(If you run into any problems with it, you may need to do a full re-install of VLC and clear your cache to make it work.)Ĭopy a URL from a YouTube video, then open up VLC. It turns out, it also has the ability to download YouTube videos, albeit in a convoluted way. We mention VLC Media Player above because it's a fantastic tool for Windows users that plays back just about any media ever created. (Read more about it below.) As for the downloaders, here are the best options. The fool-proof way to play them all is to use the VLC Media Player for Windows, which plays everything. Note that the MKV file, also called a Matroska, is a container-the file could contain video utilizing any number of codecs inside. MP4, short for MPEG-4 Part 14 multimedia format, plays everywhere In the past, YouTube videos were Flash-based, so your download was an FLV file, but those tend to be harder to play back. For anything higher in quality-4K or 8K-the file format is typically MKV.
For videos in 1080p High Definition (HD) format, that's usually an MP4 file. Typically, you paste the URL for the YouTube video you want into the program, and it downloads the highest quality version it can find.
Third-party software is where you will get the best control over downloading online videos. But the tools below deliver exactly that. This probably isn't exactly what you are looking for in a download. The page says "Downloads remain available as long as your device has an active internet connection at least once every 30 days." You access the download by going to the YouTube hamburger menu and selecting Downloads to get the list of what you've grabbed with the browser. This is not a method that allows you to, say, watch a video using a different player like the VLC Media Player. It is more akin to the download feature found on mobile apps for Netflix and Hulu, which makes a streaming video available to watch later, using your local storage. The biggest caveat however is that this feature doesn't really download a video to save on your computer forever. On your first download-initiated by clicking the Download link under a video you see in Chrome, Edge, or Opera on the desktop-the service will try to get you to download the YouTube desktop app, which is free and optional.
You can only try one experimental feature at a time (so you can't have this feature active along with the new trial of "picture-in-a-picture on iOS.") Who knows if YouTube will make it permanent.Īll the video you download is limited to 1080p quality max, or lower. Google only plans to make it available officially until Novem(that's an extension from the original deadline of October 19). This is considered an experimental feature.
This is the paid version of YouTube that allows you to watch without ads. Especially if you're not really emptor-ing.Ī brand new (as of September 2021) feature is now available for subscribers of YouTube Premium. The programs, services, and sites in this story are all free of spam/virus/problems as of this writing, but caveat emptor. If there's even a whiff of it in the air, even a PUP, it's out. Not collect your personal data beyond your email address. Output to MP3 for audio (or offer companion software that does so). Work with top three video sites: YouTube, Facebook, and Vimeo.ĭownload entire playlists or channels in a batch (on YouTube), at least with a paid version. Support 4K downloads even in the free version. To prevent this from becoming a laundry list of programs and sites that can download YouTube videos, we came up with a few rules for inclusion. The same goes for the helper websites-a change in a site's ad network can also create issues with malware. Some of those changes are not always pleasant, such as software so full of "extras" it gets flagged as malware by antivirus tools. Note: This story is updated frequently as the tools involved change regularly. If you must download a YouTube video-absolutely need to, just for yourself, and not for dissemination, and not to be a total douche-nozzle-here's how. You simply do not need to download a video most of the time. If you want to share a video, YouTube and most other video sites make it easy, from embedding to emailing to sharing via social networks. Obviously, stealing videos from YouTube is a big no-no. There's a reason YouTube runs ads: people make a living this way. Watching YouTube videos offline through unofficial channels takes money from Google and video creators.