Print The ability to stream online videos is one of the hallmarks of today's web. Videos on any topic you can imagine are just a click (or tap) away, provided you have an internet connection. But what if you're on your way to an internet-less destination? How will you watch your daily workout video (or favorite cat video) once you get there? The solution is simpler than you might think. With Apple's Safari web browser, a few additional clicks will have your video off of the web and onto your hard drive.
Difficulty Level: Easy
What You Need:
>> Apple's Safari web browser (apple.com)
Our daily workout video also happens to include a cat.
Safari allows you to download videos from YouTube without the hassle of third-party add-ons or bookmarklets. All you have to do is navigate to the video of your choice and open up Safari's Activity Monitor by heading up to the Menu Bar and selecting Window > Activity, or by keyboard shortcut, COMMAND + OPTION + A.
Once you've opened the Activity Monitor you'll see a list of page elements. These elements often include graphics, stylesheets, and other scripts used on the webpage--each of which are fairly small in file size. As you look through the list, however, you will notice one file that is much larger than the rest; this is your video file. In our case, it's the 3.1MB file which is highlighted above. After you've located your video, simply double-click it to begin the download.
It's that simple! Now you have a copy of the video on your local hard drive ready for playback at any time--with or without an internet connection.
If you're having trouble playing the downloaded .flv file it's because not all media players are capable of playing Flash video file formats. If you're planning to watch the video on your Mac, look no further than VLC media player. If you're plan was to put this video on your iPod then you have a bit of video converting in your future, but fear not, MPEG Streamclip makes video conversion free and easy.
Follow this article's author, Jason Amor, on Twitter.
Anna Brooks
April 14, 2011 at 1:42am
Hi! I just want to let you know that Eltima Software has released Elmedia Player, which can save YouTube and other videos in a couple of clicks in its PRO version.
jwkessler
October 29, 2010 at 7:11am
There is no need to convert .FLV files or open them in VLC Media Player. Install the Perian plug in for Quicktime and they play just fine in QT. If you have QT Pro you can edit the movies in QT.
There is also a plugin for Quick Look that allows .FLV files to be played with a simple tap on the space bar. That opens them almost instantly and you can even view them full screen that way. Much easier then the method described in this article.
http://www.quicklookplugins.com/2007/12/02/flv/
The plugin file is called flv.qlgenerator and it goes in Library/QuickLook.
vivianavickie
October 22, 2010 at 7:45am
Too bad the folks running this web site aren't as knowledgeable as some of the users. Thanks, Numbuh One, for the hint to hold down the option button while clicking. That does make it work
Aitch
October 04, 2010 at 4:06pm
Download free RealPlayer SP from http://www.real.com/realplayer/mac and the included RealPlayer Download utility will do the work for you, including converting (I believe—haven't used that function yet.) It's much easier than rooting through the Activity window. BTW, I used to LOATHE RealPlayer, but it actually works pretty well now.
idbardin79
September 28, 2010 at 6:45pm
When I double-click on the file, it just opens a new window that begins to play the video.
Suskam
October 04, 2010 at 4:13pm
Doesn't work for me either. Maybe somebody should test these things out before publishing?
ilikeimac
September 28, 2010 at 3:57pm
I have Evom, I should use it sometime and see what it's like. I also installed a Safari plugin that puts download links right in the YouTube pages, but it hasn't worked too well for me.
Most of the time I use keep-tube.com. I like that it gives you a menu of all the available formats and resolutions. You just change the domain of the YouTube video to "keep-tube.com". The downside is there's a kinda creepy message the first time you use it that asks about granting the site "control" of your computer; so far no ill effects though.
caw61
September 28, 2010 at 2:30pm
You can also use Evom, which is free. You just copy the link into the program and it'll ask how you want to convert it: whether for AppleTV or iPod, or even just the audio track for listening.
http://thelittleappfactory.com/evom/
It's a bit easier than digging through the Activity Window for a specific file, because Evom automatically finds the video file.
