DIY: Download and Save Video from YouTube

Every so often I have one of those, “I could do better moments,” when reading articles from major publications. Usually my annoyance is reserved for local columns such as the Philadelphia Inquirer‘s online gaming section, “Press Play.” But, on one late August day a how-to download and convert video from a YouTube wiki on Wired.com caught my eye. I read the article, found that I was already doing what it suggested, and felt disappointed that some of my favorite free programs didn’t make the list.

Sure, Wired had touched upon using DownloadHelper to grab videos from sites like YouTube, but why bother with free video downloaders if the conversion programs weren’t also free? I doubt anyone would want to pay $30 just for the sole purpose of converting YouTube video to playable format on the iPod or PSP. The article’s original author then went a step further, and suggested that free programs that easily converted flv or flash video, to other formats were difficult to find. Ridiculous! The wiki has since been updated and the remark was removed, but many of the programs listed are still trial versions.

As an alternative, I give you some of the programs that I use to download and convert YouTube video for use on my PSP. Not all of these free programs are completely flawless, but hey, free is free, right? Of course, the simplest solution to downloading and converting video would be to download already converted video, using a variety of methods.

Downloading Video:

There’s no way around it, if you’re a Firefox user you should have DownloadHelper installed. If you don’t have it, get it, it’s more than worth it. With this add-on anyone can easily download video with a right-click of the mouse.

 

 

 

+ A small add-on that doesn’t take up much space
+ Integrates with Firefox and works with a simple right-click
+ Works on both PCs and Macs
– The video conversion function is spotty at best, avoid at all costs
– Doesn’t always detect video to download

For the majority of people not using Firefox, YouTube Downloader works quite well. There is also a program for Mac users with a similar name. YouTube Downloader uses the URL from video on many streaming sites in order to download files directly to your hard drive.

 

 

 

 

+ Nice alternative for users not running Firefox
+ Can be used with other streaming sites besides YouTube
– The built-in video converter doesn’t always work
– Doesn’t work on every streaming site

Converting downloaded video:

When it comes to free video conversion programs, no one should overlook PSP Video 9. Its main use is to convert and manage video files for the PSP, but it also converts flash video quite easily.

 

 

 

 

When the device manager detects the PSP, transferring files is a very easy process.

 

 

+ Manages media on the PSP, iPod, iPhone, Apple TV, DS, PS3, Wii and Xbox 360 (or so it claims)
+ Gives users the choice on how much or how little quality they want from their converted files
+ Automatically generates thumbnails for converted video
– Converted avi and mov video files don’t always work on the PSP
– Video conversion is slow
– Doesn’t always detect and sync with the connected device
– Doesn’t have a queue feature to allow for multiple conversions at once
– The YouTube downloader feature doesn’t work at all

NCH’s Prism Video Converter is another good choice for converting video for both PC and Mac users. Not only is it free, but it converts video for a variety of devices. As an additional bonus, it is one of the fastest video converters that I’ve used.

 

 

 

+ Fast loading, simple interface
+ Converts video quickly
+ Compresses video for smaller file sizes, usually half of what PSP Video 9 does
– Doesn’t create thumbnails
– Having the ffdshow audio and video codec may cause it to crash sometimes
– Doesn’t have a feature to download video

 

Now, the programs I mentioned don’t even begin to scratch the surface of the amount available freeware out there. If none of these programs suit your tastes, there are always other places to search and review various programs.