A Simple Way To Save YouTube Videos
Although this website is mainly about chemistry , I thought I'd take a coffee break from chemistry and write a short web page about Internet videos . YouTube is a wonderful website , exemplifying what's best about the Web : communicating and sharing information and experiences . I greatly enjoy watching YouTube videos on a wide range of subjects . In particular , YouTube is a treasure trove of popular music , both of the modern era and from many past decades . I've found hundreds of my favorite “golden oldies” pop songs from long ago , now mostly forgotten but still made available to the public on the Web as YouTube videos by devoted fans .
Since I have a very slow dial-up connection , it takes me a long time to download a typical YouTube video . For example , a 5½ minutes music video took about 3½ hours to fully download ! Once downloaded , the video can be replayed in “real time” without any buffering . However , once I've moved on to a new web page , the video vanishes and must be downloaded again for re-viewing . This isn't a problem for people with a high speed Internet connection , but it's very difficult and annoying for me . Obviously , I'd like very much to save videos to my computer's hard drive , so I can view them again offline any number of times . Unfortunately , there doesn't seem to be any way to save videos directly from the YouTube web pages .
Two earlier solutions of this problem are no longer available . Downloader applications and proxy downloader websites are now obsolete and non-functional , since YouTube changed its downloading protocols and effectively forbade access to its servers by them .
Fortunately there are several other ways of saving videos that you've watched online . All web browsers automatically save viewed content in their Internet file caches . I have MS Internet Explorer (MSIE) on my computer ; the MSIE web cache is C:\Windows\ Temporary Internet Files . As with other web content , any downloaded videos are similarly saved in the web browser cache . In the case of YouTube , this makes it possible to replay the video without downloading it again , but there are some video hosting websites that don't have this replay function .
After downloading and viewing YouTube (and other) videos you can search your web browser's cache for them . This can be done manually ; remember that for the MSIE cache there are four subfolders in addition to the main folder . Arrange the files in order of size and look for the ones with the largest file sizes .
This procedure quickly becomes tedious , so it's simpler , faster , and easier to use a search engine to do the work for you . I initially used the Start > Find > Files or Folders applet (in all Windows OS) , which quickly located Flash Video (FLV) files downloaded from YouTube . Subsequently , YouTube engineers removed the *.flv file extensions from their videos , thereby preventing the Find > Files or Folders applet from finding them . I now use an excellent little freeware application , Video Cache View – highly recommended – from Nirsoft , which displays all the cached FLV files , even without their file extensions . When I'm offline again I run Video Cache View to search the MSIE cache , then I copy them to my Videos Library folder :
They are played in the Flash Video Player (described below) to see which ones they are , then are renamed with a short , descriptive file name so I can readily identify them later .
And that's my suggested simple , easy way to save YouTube (and other) flash videos to an accessible folder for convenient offline viewing . Download and watch them on the YouTube web page as usual , and your web browser will automatically save them in its Internet cache . When you're offline later you can easily find them using Video Cache View , from which you can copy them to your Videos Library (or other) folder .
Streaming Video Capture
The procedure I described above may seem a little “low tech” to some readers , but it works well for me (at least , for the time being , until the inventive YouTube engineeers devise yet another way to defeat it , in their endless quest to make their videos unsaveable) . A more sophisticated way of saving YouTube (and other) videos is by streaming video capture , in which the video data stream is saved as it's being downloaded . I briefly surveyed this area , and discovered that there are many shareware programs – and even some freeware – which can save Web videos as they are being watched . Apparently the Mac Safari web browser can already accomplish this :
This illustration was copied from the web page discussing many methods and applications for saving Internet videos by streaming video capture , on the All-Streaming-Media.com website . The interested reader is referred to these related web pages (for example , the overview of recommended programs) for further information on this subject . A web page at Videohelp.com lists a somewhat different selection of software for video streaming capture . One of the applications they describe is another freeware program from Nirsoft , WebVideoCap v1.38 . If it works as efficiently as Video Cache View , it should be well worth trying . Unfortunately , I was unable to evaluate it , as it's suitable only for NTFS Windows (2000 , XP , Vista , and 7) , while my computer has the older , incompatible FAT 32 Windows (95 , 98 , 98SE , and Me) .
As the earlier video saving methods like downloaders and proxy websites are checkmated by YouTube and fade away , newer techniques such as streaming video capture are starting to replace them . I believe that video capture will become quite commonplace , and may possibly even be incorporated into future versions of standard web browsers like MSIE . For example , they may have a button on their task bar which when pushed will automatically save a video that the viewer is watching to a preset folder offline . In the meantime , though , I'll have to continue with the “locate and copy” procedure outlined above .
