Requirements: OS X 10.7+
, 23.29MB size
Version 3.23.333 (23 Mar, 2021) Release notes
Category: UtilitiesApplication
Do videos lag when viewing them in HD quality? When you know how to save YouTube videos on Mac, many streaming issues become trivial. Downloading videos as MP4 files (and other formats) allows you to watch at your leisure. And there are plenty of other reasons to back up your favorite clips. Interested on how to download videos from YouTube on Mac? You’ll find the answer below.
Out of all the ways to download a YouTube video on Mac, desktop apps are the most advantageous. Desktop development facilitates high security, feature richness and continuous support. Airy is a great example - a convenient, versatile YouTube video downloader which can handle playlists just as well as single videos. It’s especially great if you need subtitles - any available subtitles will be acquired and saved into separate .srt files.
2. Open a YouTube page, copy the address.
3. Paste it in Airy. The video will show up in the queue.
4. Set the quality/format setting and start it up.
It’s quite clear that online streaming has its disadvantages. How to watch YouTube offline on Mac? Pre-downloaded playlists are the best, but not the only way. Various apps and extensions exist to deal with this daunting task.
There are several players out there that can interact with YouTube - VLC is one of them. Generally, while it’s quite obtuse, the player can do many things, including conversion and streaming.
You’ll find VLC video downloads a bit easier with these tutorials:
1. Copy a YouTube video address.
2. In VLC, choose "File - Open Network".
3. Paste the URL in and click "Open".
4.Open "Window - Media Information".
5. Copy the text from the "Location" bar.
That’s the direct URL of the video itself. You can download it as a file in your browser or any download manager.
Sadly, this can only be done from the Preferences menu.
Note: make sure that your VLC installation has an updated version of youtube.lua.
Sometimes, downloaded videos need to be processed. Look for apps to download and cut YouTube videos if you intend to do more than viewing. You can cut clips without quality loss at the click of a button.
There are two ways that you can start video downloads right in your browser. And one of them is web services. These webpages extract the video, convert it if necessary and then send it over to you. They tend to be slow, but they also don’t need to be installed - perfect if you’re in a hurry.
Keepv.id is a generic online downloader app. Like many others, it’s simple to use and it offers a wide choice of quality options. It can be operated in 4 simple steps:
4. Choose a format option and press "Download".
A YouTube downloader button extension is a quick way to convert a YouTube video to MP4, MP3, etc. A discreet button meshes well with the YouTube interface, and with such an app, there is no need to interrupt your experience.
Firefox
Add-ons on Firefox are a mixed bag: there are many, but the quality standards aren’t great. Still, once you manage to find a great extension, it’s definitely worth it. The “Easy YouTube Video Downloader Express” is a functional, well-supported app. To use it:
Chrome
The Chrome Web Store doesn’t welcome YouTube downloaders. Which is understandable, since Google owns YouTube… Regardless, there’s a way to get YouTube videos in Chrome - a workaround. It involves Crosspilot and Addoncrop.
FAQ
Get ffmpeg and put it in the same folder to enable conversions and format combinations. Read the youtube-dl manual to learn more.