How Do I Download and Save Videos From YouTube?

Have you wanted to have a copy of a YouTube video on your Mac but can't figure it out? Maybe your kids like to watch stupid cat tricks over and over again and it's driving you nuts to have to find it for them? Maybe you would like to view the videos in iTunes or on your iPod instead of on a website. Even though YouTube wants to stream the video to you, there are ways to save a local copy on your Mac.

As usual with most solutions there is the free multi-step route and the one-stop paid route. But with most shareware, the payment is pretty low: $5-$15.

Let's start with the free route: For this you'll need VLC to view your videos or iSquint to convert them to iPod format which QuickTime or iTunes will read fine.

First, start watching the video in Safari on YouTube. Open the Activity viewer window from the Window menu. Look through the many associated files for the web page for the large file size one. Most of the files will be in KB. The one you want will be in MB. Once it's done loading, double click the file name in the list. That will cause Safari to download it to your desktop or wherever you have designated downloads to go.

Now look on your desktop for a file called get_video. Go ahead and change the name to something.flv. The .flv tells the Mac it's a Flash Video file. VLC can play this file as is.

If you want to convert the video file to play in iTunes or on an iPod, download and fire up iSquint, a freeware program. Once it's open, just drag your file to the main area and click Start. When it's done, you will have a mp4 file that you can drag into iTunes or play in QuickTime player. Sweet!

Shareware Solutions
Now if that seems too difficult for you, go ahead and download PodTube ($5) or TubeSock ($15). These programs take over from the YouTube site and handle the whole process, depositing the file in iTunes for you.

Here's an added bonus: You can import these files into iMovie HD to export as an Aiff audio file if case you only want the audio from the video to listen to or use as a ringtone. My only disappointment is that I upgraded my iPhone to 1.1.1 and I can't use MakeiPhoneRingtone to copy more ringtones over to my iPhone now.


What's your favorite way of saving YouTube videos? Share your tips or ask questions in the Comments section below.

DIG DEEPER

Freeware Apps
VLC Video Player
iSquint converter

Shareware Apps
PodTube
TubeSock

YouTube

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