Have you ever wished you could download a YouTube video for offline viewing? Perhaps you’ve needed to transfer a video to another device and were looking for an easy way to accomplish the task.
Below I’m going to provide two solutions that I frequently use to download YouTube videos. Trust me when I say there are numerous options available that will do the same thing. Most of these alternatives involve installing bookmarklets or similar extensions. I’m not confident enough to install excess software when other websites can do the job in two clicks.
Warning: these sites can feature excessive link bait and/or questionable material including NSFW videos to entice you to click. If you’re familiar with searching the internet to find MP3s or torrent files than you’ll be prepared.
Without further delay, my two sources for downloading YouTube videos are:
- SaveDeo – SaveDeo comes across as very modern and easy to use. Simply copy the URL of the video you intend to download (ex. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNUpxDAAXSM) and paste it into the large white field near the top of the page. Click download.
- You will then be directed to a subsequent page where you have numerous options to download all sorts of files. You can choose from the highest quality download available (720p) all the way down to an audio only option (M4A). Your best bet is to choose a MP4 download, but there’s also one FLV option (400 x 240) as well.
- KeepVid – I’ve used KeepVid for years now thanks to a co-worker who clued me into the benefits and simplicity of the site. Unfortunately, KeepVid is starting to show its age and could use a cosmetic facelift. The key to its success is its functionality and it doesn’t disappoint.
- It features the same downloadable format options as SaveDeo. It’s preview thumbnail is much smaller, however, and the overall feel is very bare bones which is disappointing. It still serves as a reliable option even though it does require you to hit ‘yes’ to a Java applet running on the page.
If I had to choose just one I’d go with SaveDeo. Featuring a description, run time, large thumbnail preview and number of views is a definite plus that isn’t found with KeepVid. My best recommendation is to start with one and switch to the other for comparison purposes.
If neither website gives you the functionality you’re looking for feel free to search for others and let me know how they work. Do you have any other recommendations?
Good luck with your video downloads and if you haven’t thought to do this before now, then hopefully you can apply this tip the next time you’re in a pinch and need to easily download a YouTube video!
Tip: Private YouTube videos will not work on these sites. Good try though! 😉