Playing YouTube Videos Offline
I use , and highly recommend , YouTube Downloader 3000 for playing flash videos offline . The 3000 Player is freeware , and supports all versions of Windows . While this application's actual downloader part is now obsolete and no longer functions , its flash video player still works excellently . The program always opens on the downloader window . Clicking the “Player” button opens the 3000 Player window :
I've tried half a dozen freeware FLV players , and I highly recommend the 3000 Player as the simplest , least intrusive [one FLV player (GOM) seized control of all my media files , much to my surprise and dismay] , and easiest one to use . The 3000 Player is a shell in which the actual flash video application , the Adobe Flash Player , functions . The Adobe Player is a “helper plug-in” that is integrated with the MSIE web browser , and the 3000 Player links with it , providing it with a window and peripheral support with which it can function . There is no EXE for the 3000 Player , so I was unable to register an “open with” association for it in the Windows Registry . Thus , the videos in the Video folder can't be opened directly by double-clicking . However , the 3000 Player has a playlist from which the videos can be opened with a single click , which I've found to be even faster and more convenient than double-clicking the file icons in the Video folder :
The music video “You've Got It” (1989) by Simply Red is featured in this illustration. Also note the 3000 Player has a full screen button , which when clicked fills the entire area of the computer monitor's screen with the video picture .
For those readers who would like to use the 3000 Player as their flash video player , please note that the Save To field in the Downloader's window must be filled in with the URL of the folder in which the video files are located (in my case , C:\My Documents\Videos) . That way , the player can find the FLV files for the playlist each time it's opened . If the Save To field is left blank , the player's window will also be blank , and you must browse to find the Video folder . This can quickly become an annoying nuisance ! It's also a good idea to keep the FLV video files together in a single folder , and not in several locations .
The 3000 Player is provided from the Softarea51 website as a ZIP file , which must be decompressed into the EXE installer package . Most computers have a zip/unzip utility , but if yours doesn't I recommend the 7-Zip program for packing/unpacking compressed files . It's unrestricted freeware for all Windows OS , from 98 to 7 :
7-Zip is a versatile application ; quoting from its readme text file , its main features are :
* High compression
ratio in the new 7z format
* Supported formats : packing / unpacking : 7z , BZIP2 , GZIP ,
TAR , and ZIP
* Unpacking only : ARJ , CAB , CHM , CPIO , DEB , DMG , HFS , ISO
, LZH , LZMA ,
MSI , NSIS , RAR , RPM , UDF , WIM , XAR , and Z
* Fast compression and decompression
* Self-extracting capability for 7z format
* Strong AES-256 encryption in 7z and ZIP formats
* Integration with Windows Shell
* Powerful File Manager
* Powerful command line version
* Localizations for 74 languages
Highly recommended ! (although I personally don't used compressed files very much ; just for the occasional downloaded freeware package in ZIP format , like the 3000 Player) .
A similar sort of Downloader with a Flash Video Player is available for Macs : see the web page at http://www.applemacvideo.com/free-mac-youtube-downloader.html .
Update (May , 2011) : the EasyFLV flash video player (version 5) is also satisfactory for viewing flash videos offline . It can be downloaded from :
http://www.easyflv.com/desktop-flv-player.php
This player is unrestricted freeware , and is suitable for all Windows OS , from 98 to 7 .
As installed , the EasyFLV player opens on a “normal” window . Its “maximized” window is more convenient for operating the various functions . It accesses the videos folder , rather than providing a playlist , as with the 3000 Player . This is helpful , since the video files in the folder are in alphabetical order , making it easier to find a desired video than on the playlist , in which they are presented in a random order . EasyFLV displays the videos in their original size , while the 3000 Player resizes the videos to properly fit its window . I still prefer the overall appearance of the 3000 Player and how the videos look in its window . I suppose it's all a matter of personal taste . Try both FLV players and decide for yourself !
If you don't want to use a specialized FLV player , the saved FLV file can be converted to one that can be played in a common media player such as the Windows Media Player , Real Media Player , WinAmp , etc . For example , software is available to convert flash video into AVI , which can be run in the Windows Media Player , and to MOV , which runs in the Mac Quicktime Player . I tried several freeware programs that convert FLV into AVI and MOV . Most did a quick but sloppy conversion , and the resulting videos were noticeably blurry and pixillated . The converter application I highly recommend is the Oxelon Media Converter . It's unrestricted freeware and supports all Windows OS from 98 to 7 . The Oxelon converter has codecs for dozens of video formats , and for numerous audio formats as well (it nicely converted several of my music WAV files into their corresponding MP3 files) .
Oxelon efficiently converted an AVI movie (68,532 KB) taken on my digital camera into a high quality FLV video (3065 KB) and an equally excellent MOV video (4306 KB) . Both versions were clear and unpixillated , and were indistinguishable in quality from the AVI original . The Oxelon web page states that its converter can produce videos with the correct technical specifications for uploading to YouTube .
