How To Rip Audio From Youtube Cnet

There are billions of hours of video on YouTube. Literally. And that'south hardly the about astounding statistic about the site, which has been the go-to destination for uploading and watching video since 2005. That said, sometimes, yous really desire or need to take one of those videos on your own computer or phone. But when the topic of downloading YouTube videos comes upwards, there'due south a side subject that must be broached: Is it legal?

On the copyright front end, equally long every bit you're downloading a video for your own personal offline utilize, yous're probably okay. It's more than black and white when y'all consider Google's terms of service for YouTube(Opens in a new window), which read: "You are not allowed to...access, reproduce, download, distribute, transmit, broadcast, display, sell, license, modify, change or otherwise use any part of the Service or whatsoever Content except: (a) as expressly authorized by the Service; or (b) with prior written permission from YouTube and, if applicable, the respective rights holders."

Watching YouTube videos offline through unofficial channels takes money from Google and video creators. There's a reason YouTube runs ads: People make a living this fashion.

Obviously, stealing videos from YouTube is a big no-no. If y'all want to share a video, YouTube and most other video sites get in easy, from embedding to emailing to sharing via social networks. You simply do not need to download a video nigh of the time.

However, yous have your reasons. If you must download a YouTube video—admittedly need to, merely for yourself, and not for broadcasting, and not to exist a full douche-nozzle—here'south how.

Note: This story is updated ofttimes as the tools involved alter regularly. Some of those changes are non always pleasant, such every bit software so full of "extras," information technology gets flagged every bit malware by antivirus tools. The aforementioned goes for the helper websites—a change in a site'due south ad network tin also create problems with malware.

To prevent this from becoming a laundry listing of programs and sites that tin can download YouTube videos, we came up with a few rules for inclusion. Services must:

Back up 4K downloads even in the free version.
Piece of work with height three video sites:YouTube, Facebook, and Vimeo.
Download entire playlists or channels in a batch (on YouTube), at least with a paid version.
Output to MP3 for audio (or offer companion software that does then).
Take an interface thatdoesn't suck.
Non collect your personal information beyond your electronic mail accost.
Not contain malware. If there's even a whiff of it in the air, even a PUP, information technology's out.

The programs, services, and sites in this story are all costless of spam/virus/problems equally of this writing, but caveat emptor. Big time. Specially if you lot're not really emptor-ing.

YouTube Premium Downloads

Now bachelor for subscribers of YouTube Premium—the paid version of YouTube that allows you to watch without ads—are video downloads. Kind of. There'southward i caveat with quality: All the video you download is limited to 1080p quality max, or lower. No 4K.

The biggest event is, this characteristic doesn't really download a video to save on your figurer forever. Information technology is more than alike to the download characteristic found on mobile apps for Netflix and Hulu, which makes a streaming video bachelor to watch later using your local storage and views it using the app's interface simply. This is not a method that allows you to, say, watch a video using different software such as the VLC Media Thespian.

You access the download by going to the YouTube hamburger card and selecting Downloads (Opens in a new window)to view the list of what you've grabbed. The page says "Downloads remain available as long as your device has an active cyberspace connection at least once every 30 days." This probably isn't exactly what you lot are looking for in a download. But the tools below deliver exactly that.

Desktop Software

Third-party software is where you lot will become the best control over downloading online videos. Typically, you paste the URL for the YouTube video you want into the programme, and it downloads the highest quality version it tin observe. For videos in 1080p Loftier Definition (Hd) format, that'due south usually an MP4 file. For anything higher in quality—4K or 8K—the file format is typically MKV.

In the past, YouTube videos were Flash-based, so your download was an FLV file, merely those tend to be harder to play back. MP4 (curt for MPEG-four Part 14 multimedia format(Opens in a new window)) plays everywhere

Note that the MKV file, also called a Matroska, is a container—the file could contain video utilizing any number of codecs within. The fool-proof mode to play them all is to use the VLC Media Player for Windows, which plays everything. (Read more than about it beneath.) As for the downloaders, here are the best options.

