It may seem absurd to want to download anything to your actual computers these days. It seems we are constantly pushed to keep our information and collections in the cloud and only access them by a high-speed Internet connection. However, there are those occasions when I just need things organized the way I want them or others when I am completely offline. Whatever your reasons, Youtube has the largest collection of video content on the planet so if you need to download a video for viewing later, here is our top suggestions.
YouTube Premium (paid)
YouTube itself offers you the ability to download content if you pay the monthly subscription for their premium service. Their premium service is worth considering as it provides not only ad-free videos but access to their music content as well as YouTube Music, formerly Google Music.
Once logged in, an additional button below the video player gives you an option to download. It seems counterintuitive for me to tell you to visit youtube.com while you are offline, but if you do, all that shows in the browser window is your downloaded content in the preview window. You can save videos up to 1080p format.
Alternative ways to download YouTube videos
There are a few ways to download YouTube videos. If you have a slow Internet connection, downloading videos from YouTube can be very convenient. The best part is that you don’t need to install any software to download videos from YouTube. However, some browsers require a plugin to work. You should follow these steps to download videos from YouTube.
VLC Media Player
Using a media player such as VLC. It’s a secure program that can be installed on your computer. You can then use it to download any YouTube video to your desktop. VLC is an open-source program that works on macOS, Windows, and Linux. This program is a staple for me on any computer. You can control the speed of the video which can be very helpful when navigating an instructional video to match whatever pace you may need.
Clip Grab
ClipGrab is free software that’s available for Mac, Windows and Linux. Although it is open-source, the source code for ClipGrab is not available to Linux users. ClipGrab is a great tool.
Point your browser at ClipGrab.org, and then click the Show all Download Options button. There will be links to download for Linux, Windows, or Mac. The Mac version will be shown in this article. However, the interface on all three is almost identical.
You have many options. You can, for example, choose the format that the video will be saved in on your computer. I tend to choose Original, but I will specify another format if it doesn’t work.
You can also select to download the resolution. You can download the original resolution or reduce it to save space.
Finally, tap the Settings ClipGrab lets you choose where your videos are stored by tab
Airy
Using an online video converter like Airy is another option. This tool lets you download YouTube videos and audios on Android and iPad. Another advantage is that it also allows you to watch videos without ads. You can choose between free and paid versions of this program, with the premium version costing between $0.99 and $4.99 per month.
Browser Tools
You can also download YouTube videos by using your desktop browser. Most browsers have built-in developer tools that will allow you to download YouTube videos. Internet Explorer users, however, will not be able to use these tools. Simply right-click the video player and choose the option called “Inspect” to inspect the video source code.
Is it legal to Download Videos?
It is important to understand your own country’s legal considerations in this manner. YouTube offers the ability to download videos with its own Premium service but only in regions that allow it. It’s important to note never used copyrighted material you have downloaded into your own production content.