Introduction
Rated Products
Desktop Apps - Cross Platforms
To be reviewed:
- ClipGrab, a free and multi-platform video downloader and converter for YouTube, Vimeo, Dailymotion and many other online video sites. Supported operating systems include Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.
- TubeMaster++, is a powerful tool which can capture multimedia files you are watching or listening from your internet browser (FLV,MP3,MP4). Captured files can be saved directly on your computer or converted to other popular video or audio formats (AVI, MPEG, MP3, MP4, IPod, PSP ...).
- Kastorsoft's All Video Downloader is a free tool with built-in accelerator to download your favorite videos from major streaming websites including Youtube, Dailymotion, Vimeo,PureVid, Metacafe, Google video, Yahoo video, Tubewatcher, Koreus, Myspace and more. You can extract audio from video or encode videos in format of your choice. Cross platforms including Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.
- xVideoServiceThief is an open source program running on Windows, Mac OS X and Linux for downloading your favourite video clips from more than 90 over websites including YouTube. It also allows you to convert videos to other formats such as AVI, MPEG1, MPEG2, WMV, MP4, 3GP and MP3.
- YouTube Downloader HD, a free tool for Windows and Mac to download videos from YouTube and save it to your local computer. The videos include High Quality, High Definition and Full HD wherever available and can be converted to avi or mp4 video format.
Desktop Apps - Windows Only
To be reviewed:
- Freemake Video Downloader allows you to download any video from many websites including YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo, Veoh, Dailymotion and thousands of other sites. You can also extract audio, MP3 from YouTube, convert any online video to AVI, MKV, MP3 or other formats for use in mobile devices such as Android, iPad and iPhone.
- Ashampoo ClipFinder HD allows you to search in up to fifteen video portals at once or in selected portals, view videos directly and convert and save them to your hard disk with a single click.
- RealDownloader, a Windows app lets you download videos as mp4 or flv from YouTube, MetaCafe, Facebook and hundreds of other websites, and watch your saved videos when you’re offline. Some advance features are available in the paid-for Plus version.
- ClipNabber, adds a powerful video downloader, audio recorder and video/MP3 file converter right inside your browser. ClipNabber downloads videos using smart caching technology.
- iWisoft Free Video Downloader is a handy tool to download streaming Flash video from any web page. It can easily detect any live video and audio from internet, capture video, download video and save video to your hard disk for offline enjoyment.
Browser Addons or Extensions
To be reviewed:
Firefox
- DownloadHelper, helps you to easily save videos from most of the popular video sites. It is also possible to capture all the images from a gallery in a single operation.
- Ant Video Downloader and Player uses a network-based technology that will work even with non-popular or unknown video sites. A Safe, open-source, flash video player and also a traffic rank indicator for websites is also integrated with your browser.
Chrome
- Video Downloader Professional collects and add videos easily to your video list for downloading later and you can play them at any time, without having to return to the orignial web page.
- FVD Video Downloader lets you to download videos from most websites. You can also download mp3 as well as flash games.
Web Apps
To be reviewed:
- KeepVid.com, a free web service that is easSavevid.comy to use—copy the link of the video and paste it inside the box, click Download, then select the video file you want to download to your computer. This web service supports for various formats and video resolutions available from the source of the link.
- Savevid.com, is a tool which gives you the ability to download videos from streaming video sites. You can download videos from Youtube, Google Videos, Metacafe and more in FLV, AVI, MOV, MPG or WMV formats.
-
VideoGrabber.net, is designed for users who don't want to download any program or shareware to grab videos from their most loved video sharing sites. You just need to bring URL of the video address, it will automatically find the real video files for you, then you just click and save video file to your PC.
Supported Sites List: (More sites may be supported, only english sites listed here. Adult sites not listed.)
