Download videos from YouTube

Is it possible to download videos from YouTube?

There are many people who face problems with downloading videos from YouTube , one of the most popular video sharing sites on the web. For quite some time, video buffs are having a roll of a time, sharing their favorite videos with their family and friends through the use of this site. All they need to do is to register themselves with this site and then upload their favorite videos on it. Once their video has been uploaded a particular URL is generated which points to the location of that video.

YouTube blocking your downloads?

Just by sharing this URL amongst their family and friends they can let them have access to the same. Gone are the days when one had to painstakingly send the videos as email attachments. This was a pain considering the size of a video file. Apart from that there are many constraints on the size of an attachment that is permitted by most ISP’s. There are some other solutions like uploading the file to other file sharing sites but this is not a solution. When the video files are uploaded to any other file-hosting site, one cannot see them over there.

They have to download the same to view it. With YouTube one does not have to download the file and can see the same in streaming video format. But what about those who are interested in downloading the video file in question and saving it on their hard drive for archival purposes? There are many people who have complained that they just cannot download their favorite videos that are hosted on YouTube. It is not impossible to download the videos that are hosted on YouTube’s site; one just needs to know the tricks involved in downloading the same.

Even a novice can download from YouTube

There are no special tricks involved and one not need to hold a degree in computer science to achieve this feat. One should first know how and why the files are stored in YouTube’s server and then understanding how to download it becomes a piece of cake. Basically when one uploads a video file to the YouTube server the same is converted to the flash format. This files is then embedded on their web page which makes it tough to download by right clicking with the mouse pointer and using the `save file as’ option.

There are many options for achieving the end purpose, but the simplest one involves using a free web browser, firefox, and its add-ons. Download firefox if you have not got the same and install it. Now launch firefox and download and install the grease monkey add on. Once this is done download and install the Greasemonkey script. This is all that is required. To download a video that you like from the YouTube server, just load the video as you normally do and click on the small button marked `Download Video’. If you have followed the instructions carefully, the video will be downloaded to your hard drive and then you can use Ripzor's FLV video converter to convert the video to a format of your choice.