VLC Media Histrion

Free; Windows, macOS, Linux

Nosotros mention VLC Media Player(Opens in a new window) to a higher place because it'southward a fantastic tool for Windows, Mac, and Linux users that plays back but about any media ever created. It likewise has the power to download YouTube videos, albeit in a convoluted fashion. (If you lot run into whatever problems, attempt a full re-install of VLC and clear your cache to arrive work.)

Copy a URL from a YouTube video, so open up up VLC. From the Media card, select Open Network Stream (Ctrl+N) and paste in the URL. Click Play. When the video is playing, become to Tools > Codec Information. There is a box at the bottom chosen "Source"—copy the URL you find in that box.

Go back to your browser and paste the URL—information technology's a temporary web accost and will expire eventually—in the address bar and start playing the video. When you're viewing the video in the browser, click the 3-dot menu at the lower right for the download option to keep information technology locally.

Notwithstanding, it appears that VLC is only going to save your file equally 1080p and not any higher, fifty-fifty if the original YouTube stream was available in 1440p or 2160p (aka 4K). It also won't convert video to other formats. To get those options, you need the desktop software below.

4K Video Downloader

Free or $15 for lifetime license on 3 computers; Windows, macOS, Ubuntu Linux, Android

Multi-lingual 4K Video Downloader(Opens in a new window) (4KVD) is frequently updated and features clear download links on the program'southward website; no advert traps here. The software does what it advertises in a simple interface. Information technology grabs videos up to 8K in quality and downloads to enough of formats. Simply re-create a YouTube URL and click the Paste Link button to become started. 4KVD will fifty-fifty grab subtitles, entire playlists, and all the videos in a channel to which you subscribe. The sites supported are express to the big names like YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, and a few others, only that covers nigh of what you need. It does display a large banner advertisement to keep the lights on and y'all're express to 30 downloads a day on the free version.

I had to make a switch from MP4 to MKV format to get my test video to download in 4K. 4KVD snagged the 3-infinitesimal, 229.7MB file for the moving picture trailer in most 1 minute and 20 seconds. 4KVD defaults back to 1080p HD, so I made the aforementioned switch when downloading an Ultra High Definition (8K) playlist(Opens in a new window).

If yous enable the Smart Mode and its presets, 4KVD can perform one-click downloads to your favorite format. If you want to download more than 25 videos at a fourth dimension or subscribe to YouTube channels to instantly download the latest, that requires the paid version. Playback of the resulting MKV files via VLC Media Player was flawless.

The program itself has an option to extract audio to MP3 format, and then you don't fifty-fifty need the 4K YouTube to MP3(Opens in a new window) companion software.

VideoProc Converter

$59.xc for one yr, $78.90 lifetime, $119.90 family (two-5 PCs); Windows, macOS

The powerful VideoProc from Digiarty comes in an editor edition and this converter(Opens in a new window), which also provides editing and effects. The downloading aspect is great, a version similar to Digiarty's WinX YouTube Downloader, which yous tin withal find but is not promoted by the company these days. This makes sense, equally VideoProc Converter handles a lot of downloading, supposedly supporting 4K from over ane,000 websites. With hardware acceleration(Opens in a new window), it promises some speed. Thankfully, it ofttimes offers price discounts.

To use it, you open the software, let it detect your hardware to see what yous have to help with acceleration (if annihilation). Click the Downloader push, click Add video to place equally many URLs as you want to batch, and then Download Now. Or you tin can get a whole YouTube playlist or live stream. It grabbed our 697MB test 4K video(Opens in a new window) to WEBM format in about 2 minutes and 15 seconds, which isn't bad. Best of all, the trial version of VideoProc Converter, which limits conversions to five minutes, doesn't appear to limit downloads.

