Today’s internet traffic is dominated by streaming video. YouTube accounts for a large portion of that. YouTube hosts over 400 hours of video content every minute. YouTube is more popular among the 18-49 age group than cable TV. You should also consider other video streaming websites like Twitch and Dailymotion. This is a lot of data. If your ISP limits your monthly data allowance, all that video streaming can become expensive. You can download or capture online videos and watch them offline. This allows you to rewatch videos as many times you wish without losing data. These are the top tools to capture and download streaming video from online websites so that you can view them offline.
1. Video DownloadHelper
Available on: Firefox, Chrome. Supported websites: YouTube. Facebook. Instagram. Vimeo. Dailymotion. Lynda. Twitter. Udemy. And hundreds more. Video DownloadHelper is one of the best browser extensions to download streaming video. It has a downside, but it must be installed on your browser. If you already have extensions, you don’t want to make Chrome slower. Video DownloadHelper is worth the effort if you regularly download many videos. This extension adds a button to your browser’s address line. To download any online video you find, click the button on the page. To save the video to your computer, use the pop-up box.
2. 4K Video Downloader
Available on: Windows, Mac, Linux. Supported websites: YouTube and Facebook. 4K Video Downloader can be used to capture video from websites. If you are looking for a simple, no-hassle solution that takes almost zero effort from your side, we recommend it. It’s easy to use, fast and won’t slow down your download. Simply copy and paste the URL of any online video into 4K Video downloader. To download all videos, you can copy links to YouTube playlists and YouTube channels. You can subscribe to YouTube channels, and you’ll be able to auto-download any new videos as soon as they become available. You can also download annotations and subtitles from YouTube videos. You can download videos in 4K, 8K, 1080p or 720p as long as you uploaded the source video at that resolution. Videos can also be downloaded as MP4, MKV and FLV formats. You can also download the audio only in MP3 and M4A formats.
3. Freemake Video Downloader
Available on Windows. Supported websites: YouTube and Facebook. Freemake Video Downloader is one of the most used video download tools . It is, in fact, one of the most popular online video downloading tools. It is completely free and easy to use. You can also choose from a variety of formats and quality options. It’s only available for Windows. You can download videos in a variety of formats including AVI and FLV as well as MKV, MP4, WMV, and MP4. You can also download the audio part of videos in MP3 format if you don’t need the video. You only need the URL of the video to begin the process. Simply copy it and paste it into the box.
4. JDownloader
Available on: Windows, Mac, Linux. All sites with streaming video are supported. JDownloader is a stream downloading tool, but it has a twist. The app will take any URL that contains a streamed movie and paste it into the app. It will scan the page for any videos it can find. You can choose which video you wish to download from the list of detected videos. JDownloader doesn’t require the URL to a particular video. This is a great thing. Be aware that bundleware is included in the installer. This means that other programs may be pushed to your computer that you don’t need. After running the installer, you will see a page offering to install “Bing Search” and other programs. The buttons on this page will change to Accept and Decline. You must click Decline to prevent bundleware being installed on your computer.
5. youtube-dl
Available on: Windows, Mac, Linux. Supported websites: YouTube and Vimeo. YouTube-dl is for experienced users who know how to use the command line. You don’t need a graphical interface if you prefer one of the listed ones. Youtube-dl is the best video download tool for those who are comfortable with command-line utilities. You’ll need to learn the documentation as it is complex enough. You can also try YouTube-dl-gui which is an unofficial front end user interface for Windows and Linux. Some features include playlist processing, quality parameters, playlist processing and batch video downloading. These formats are supported: 3GP (AAC, FLV), M4A MP3, MP4, OGG and WAV.
The Last Resort for Capturing Online Video
If the video is not supported by the tools above, you can try the following: Play the video in full screen mode and capture your screen while it plays. Although it’s not the best solution, it works most of the time when there isn’t another way. Be aware that not all sites or apps, especially TV streaming services, allow screen recording. You will only be able to view the video again if you have a blank screen. VLC can be used to play and record online video if you have the URL.
