How to Save and Download YouTube Videos

Technology has made it very simple to the extent that you can download video on YouTube for you to have access to watch it anywhere and anytime you feel like watching it. In some cases, you can watch the video offline.

Anywhere you may find yourself, whether you're travelling somewhere through air, traveling somewhere by railway, or in a cybercafe that has WiFi service, when you run into connection problem, keep calm and watch those video you have downloaded offline.

This is why it doesn't surprise me that you want to know how to save and download YouTube videos. So did I, and luckily, there is a way.

Saving your favorite YouTube videos to watch it later is a way of ensuring yourself that you can watch YouTube videos to-finish without any obstacles or obstruction like WiFi or Restricted Plans.

Download and save YouTube videos now made easy by technology.

In this guide, we'll cover how you can save and download YouTube videos, on both desktop devices and mobile, to ensure you're never without that quick entertainment fix when you need it.

According to Google’s Terms of Service for YouTube, “You shall not download any Content unless you see a ‘download’ or similar link displayed by YouTube on the Service for that Content.” If you want to share a video, YouTube offers a variety of super easy methods beyond downloading, such as embedding, emailing, and sharing on social media. If you absolutely must download a video, make sure it’s strictly for your own personal use -- or you risk violating a number of privacy and copyright laws (not to mention, taking ad revenue away from people who depend on YouTube for a living).

How to Save and Download YouTube Videos

       In this guide, we will use VLC as an example, below are the guides to save and download YouTube videos

1.       Download VLC, or another open-source media player
2.       Open VLC and click "Open Media"
3.       Click "Network" and paste YouTube URL
4.       If using Mac, select "Window" and then "Media Information"
5.       If using Windows, select "Tools" and then "Codec Information"
6.       Find the "Location" bar at the bottom and copy that URL
7.       Paste that URL into your browser
8.       Right click the video and select "Save Video As"
9.       Name the file and save to desired location

Tools to Download YouTube Videos

1.       One of the best tools that we can make use of are VLC, MP4 Downloader Pro or Freemake, they are all good for downloading a MP4 video from YouTube to your desktop. To make your selection process easier, here's a quick list of three free download solutions. 
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1.   VLC

1.    VLC runs on both Windows and Mac computers. If you're using a Mac, make sure you have MAC OS X 10.7 or newer. The mentioned tool makes it easy to take your favorite videos offline and save them for viewing in any file format: MPEG-2, MPEG-4, WMV, MP3, MP4 and more.
2.   MP4 Downloader Pro
1.    MP4 Downloader Pro is a free video downloader that allow you to download YouTube videos in bulk. You can also prompt the tool to shut down your computer after your files have finished downloading. It's a helpful piece of software for people who need to download lots of video content at once.
2.   Freemake Video Downloader
1.   Freemake was built with YouTube videos in mind. You can save videos, playlists, and entire YouTube channels to which you subscribe right to your desktop. Freemake download YouTube videos in most common file formats: MP3, MP4, AVI, FLV, and more.

 Download MP4 from YouTube

 1. Download VLC, or another open-source media player

 For the sake of time in this example, I downloaded VLC. You can find this free product here. Click   the link above and follow VLC download instructions.

  2. Open VLC and select "Open Media"

  Below, you'll see the homepage of VLC once you download the program to your computer. Select    "Open media..." on the bottom right, as shown.

  3. Click "Network" and paste your YouTube URL

  Navigate over to YouTube and grab the URL of the YouTube video you'd like to download from the    address bar at the top of your browser. You can simply copy this URL to your clipboard by typing      Control+C on a Windows computer or Command+C on a Mac.

  Then, return to VLC media player, click "Network" along the top menu bar and paste in the URL of    the YouTube video you copied above. You can do this by typing Control+V on a Windows     computer or Command+V on a Mac.

  4. If using Mac, Select "Window" and then "Media Information"

  In the top navigation bar of your Mac computer, click "Window" and select "Media information..."      from the dropdown, as shown below:

  5. If using Windows, select "Tools" and then "Codec Information"

  This step will retrieve the same information as in the step for Mac users above. You'll see this       information in the next step.

  6. Find the "Location" bar at the bottom, and copy the URL

  In the screenshot below, see that long string of text highlighted in white at the bottom? Copy it to     your clipboard (Control+C for Windows or Command+C for Mac).

  7. Paste the URL into your browser

  Return to your internet browser and open a new tab. Paste the text that's currently copied onto your    clipboard into your address bar. This will open an MP4 version of your YouTube video that you can    actually save to your desktop.

  8. Right click the video, and click "Save Video As"

  Right click (or control+click on your Mac's trackpad) the enlarged YouTube video that appears.     Click "Save Video As" and select your Desktop as the video file's destination. 

  9. Name the file and save to desired location

  Hit save and see your newly downloaded YouTube video on your desktop.

  Transport downloaded MP4 to Mobile Phone

  This might not be the "official" solution, but if you want that same MP4 video on your phone, you      can email it to yourself and open it up as an attachment, and you're good to go!

  That's it! You're all set to watch your favorite YouTube videos wherever, and whenever, you  want.