FlixGrab

1-twelvemonth license $44.99 plus tax (or $9.99 for Gratis YouTube Download); Windows

Like some others, FlixGrab(Opens in a new window) has several different programs available, many with overlapping features. For example, it has FlixGrabMS (a version you become from the Microsoft Store(Opens in a new window) to run on Windows x/11)—but it wouldn't let me grab video from YouTube. The straight download of the FlixGrab program from the flixgrabapp.com site did work with YouTube and several other sites,. Plus it offers a Free YouTube Download(Opens in a new window) that is specific to YouTube, nevertheless uses the aforementioned easy-to-use interface. The downside, every bit with others, is the loftier subscription price, but it's the just way to get high-quality downloads. The YouTube-only version is essentially cheaper at $9.99 per year, all the same. Neither comes with a trial menstruum.

5KPlayer

Free; Windows and macOS

The free 5KPlayer(Opens in a new window) is a lot more than than a downloader, just information technology's got a heck of an integrated downloader. Promising no viruses, ads, or plug-in requirements is a good showtime. Information technology is, sadly, one of the few tested that asks for a registration of your name and electronic mail—you accept to exercise that to go the full download function across 300+ sites(Opens in a new window). However, you can still nab 4K vids from YouTube without registering.

When downloading, the programme does try to hibernate some things. Paste in the URL for a YouTube video and the analysis engine runs and shows only a few download options. Click the gear icon, then the Show All button, and curlicue to run across more than—like a 4K 3,840-by-two,160 file in WebM format. The 227MB WebM test download took an agonizing six.5 minutes. Grabbing playlists was possible, simply y'all must adjust download settings one video at a time. The confusing interface makes it hard to go back to the other videos in the playlist.

5K Role player as well features DLNA server playback then videos you grab tin can be watched on any devices that back up DLNA, plus it supports AirPlay for quick playback to Apple tree devices. Pick a video in the library for quick conversion to MP4, MP3, or fifty-fifty ACC (the sound format preferred by iOS). The player didn't like playing back the overly big 4K file, though, and experienced buffering issues (VLC didn't have whatever problem with the same file).

Ultimately, there's a lot to like well-nigh 5K Role player, from the cost to the features, especially if you lot look at them as extras on a downloader. But the bad interface, slow download speeds, and playback issues may accept yous looking elsewhere.

Helper Websites

Do you desire to avoid installing software? Video download helper sites are supposed to do the download work for yous. All of them do i basic thing: You give them a YouTube URL (or another video site, if supported), they parse it, requite yous a choice of what size download you want, and provide a link to said download. They work on any platform, sometimes even on mobile devices. Yous don't have to install anything on your PC. It can take a lot longer, depending on the size and quality of the video you desire, but you tin can't beat the convenience.

The problem is, yous can't ever trust them. There are hundreds of these types of sites out there—information technology seems anyone with a modicum of coding ability has set i up. Such sites hands become from useful to suspicious, especially if they go popular and the proprietor sells out to brand cash off your visits.

Recommended past Our Editors

Since this story was first published, all the helper sites nosotros recommended have been removed for reasons like calculation sexually explicit ads, no longer working, switching to pushing its download utility only, and one for going out of concern to avoid getting sued.

For that reason, we're non recommending whatever helper sites at the moment. Effort one if you find it, but if your browser, antivirus, or instincts throw upward warnings, avoid and move on.

Extensions

A browser extension can save you a pace. However, you lot're going to run into some problems with downloading video from YouTube, especially if yous're using Chrome as your master browser.

The Chrome Web Store(Opens in a new window)—where you go Chrome browser extensions—is controlled by YouTube'south possessor Alphabet/Google. Even an extension ostensibly for this purpose isn't going to permit YouTube direct downloads, because of Chrome Store restrictions. In full general, with Chrome extensions, the download of whatever RTMP protocol video (protected videos) or streaming video isn't possible. You lot can utilise them on other sites with video, of class. Just not YouTube.

