Youtube doesn’t allow users to download videos from its site for it needs to prevent copyright problems and it wants the visitors to come back for more traffic. However, there indeed are some ways to download videos from Youtube. What’s more, all of these methods cost you no penny and is applicable in other video sites like Google video, iFilm, Myspace, Dailymotion, etc.
Using Online File Converters
There are some online file converters like Zamzar, Free File Converter and Convert Files capable of downloading videos from their supported websites like Youtube and meanwhile converting the video format to the one you like. Just copy the URL of your favorite video from Youtube and then do the rest steps as instruction.
download Youtube videos with Free File Converte
use ZamZar to download videos from Youtube
From the source code
In the Youtube webpage offering the video you want to download, right click and choose “View Source” to get the html codecs of this page shown in a notepad. Now press Ctrl+f to get a window in which you type .mov or any file format you require. Then find the URl and download the video using download manager.
Using Firefox Add-on Unplug
You can use Unplug extension to download videos from Youtube if you are using Firefox browser. Unplug works with most sites offering Flash videos including Youtube and it’s easy to use:
First, Ensure you downloaded and installed the tool; then go to top Tool bar in the Youtube page where offers the video you want to download. Click Tools\UnPlug as below screenshot shows.
launch Unplug in firefox
After you have selected the UnPlug option, it will redirect you to the UnPlug page where shows all the media files located on the page you were viewing. Unplug is able to help you find the file you want to download by marking the file in the first link.
save the video file you want in Unplug page
Just click the Save button of the first link and the download will start soon. When it completes, you will get the movie in .flv format and you can play it by downloading and installing a freeware FLV player.
Using Save2pc Light
Save2pc Light is a small freeware program allowing you to download movies from YouTube by just copying and pasting the URL. You can download it here. It is as simple to use as the following screenshot shows.
download Youtube video with save2pc light
Using RealPlayer
The basic version (free) of Realplayer SP also allows you to download videos from Youtube. You can download RealPlayer SP here. Just check the option of “download and recording” during installation.
select Basic Realplayer in RealPlayer installation
select the download option in RealPLayer installation
Now click on the download sign on the top right corner of the video you are watching and it will do the work.
download the video using RealPlayer
Note: After download your favorite videos from Youtube, you may want to convert their formats so that they can be played on different devices. Then don’t forget to try to our TouchUp Video Converter which are much more versatile, powerful and fast-working than the above mentioned online file converters or any desktop media converter.
3 Comments for 5 Ways to Download Youtube Videos for Free
Free Tools to Convert FLV Video to DVD Format | April 30, 2010 at 1:14 am
Enjoy FIFA World Cup 2010 Anytime and Anywhere | June 17, 2010 at 6:13 am
[...] There are various World Cup video on video site like Youtube, iFilm, Myspace, Dailymotion and some of them are HD video. Moreover, you can get the videos captured in different angles while the live broadcast has only limited angles. As to the way to download videos online, you can refer to this article. [...]
Convert FLV to DVD with Quality Improved? | June 25, 2010 at 4:36 am
[...] may be dissatisfied with just watching your favorite Youtube videos online so you also download them to you HDD. Even so, you may be still dissatisfied and want to convert these FLV videos to DVD so [...]
[...] you like to download your favorite FLV videos from websites like Youtube and Google Video and get a collection of them, you may want to save them in a disc for a long time [...]