Amir ZulkarnainDo you want to watch YouTube videos offline on your PC, phone, or tablet? You can download them easily with some free tools and tricks. In this article, I’ll show you how to download YouTube videos in 5 easy steps. You’ll also learn about the legal issues, the best formats, and the pros and cons of each method.
Step 1: Choose a YouTube video downloader
There are many ways to download YouTube videos, but not all of them are safe and reliable. Some of them may contain viruses, malware, or annoying ads. Some of them may not work at all, or may stop working after a while. To avoid these problems, you should choose a YouTube video downloader that is:
- Free and open-source
- Easy to use
- Compatible with your device and operating system
- Able to download videos in high quality and various formats
- Respectful of YouTube’s terms of service and copyright laws
One of the best YouTube video downloaders that meets these criteria is Open Video Downloader. It is a free and open-source software that works on Windows, Mac, and Linux. It can download videos from YouTube and other sites in MP4, MKV, WEBM, MP3, and more formats. It can also download subtitles, playlists, and channels.
Step 2: Copy the URL of the YouTube video you want to download
To download a YouTube video, you need to copy its URL (the web address that appears in your browser’s address bar). To do this, you can:
- Right-click on the video and select Copy video URL
- Click on the Share button below the video and select Copy
- Select the URL in the address bar and press Ctrl+C (Windows) or Command+C (Mac)
Step 3: Paste the URL into Open Video Downloader
To download the video with Open Video Downloader, you need to paste the URL into the software. To do this, you can:
- Open Open Video Downloader on your computer
- Click on the Paste Link button at the top left corner
- Press Ctrl+V (Windows) or Command+V (Mac) to paste the URL
Step 4: Choose the quality and format of the video
After pasting the URL, Open Video Downloader will analyze the video and show you the available options for downloading it. You can choose the quality and format of the video by clicking on the drop-down menus next to Download Video or Extract Audio. You can also choose where to save the video by clicking on Browse.
Some tips for choosing the quality and format of the video are:
- The higher the quality, the larger the file size. If you have limited storage space or bandwidth, you may want to choose a lower quality option.
- The most common video format is MP4, which is compatible with most devices and players. However, if you want to download a 4K or 8K video, you may need to choose MKV or WEBM instead.
- If you only want to download the audio of the video, you can choose MP3 or M4A as the format. This is useful if you want to listen to music or podcasts offline.
Step 5: Click on Download
Once you have chosen the quality and format of the video, you can click on Download to start downloading it. You can see the progress of the download in the main window of Open Video Downloader. You can also pause or cancel the download at any time.
When the download is finished, you can find the video file in your chosen folder. You can then watch it offline on your device or transfer it to another device.
Conclusion
Downloading YouTube videos is easy if you follow these 5 steps:
- Choose a YouTube video downloader
- Copy the URL of the YouTube video you want to download
- Paste the URL into Open Video Downloader
- Choose the quality and format of the video
- Click on Download
However, before downloading any YouTube video, you should be aware of some legal issues:
- Downloading YouTube videos violates YouTube’s terms of service, unless you have a YouTube Premium subscription.
- Downloading copyrighted YouTube videos without permission from the owner is illegal, unless it falls under fair use.
- Downloading YouTube videos for personal use is usually fine, but redistributing them for commercial or public purposes is not.
Therefore, you should always respect the rights of YouTube and its content creators when downloading their videos.
I hope this article has helped you learn how to download YouTube videos in 5 easy steps. If you have any questions or feedback, please leave a comment below.