Youtube.com has become so ubiquitous on the internet that I really do not think I need to take much time to explain what this website is. Just in case you do not know, YouTube is a video-sharing website on which anyone can upload, view and share videos. The company slogan “Broadcast Yourself” is taken far too literally by some people and so there sure is a lot of content of questionable value wasting a lot of space, but if you take the time to wade through all of the clutter you are likely to find there are plenty of videos worth watching. Many of these are content uploaded by media corporations including CBS, BBC, VEVO, Hulu, and others.
The first question many users ask after they discover YouTube is “How can I download the videos?” Downloading the videos overcomes the problem of their constantly stopping and starting again due to slow internet connection speeds. Unfortunately, YouTube does not provide an option to download videos for offline viewing, but where there is a will there is a way. There are quite a number of other companies making specialized software to circumvent the restrictions YouTube places on downloading their content and this week we are going to review some of these programs I have tried.
The first thing to understand is that if you start downloading hours of movies and documentaries as I have, you have to remember that this is not entirely done with YouTube’s approval. It is not prohibited, just not encouraged. This means that just about the time you get comfortable using one of the following programs that YouTube might change up their website so that your downloader program stops working. When that happens you will just have to switch to another program.“GetGo YouTube HD Video Downloader and Converter” is a good choice for the Windows PC user who intends to download videos for viewing on an iPod or iPhone. The program also is able to convert downloaded videos into compatible formats AVI, WMV, and FLV for use on a computer. GetGo YouTube Downloader requires you copy the video page URL and paste it into the program.
“YTD Video Downloader” is a freeware program for downloading and converting videos. It is advertising-supported, meaning you will have to endure some aggressive ads, but the program does a great job downloading from YouTube, Vimeo, Blip.tv, Vevo, and many more web sites. Videos are converted to the correct formats for PC, Mac, iPad, or iPhone.
“Free YouTube Downloader” is another program to grab videos from YouTube and convert them to any of several popular video file formats. The program is not as simple to use as the others. It offers few options, but does its job very well.
If you use FireFox as your web browser, you should check out the add-on named “Download Flash and Video” from http://fnvfox.com/ which works with many but not all YouTube videos. This has become my favorite because it requires the fewest number of mouse clicks and no cutting/pasting.
I have not found a reliable downloader for Mac that is free, but I have been very pleased with “Wondershare YouTube Downloader for Mac.” This program is very well written and is able to download videos from YouTube as well as some other sites. After downloading video content, Wondershare converts it to any one of several compatible video formats and then even imports the videos into iTunes ready for copying to your iPad or iPhone. At $19 US Wordershare is an outstanding value for Mac users.
Occasional Reporter contributor Charles Miller is a freelance computer consultant, a frequent visitor to San Miguel since 1981 and now practically a full-time resident. He may be contacted at 044-415-101-8528 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..