Occasionally a saved YouTube video will have an unknown format ; it's probably an MP4 . The 3000 Player processes only flash videos , and doesn't recognize MP4 files .They can be loaded into Oxelon and converted into standard FLV files that will run as usual in the 3000 Player .
I did several more experiments with the Oxelon Media Converter , comparing the file sizes of the AVI and MOV formats for a number of YouTube music videos (FLV) :
“Candy Girl”, by the Four Seasons (1963) : FLV (10,123 KB) converted to AVI (17,874 KB) and MOV (18,161 KB) ;
“Lady”, by Jack Jones (1967) : FLV (3606 KB) to AVI (8073 KB) and MOV (8299 KB) ;
“Save It For A Rainy Day”, by Stephen Bishop (1977) : FLV (4574 KB) to AVI (12,050 KB) and MOV (12,395 KB) ;
“Something Every Day”, by Swing Out Sister (2008) : FLV (7065 KB) to AVI (18,926 KB) and MOV (17,854 KB) ;
“The Night Owls”, by the Little River Band (1981) : FLV (11,708 KB) to AVI (23,860 KB) and MOV (22,148 KB) ;
“Dida”, by Joan Baez (1974) : FLV (13,289 KB) to AVI (24,868 KB) and MOV (25,050 KB) ; and ,
“Best of Me” , by Maxi Priest (1990) : FLV (9397 KB) to AVI (24,525 KB) and MOV (24,905 KB) .
The file size of the converted video depends on the settings selected for the conversion , including the codec used for it . The codec is the computer code that actually plays the video file . In the conversion process the file is simultaneously saved as it's being played in the output format . In the above examples I retained the default settings and codecs , which is always a good idea if you're a novice with video formats ! However , there seems to be little advantage in converting YouTube flash videos to either AVI or MOV , as long as a satisfactory FLV player such as the 3000 Player or EasyFLV is available . In actual practice I'm continuing to play downloaded YouTube videos in their original FLV format in the 3000 Player . I must admit , though , the AVI videos were very impressive in my Windows Media Player , whose window is considerably larger than the the 3000 Player's . While larger than the FLVs , the AVIs were still crystal clear , smooth , and unpixillated .
Two Mac applications which convert FLV to MOV are available from the following web pages :
http://www.applemacvideo.com/howtoconvert/flvmac/flv-to-mov-mac.html , and
http://www.brothersoft.com/free-flv-to-mov-converter-for-mac-226113.html .
Copying Music From Videos
You might want to copy a song from a downloaded music video . The music file can be kept in the computer , transferred to (say) an i-Pod or similar device , or burned onto a CD-R music disc . For readers unfamiliar with the procedure I can recommend the following simple method . The Windows Sound Recorder applet , which can copy any audio data stream processed by the sound card , is included with all Windows OS . There are also a multitude of third party sound recorder freeware applications readily available from the Web . I prefer to use the Creative Recorder , which was included with the bundled software for my computer's sound card . This little recorder applet has the nice advantage of “remembering” all its settings , so it's more convenient than the Windows Sound Recorder , which unfortunately doesn't do that , and has to be reset each time it's used . The proper setting for a CD-quality WAV file is : format PCM , 44,100 Hz , 16 bit stereo , 172 Kbps .
The 3000 Player is opened , and the desired video is launched . I pull the slider to the end , the video finishes , and awaits a replay . Then I open the Creative Recorder on top of the 3000 Player . First , the Recorder's record button is clicked , to start the copying ; then second , the 3000 Player's start button is clicked , to start the music video . At the end of the video , the Recorder's stop button is clicked to stop the recording :
The Recorder automatically files the resulting WAV in the preset folder . I use another helpful audio program , CD Wave , to remove most of the “silent” sections at the beginning and end of the WAV file , leaving a small amount corresponding to about one second of silence at the beginning and end of the song . The edited WAV files are stored in a suitable folder for burning onto a compilation CD-R music disc later on . CD Wave also has an included sound recorder , although I haven't tried it . As mentioned above , the Oxelon Media Converter can efficiently convert WAV music files into the corresponding MP3 format with a variety of sampling bitrates (128 Kbps is the standard bitrate) .
The same procedure can be used with YouTube music videos while online , if preferred . The video must be fully downloaded and ready to replay , before starting the Recorder :
The video in the illustration is “Where Do We Go From Here” (1998) , by Vanessa Williams .
I hope this information will be helpful to the reader who like me enjoys YouTube videos and would like to save them to his/her computer's hard drive for viewing offline . Have fun with your own Video Library !
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