How to Download Movies from YouTube

There was once one YouTube viewer named Brian who published a question on to how he can download the great movies he is watching in this website. He once said that he has been trying to download some YouTube movies but was unable to do so for some unknown reasons. The truth is there are several YouTube users who are sharing the same problem as Brian. Most of them are unaware of how to save their favorite movies on their hard drives.

Anyhow, is it really possible to download movies from YouTube? Great thing, it is. So, if you are one of these people who are tired of bookmarking the pages of your favorite YouTube movies, this is the perfect time for you to learn the ways on how to appropriately do it.

YouTube Movies and How They Work

YouTube basically uses Flash video in order to playback movies on their website. This is actually the main reason why it is harder for people to download movies from YouTube. Using a Flash from a publisher standpoint certainly makes it harder for people to enjoy the benefits of downloading these movies.

However, it is still not impossible for you to download your favorite movies because you can simply search your Temp index for the file depending on how the Flash movies are played. This is feasible because the server downloads the whole movie to your desktop computer during playback.

To spare you from exerting too much effort, it is better to find someone to do the work for you in locating the file for YouTube movies. One of the website to help you on this matter is the KeepVid, which locates downloads from a number of Internet sites.

How to Download YouTube Movies Using KeepVid

If you happen to see a YouTube video you want to keep, simply copy the URL next to the page where the video is posted. And then, paste it into the download lookup of the KeepVid. Go to the list of sites, locate for YouTube and select it. Finally, click the download button.

KeepVid will be the one to locate for the download link and give you the instructions on how to download the movie you want putting an end to all your hassles.

Since YouTube utilizes the FLV Flash format that is not instantaneously playable, you then also need an application to play it back. You may use Windows user so you can get a copy of FLV Player. This way, you can already watch the files from your desktop computer. You may also try the shareware application SWF.max, this actually displays thumbnails of the movies and includes a number of great features to give you full control on playback.

How to Download YouTube Movies for Firefox Users

If your default browser is Firefox, you can download movies from YouTube by simply installing an extension. Example of this extension is Unplug, which allows you to save both audio and video inserted on a webpage. Set up the extension and when you are already on a page where the movie you want to save is located, simply go to Tools then Unplug and you can download the movie finally.

Other Ways to Download YouTube Movies

There a lot of other option to download Youtube movies. You may want to download iTube, a freetool, and install it on your computer. Open iTube and choose File and then go to Options. And then below the Save Movies To: simply field enter the location where you want to save the YouTube movie. You can actually choose if you want to convert the file giving you more options to download it on your iPod or if you simply want to MPEG for daily use on your home computer.

If you want to download the movie to your iPod, you have to check the Import Converted Files Into iTunes option. In case you don't have iTunes, you have to be sure that this option is unchecked. Once this is checked, the program will detect it as an error. Finally, once the download is done, simply click OK.

Afterwards, you can enter the URL of the movie right in the field of Page URL, then click Go. You will notice that the program will initialize and begin to download the movie in the hard drive of your computer. Now, once the download is over, the movie will be converted according to what you have chosen during the third step. If you are planning though to download movies right from other sites such as Metacafe or GoogleVideo, you will be in need of other handlers. In this case, you may also download your chosen handler and install when finished downloading.