Virtually of today'due south net traffic is spent streaming online video, with YouTube taking up a massive clamper. Over 400 hours of video content is uploaded to YouTube every minute, and YouTube has a greater achieve in the xviii-49 demographic than fifty-fifty cable Tv set.

And so you have to consider other video streaming sites like Vimeo, Dailymotion, Twitch, then on. That's a lot of data flowing around—and if your ISP caps your monthly information allowance, then all this video streaming can exist expensive.

The solution is to capture or download online videos to watch offline, allowing you to re-lookout man videos every bit many times equally you desire without wasting data.

Here are some of the best tools for capturing and downloading streaming video from websites online, then you can watch them offline.

1. Video DownloadHelper

videodownloadhelper

Available on: Chrome, Firefox.

Supported sites: YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Vimeo, Dailymotion, Lynda, Twitter, Udemy, and hundreds of other sites.

Video DownloadHelper is easily one of the most useful browser extensions for downloading streaming video that you'll ever install. The downside (sort of) is that you lot accept to install it on your browser; if you already run numerous extensions, the last matter yous need is another one making Chrome even slower. But, if you download numerous videos on a twenty-four hour period-to-day ground, Video DownloadHelper is definitely worth information technology.

The extension adds a button next to your browser's address bar. Whenever yous come across an online video, just click the button to download any video on the current page. Use the pop-up box to determine where to relieve it on your reckoner.

2. 4K Video Downloader

Bachelor on: Windows, Mac, Linux.

Supported sites: YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo, Flickr, Dailymotion, and several other sites.

4K Video Downloader is the simplest and almost straightforward tool to capture video from a website. Nosotros recommend it if you want a no-hassle option that requires close to nothing effort on your part. It works quickly and doesn't throttle your download, plus information technology's straightforward to go to grips with.

Just re-create the URL of an online video and paste it into 4K Video Downloader. You can paste links to YouTube playlists or YouTube channels to download every video available. In fact, you tin even subscribe to YouTube channels and machine-download new videos as they're made bachelor. You can also download the annotations and subtitles in YouTube videos.

Video downloads are bachelor in 8K, 4K, 1080p, or 720p (as long as the source video was uploaded at that resolution, of course). In addition, videos can also be downloaded in MP4, MKV, and FLV formats. Or, you lot can download only the sound portion in MP3 or M4A formats.

three. Freemake Video Downloader

Freemake Video Downloader interface

Bachelor on: Windows.

Supported sites: YouTube, Facebook, Liveleak, Veoh, Vimeo, Dailymotion, and dozens of other sites.

Freemake Video Downloader is one of the near popular video downloading tools out there. Indeed, it is 1 of the best online video downloaders for whatever site.

It's completely free, like shooting fish in a barrel to use, and relatively flexible as far as quality and format options are concerned. However, the 1 big downside is that information technology's only bachelor on Windows.

Videos tin can be downloaded in a scattering of formats, including AVI, FLV, MKV, MP4, and WMV. If y'all simply want the audio portion, videos can too be downloaded in MP3 format. The actual process only requires the URL of the video—merely copy and paste it in.

4. JDownloader

JDownloader 2 interface

Available on: Windows, Mac, Linux.

Supported sites: Nearly any site with streaming video.

JDownloader is a stream downloader, only with a twist. You accept the URL of any page that has a streamed video on it, paste information technology into the app, and it volition scan the page for all the videos it can detect. You get to option which of the detected videos yous want to download.

The nice matter about JDownloader is that yous don't need the direct URL of a specific video. For example, accept a MakeUseOf article with five embedded videos and all of them will be detected. No need to fumble around finding out the direct URL of the video. This makes information technology effortless to capture several videos at once.

However, exist aware that the installer comes with bundleware, which is where other programs are pushed to you lot that you lot don't need. When you run the installer, you'll come across a folio that offers to install "Bing Search" or something else. On this page, the buttons will change to Decline and Accept. Ensure yous click Decline considering this will prevent bundleware from being installed on your organization.

5. youtube-dl

youtube dl

Available on: Windows, Mac, Linux.

Supported sites: YouTube, Facebook, HBO, Metacafe, Vimeo, Dailymotion, and thousands of other sites.

youtube-dl is a tool for advanced users who are comfortable using the command line. If y'all prefer graphical interfaces, save yourself the headache and just use one of the ones listed in a higher place.

But if you're okay with command line utilities, then youtube-dl offers the nearly flexibility of whatsoever video downloading tool. Information technology'due south complicated plenty to have a non-trivial learning curve though, and then set up to read the documentation, or else yous'll be lost.

Y'all could also try youtube-dl-gui, which is an unofficial front-end user interface that'south available for Windows and Linux.

Features include several video pick and quality parameters, playlist processing, download rate limit, batch video downloading, automated naming of files, inclusion of ads, and downloading subtitles (for sites like YouTube).

The following formats are supported: 3GP, AAC, FLV, M4A, MP3, MP4, OGG, WAV, and WEBM.

The Final Resort for Capturing Online Videos

If you meet a video that isn't supported past any of the above tools, the concluding resort is to play the video in full-screen fashion and record your screen as information technology plays.

Information technology's not a perfect solution, but it normally works when nothing else does. Go on in heed, however, that some sites and apps (particularly TV streaming services) volition not let a screen recorder capture the footage. When you get to play the video back again, you will just be faced with a blank screen.

If you can become the direct URL of an online video, you can also use VLC to play and record online videos equally a kind of streaming video recorder.

How to Record Your Screen Using VLC

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About The Author

Dan Toll (1606 Articles Published)

Dan joined MakeUseOf in 2014 and has been Partnerships Manager since July 2020. Accomplish out to him for inquires about sponsored content, affiliate agreements, promotions, and whatsoever other forms of partnership. You can also observe him roaming the show floor at CES in Las Vegas every twelvemonth, say howdy if you're going. Prior to his writing career, he was a Financial Consultant.

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