-funnyvideos.com
    They have a good search function but you have to add the .flv at the end of the file when you download it.
  • rick63, on 10/30/2007, -0/+0here is also a great site i fond to download youtube videos you can also download videos from other sites myspace, google video, and so on here is the url http://www.vidmetro.com
  • boirun03, on 11/01/2007, -0/+2don't forget http://www.filepop.com where you can download and covnvert
  • Syncmaster, on 11/27/2007, -0/+1Here is a similar blog entry: http://www.zebsblog.com/download-youtube-videos/
  • flvconverter, on 12/08/2007, -0/+0http://www.flvto3gp.net has many popular FLV to 3GP converter, THANKS FOR YOUR SPPORT
  • webcreation, on 01/16/2008, -0/+0Here is a nice web site where you can search, view and download YouTube videos.

    http://www.ilikeyoutube.com/

    Enjoy.
  • ddww806, on 01/30/2008, -0/+0I found another cool software PQ FLV downloader.It can detect lfv address automatically,and its downloading speed is quite fast.Above all,the trial version offers 14 days full privilege use. Check http://www.pqdvd.com/download-youtube-videos-tool. ...
  • tadass, on 02/19/2008, -0/+0Search, view and download YouTube, MetaCafe and Break videos using http://www.extractvideo.com.
  • videoconverter, on 02/22/2008, -0/+0as many as flv converter tools here
    http://www.videoconverterdownload.com/flv-converte ...
    iPod Video Converters
    http://www.videoconverterdownload.com/ipod-video-c ...
  • videoconverter, on 02/22/2008, -0/+0as many as flv converter tools here
    http://www.videoconverterdownload.com/flv-converte ...
    iPod Video Converters
    http://www.videoconverterdownload.com/ipod-video-c ...

    YouTube Robot helps you to watch YouTube videos on iPod, iPhone, Zune, PSP, Creative Zen Vision, Archos,iRiver, Pocket PC
    http://www.videoconverterdownload.com/software/you ...
  • max0211, on 03/03/2008, -0/+0Guide - How to save/download video from youtube
    Why you should download/save videos from youtube :
    You found an interesting video from youtube and you want to save/download it to your computer and later share it with your friend or keep it as a collection. However, by default Youtube doesn't allow users to save/download the videos. It only allow user to send a hyperlink to the friends and invite them to go to youtube website to view the videos.

    why not save/download the video before it's too late ?

    Steps to save/download the video from youtube

    For Internet Explorer (PC) users

    1) Click your favourite video clip, you can see the URL in your browser becomes something like this : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCcCEqD117U

    2) highlight the URL, "copy" & "paste" to Youtube Robot url and click "+" button
    or move mouse to the download link, right click the mouse use "menu"->"download by youtube robot"
    or drag the url to youtuberobot's floating window

    4) When the download link shows, the flv video file will auto download to your local computer

    5) You can double click to view the downloaded video file

    6) Youtube Robot intergrate with FLV Converter,you can select output format first then click convert button to convet the downloaded video file to your format.

    7) You can plup-in IPod, PSP to usb port,after convert finished Youtuberobot will Auto transfer video to iPod, PSP,iPhone, Pocket PC, or Zune


    Product page: http://www.youtuberobot.com
    Direct download link: http://www.youtuberobot.com/download/utuberobot.ex ...
    Company web-site: http://www.youtuberobot.com
    E-mail: support@youtuberobot.com
  • lirig, on 03/03/2008, -0/+0as many as
    3GP PSP MP4 IPOD MPEG4 Converter, QuickTime Converter, RMVB Converter, MOV Converter, FLV Converter, AVI to DVD, RM to MP3 Converter, Movie Converter, Video Splitter, Video Joiner, DivX Converter,AMR Converter
    tools here http://www.topfreedownload.net
  • videoconverter, on 03/30/2008, -0/+0
    flv converter(), flv video converter()
    http://www.videoconverterdownload.com/flv-converte ...
    http://www.flvto3gpconverter.com/
    http://www.flvtowmv.net/
  •  

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