Want to go around information technology? Get an extension that does not come from the Google Web Store. Some of the programs and helper sites offer an extension component and volition spell out how to do the install(Opens in a new window) without the aid the Chrome Web Shop commonly provides. Here are a couple.

YouTube Video Downloader

Free; Chrome, Opera, Edge, Vivaldi, UCBrowser

YouTube Video Downloader from Addoncrop(Opens in a new window) is on multiple browsers but with splendid side-load capabilities(Opens in a new window). It puts a button beneath any video you're playing on YouTube, or even an embedded YouTube video, making it easy to grab. Supported video quality goes upwards to 8K. You can too convert sound from the video to an MP3. It will even aid you take video screenshots.

Video DownloadHelper

Costless; Firefox, Chrome, Edge

Video DownloadHelper(Opens in a new window) supports a huge number of sites—even those for adults. Yous'll know a video is downloadable when the icon for the extension animates when you're on the web page. Video DownloadHelper for Chrome has stopped working with YouTube; that style, it could go placement in the Chrome Web Store. Get around that by using the Video DownloadHelper extension on Firefox or Edge instead.

Mobile

Downloading from YouTube using an Android app from the Google Play Store is a claiming, given that Google has a tight grip on the site it owns, and offers the paid YouTube Premium service that supports offline viewing.

That said, with Android, information technologyis possible to install apps without going through Google. For case, InsTube – Free Video and Music Downloader(Opens in a new window) for Android can simply be found at InsTube's site. Download the APK (Android application bundle) file to sideload on an Android device. Find it in your device's downloads and click to install(Opens in a new window). (You may have to go into your security settings and enable "Unknown sources.")

On iPhones and iPads, you'd think in that location would be no such brake since Apple tree and Google aren't exactly the best of pals (or perhaps they are(Opens in a new window)). However, on the iOS apps I have tried, not only wouldn't they download from YouTube, just they're as well typically not available for long. One of those apps said in its description, "Downloading from YouTube is prohibited due to its Terms of Service." Apple is ensuring that app makers play by the rules—even Google'due south rules.

Chances are, the minute you lot discover an iOS app that tin download YouTube videos, it volition go "fixed" or banned. The only real option is to jailbreak your iPhone and use sideloaded apps that download what yous want.

At that place are workarounds. One is to subscribe to YouTube Premium; it lets yous download video on your iPhone or iPad to sentry afterwards, much as Netflix and Hulu practice.

Another is using a free iOS file director app like Documents by Readdle(Opens in a new window). Use the Safari browser to visit a YouTube video, and use the Share choice to notice Copy Link. Then go dorsum to Documents, and utilise the built-in browser in the app to surf to a video download helper site. Paste the link into the form (hold your finger downward on it until you get the "Paste" bill of fare to popular up). The site will give you lot the links to download, and you can save the file to Documents. Hold and elevate the file up, until you're back on the chief screen, then drag it to the Photos folder. You'll need to give Documents permission to admission Photos the first time. You tin then access the video like you would any video taken on the phone or tablet—in the Photos app.

Another workaround: Get dorsum to the desktop and endeavour AnyTrans(Opens in a new window) ($39.99 for a single computer for one year, Windows or macOS; $59.99 lifetime plan), a desktop file manager for iOS devices that has an integrated downloader supporting 900 sites, including YouTube and Facebook. It'll transfer the videos to the iPhone for yous over the USB cable. Even if you don't pay for AnyTrans, the download option remains and is free forever.

YT Scribe

Want a truly unique way to "download" a video? YT Scribe(Opens in a new window) lets you grab the transcription and then you can read them instead. It auto-transcribes, punctuates, and paragraphs the text. The better the subtitles, the better the "commodity," of course. Best of all, it'southward totally free.

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Source: https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/how-to-download-youtube-videos

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