How-To Geek
Here’s a Quick Alternative Way to Download Videos from YouTube
More than 24 hours of video content are uploaded to the internet per minute. With so many videos being uploaded, there’s no doubt you’ve come across a video you want to keep. Read on to find out how you can download your favorite videos for offline viewing.
This method of downloading YouTube videos, is different, in the sense that you are just retrieving a buffered version of the video from your browsers cache. While you could always do this manually, different browsers store the cache in different places, a much easier method would be to head over to the NirSoft site and download a copy of Video Cache View (choose the zipped version), which allows you to view all the videos in your cache and supports all major browsers.
Note: The download link is quite far down the page, see screenshot below
Simply run the executable when you have finished extracting the zipped folder.
When the program loads up, don’t be put off by the number of items that show up. You will have to guess which is your video but the file size serve’s as a pointer in the right direction, if you are unsure if it is the right file you can right click on it and select file to open it with your favorite media player, or you can simply select the file and press F2.
Once you have confirmed it is the video that you would like to save, right click on it and select copy selected files to.. from the context menu alternatively you could just select the file and press F7.
Now select a path where you want to save the video, then click on the ok button.
Thats all there is to it and while there are websites that automate this for you, this service will work unlike the websites which can sometimes break, remember that the videos are still in FLV format however most of them are have H.264 encoded video streams along with AAC audio so feel free to download your favorite media player and convert them into a more supported format like MP4.
Got Feedback? Join the discussion at discuss.howtogeek.com
Comments (25)
Taylor Gibb is a Microsoft MVP and all round geek, he loves everything from Windows 8 to Windows Server 2012 and even C# and PowerShell. You can also follow him on Google+
- Published 03/23/12
My favorite is Video Backup Fusion (ViBaFu)
I still just use Youtube downloader. Easy enough to use, just copy and paste the URL on the bar and hit download. Lucky for me all of the videos I download are already in MP4 format. I don’t think my GPU could handle such a conversion! Either way I only download either episodes of shows, or music that it has a built in MP3 converter tool for. Either way, I really like it.
I have a program called Alive Youtube Video Converter that works great, and can turn the video into any of a dozen formats with minimal quality loss.
I use keepvid.com – paste in the URL of the video you want to download from, e.g. youtube video URL, then select the video size and format you want to download. e.g. 720p MP4.. no conversion necessary.
I use a pair of different applications to download the YouTube videos, as movie clips or as .mp3 files.
I have a question about this: is downloading music in the form of mp3 files considered an infringement of the laws like sharing music via P2P programs?
Any informed opinion will be very much appreciated.
1 like (or +1or thumbs up ) for sheppo.
By the way you can use keephd.com als .Its just the same
I use Tube Mate on my Android device. It works well and will also save as mp3.
i use wondershare all my tube. its a good little prog n just puts a download button on any online video u watch.
I use the Download Helper Add on on Firefox.
My internet security program warned that the download possibly contains malicious software and that other users have the same. When I overrode the block, I noticed that the download window re-opened continuously as long as I stayed on that page. I had to close out 5 to 10 download windows after I exited the page. This is unusual behavior so I did not download the file. If there is any further information on this, I would request that you post it. The software seems like a good solution but I am very cautious about downloading, as everyone should be. I have had a very good experience with other recommendations by HTG and this may be an anomaly.
@Paolo L, My understanding is that it’s not squeaky clean legal but you’re definitely not going to get sued for it. It’s better than P2P/Torrenting but still quasi legal. Assuming you’re using their official version you could make the argument that it is perfectly legal.
Jdownloader, all formats all qualities.
The point in that this software makes (which I really appreciate ) is that you don’t have to download the video AGAIN to save it . unlike the methods used by the commentators above .
I have the best internet around where I live. Unfortunately it’s 1.5MBit. So I go to a video, click on the keepvid bookmarklet, and choose the highest res mp4 they offer. Sure it takes a while but then I have it in 1080p or at least 720p.
JDownloader works well :)
Thank you Henry, I appreciate your comment.
+1(Thumbs up) to Nirin and sheppo :)
keepvid.com
no need to bloat software for download. Without that computers waste Ram
Thank you, Taylor! A very good app that works very fine and allows me to make fun inline trips and let get videos downloaded regardless of changes in the sites as long as they are cached in the computer. The article also worked for me a s condensed lesson on how some things work and tickle in my machine.Thank you very much.
You should use Download accelrator plus (DAP) or Internet Download Manager (IDM) to download video from any website. No need to copy and paste URL. Just click on the download button in your browser after starting the video.
keepvid.com
the best site to download YouTube video in all available format and quality.
No stupid software needed, this is very helpfull when you are at any cyber cafe or while travelling.
if you guys have not tried it, then yo. can try it,
I hope it help u to save time..
At $30. per year….I reckon it better be good. A person can $30 per years himself to bankruptcy with software like this.
Just like many users say, you cannot be online always, so it’s preferable to save these videos on your local discs. YouTube, as one of the largest video sharing site, gives you a pleasant experience while you viewing videos. Here’s the quick and completely free way to get what you want. Only specify its url for capturing videos.
http://www.capturevideo.me/
quick guide
I highly recommend Easy YouTube Video Downloader.
Download as MP3, AAC, MPEG, FLV and HD formats.
Supports all browsers as an addon.
It is also the easiest to use.
http://www.bestvideodownloader.com/