Advertisement

TechRSS FeedLike us on FacebookFollow us on Twitter

How to: YouTube videos unplugged

Ever want to take a YouTube clip with you without an Internet connection? This quick tutorial will show you how


By Shawn "Doc Rock" Boyd

There are many reasons why you may want to have some YouTube videos downloaded for offline viewing or for archiving. The most common reason I hear are for work and school presentations, weddings or other celebratory events. I get asked at least 10 times a week how to get these videos on your computer for offline viewing. After much procrastination, I finally decided to make a video to show you how.

This method is my preferred way of offline viewing using a Mac and Safari 5.0. There are a bunch of ways to do this on a PC, and most people find them rather easily with a quick Google search. However, on a Mac, the solution is a bit harder to find. Many of these searches lead to shady paid services that will get you ripped off.

Try this Safari extension for size. Watch the video for a quick how-to and voila! Done.

I hope this helps. Remember you can always send any tech questions to askdoc@nonstophonolulu.com and who knows maybe I’ll make a video just for you.

Recent Posts:


Post comment as
twitter logo facebook logo
Sort: Newest | Oldest
MaxMaxMax 75 pts

I used to use Real Player Downloader for free. But, since I've installed a Flash blocker on my Mac (Click to Flash)--by the way, everyone should do this!!!--it doesn't work anymore. So, I just use the Activity menu item.

Just say NO... To Flash!!!

share
  • spam
  • offensive
  • disagree
  • off topic
 Like docrock
docrock 48 pts

MaxMaxMax You'll notice in my video I had to Click to Start my video, I use Click to flash. That's why I said I'll need to make a video for that. I love click to flash.

share
  • spam
  • offensive
  • disagree
  • off topic
 Like
docrock 48 pts

I used to use the activity menu to scrape flash movies all the time. I so thought is was meta :). Quicktime in Snow Leopard can make screencaptures on whatever you do on screen but can take a resolution hit. I use ScreenFlow ($99) because it attempts to keep resolution high by reinterpolation.

share
  • spam
  • offensive
  • disagree
  • off topic
 Like
johngarcia 180 pts

Good stuff! Thanks for sharing, Doc! I've used Download Helper in the past which was okay, but this looks better.

hawaii I didn't know Safari could do screen capture! I hardly use Safari... maybe we should do a browser breakdown to rediscover what they're capable of and what other options are out there beyond FF and IE.

share
  • spam
  • offensive
  • disagree
  • off topic
 Like docrock
MaxMaxMax 75 pts

johngarcia hawaii Just don't care for FF. It seems slower than Safari, plus, there always seems to be extra steps involved. Tried 'em all... Still a Safari user! ;^D

share
  • spam
  • offensive
  • disagree
  • off topic
 Like docrock
docrock 48 pts

MaxMaxMax johngarcia hawaii On OS X Safari is way faster even according to acid test. Chrome is my fall back. Even with FF4 it is still the slowest kind on the block. If you gotta skip Safari check out Chrome or just for a laugh chromercise.com

share
  • spam
  • offensive
  • disagree
  • off topic
 Like
hawaii 63 pts

I guess plugins and random services make things easy, but can't you use use stock Safari to capture the video stream? On my machine, at least, I can go to a YouTube page, start playback in the highest resolution available, then open the 'Activity' view built into Safari. It's easy to spot which page element is the video, which you can then double click or option click to save as a standalone file.

I think you can even get a ready-to-use MP4 this way, but if not, you can use various free tools to make that conversion (to get it on an iPod, for example, as Diane is asking).

Not bad for not having to deal with plugins or random scripts you might not know enough about to trust...

share
  • spam
  • offensive
  • disagree
  • off topic
 Like
DianeSeo 94 pts

Doc, I'm wondering if there's an easy way to get videos now from YouTube to an iPod. I looked into this a few years ago and started doing it, but it was a multi-step process involving lots of tools (Perian, Download Helper, then manually moving files into iTunes, etc.) Is there an easy way to do this now on a Mac?

share
  • spam
  • offensive
  • disagree
  • off topic
 Like docrock
docrock 48 pts

DianeSeo If you download the .mp4 or m4v versons from YouTube and just drag them directly into iTunes they should be ready to go. It they won't transfer from there you can right click on the files in iTunes and you'll see a convert command in the contexual menu. Hope this helps, I can always make a follow up video.

share
  • spam
  • offensive
  • disagree
  • off topic
 Like
DianeSeo 94 pts

docrock would love to see part II of this on how to get YouTube videos on an iPod. I remember when I first learned how, I was thrilled and downloaded a bunch of videos. Then my computer died, got a new iMac and when I synched to my iPod, none of the videos made it over. Didn't want to go through all the steps for every video again, but have been waiting for an easy way to do this again...

share
  • spam
  • offensive
  • disagree
  • off topic
 Like docrock
docrock 48 pts

DianeSeo Deal I'm on it. There is an almost single step application called Adapter (Mac and PC) http://www.macroplant.com/adapter/. I'll make the video ASAP!

I gotta find my iPod now, I only use the iPhone and iPad these days

share
  • spam
  • offensive
  • disagree
  • off topic
 Like

Trackbacks

  1. How to: One-Step video conversion for iPhone/iPad | Nonstop Honolulu | Entertainment, Events and Eating | Honolulu, Hawaii says:
    August 17, 2011 at 6:58 am

    [...] asked how to get videos to iDevices in a simple and easy way. Following up on a post I did about downloading videos from YouTube, I received a question from one of my most prolific readers of my random tech and how-to post… my [...]

About Shawn "Doc Rock" Boyd

Raised on the East Coast, Doc came to Hawaii soon after graduating high school. Doc has been involved in technology since getting his first set of tools as a Christmas present at age 5. Since climbing out from behind the Genius Bar at Apple you now will most likely find Doc waxing rhapsodically on the virtues of saké, good food, soccer, super-cars and camera gear.

Advertisement
Copyright © 2013 Nonstop Online, LLC. All Rights Reserved.