| KeepVid | SaveVid | VideoGrabber | SaveVideo.Me | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4shared | Y | |||
| 5min | Y | Y | Y | |
| AlterVideo.net | Y | |||
| Aniboom | Y | Y | ||
| Blip.tv | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Break | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| CollegeHumor | Y | Y | ||
| Cracked | Y | |||
| Current | Y | Y | Y | |
| Dailymotion | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| DivxStage.eu | Y | |||
| eHow | Y | Y | ||
| eBaumsWorld | Y | |||
| Y | Y | Y | ||
| Flickr | Y | Y | ||
| Fluckiest | Y | |||
| FunnyJunk | Y | |||
| FunnyorDie | Y | Y | ||
| FunnyPlace.org | Y | |||
| GameTrailers | Y | |||
| HowCast | Y | |||
| IGN | Y | |||
| LiveVideo | Y | |||
| Metacafe | Y | Y | Y | |
| MySpace | Y | Y | ||
| Ning | Y | |||
| Photobucket | Y | |||
| SoundCloud | Y | |||
| Spike | Y | |||
| Stagevu | Y | |||
| TED | Y | |||
| truTV | Y | |||
| TwitVid | Y | |||
| Ustream | Y | |||
| Videobb | Y | |||
| Videoweed.es | Y | |||
| Veoh | Y | Y | Y | |
| Vimeo | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| WeGame | Y | |||
| Youtube | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| zShare.net | Y |
Related Products and Links
You might want to check out these articles too:
- The Top 5 Video Streaming Websites
- Best Free Audio-Video Format Conversion Program
- Best Free Video Editor
- Best Free Software to Split, Trim or Join Video Files
Editor
This software category is maintained by volunteer editor George.J. Registered members can contact the editor with any comments or questions they might have by clicking here.
Back to the top of the article.
We are looking for people with skills or interest in the following areas:
Comments
http://www.savevid.com/ no longer works
http://savevideo.me/ does not support youtube anymore
FVD Video Downloader link does not work
About ClipGrab:
Four weeks ago I needed a downloader quickly and based on this article decided to give ClipGrab a try. It worked (almost) flawlessly for four weeks. Just now upon starting it obviously installed an update. Besides ByteFence (BOOO!) which is easy enough to un-check is requested to stop my antimalware service.
The skinny: Beware! Attempts to install Byte Fence. [promotion for commercial software removed as per site rules]
Have been using the free version of 4K Video Downloader for the past couple of years.
Comes with no bundled crapware, is easy to use and does the job for me.
Thanks rolou, took your word on this one. Easy to jump straight in and use and it worked.
2016-November-13 original post:
Please add "YTD Video Downloader" to your list of tools "To be reviewed".
2017-March-6 edit:
I've been using the free version of YTD Video Downloader (see Note 1) for a few years.
The following sentence is superseded by newer edit below: I just installed it on a new machine and did not encounter any optional extras that I'd have to avoid installing (see Note 2).
The program routinely provides updates, which seem to keep up with changes made by YouTube; after installing the program, I ran it and it immediately offered an update to a newer version.
The program's Help-About screen says that it's a product of GreenTree Applications SRL, and gives the following URL (see Note 2), which is the only source from which I have downloaded it:
www.ytddownloader.com
2017-September-30 edit:
The update for which I was prompted included offers for THREE unwanted programs, AND took me to an advertisement on its website.
*Note 1: There is a different, fee-based program with an _extremely_ similar name.
*Note 2: Other than the URL above, GreenTree operates at least two other sites on which it offers this product; and on those sites the comparison between free and paid versions says that there may be "installer offers" in the free version. The comparison page from the URL above has no mention of the possibility of "installer offers" and I have encountered no such offers by downloading from that URL.
I can't see a top recommendation here (or even a top three) - and my attempts to find one using "Quick Selection Guide" merely recycle this page. Also, the reason that most of us turn to Gizmo is to identify software which is free of viruses, bloatware, malware, PUP's, adware, ransomware and the rest of that swelling poison caboodle. It we want to spend a couple of hours having to scour our computer after every download, we can simply turn to CNET, Filehippo, Softonic and a dozen other sites.
What shame, then, to find software highlighted on this page, time and again, which is known to be riddled with hidden nasties. Please, fellow readers, carry out further checks before you choose any of these.
As you can see from the page title, this is a stub and not a review. It is therefore a work in progress and the reason why there are no product ratings or a working link to a Quick Selection Guide.
If you would like to help our volunteer editors with this page or any other please apply using the form here. MC - Site Manager.
http://www.techsupportalert.com/we-need-you.htm
As you can see from having the products listed under the heading "Rated Products," perhaps Mr. Jackson was misled by that heading -- a heading that seems inappropriate given your explanation of what "stub" means on this website.
Please help me - I had freemaker (well the converter still works but downloading ceased a while ago); so I switched to free download manager which seemed to work most of the time but now refuses to download anything saying I'm "not authorized" for some reason; so I've now downloaded ClipGrab but for some reason when I attempted to download something, it just sits there doing nothing. HOW can I get it to download or do anything???
Or what do you really recommend?; & how does it operate???
I didn't see much about downloading HTML5 video format. I found this site that seems to do a good job and is ad supported. 4K Video Downloader.
https://www.4kdownload.com/products/product-videodownloader
Just a note that ESET AV blocked the Kastorsoft site when I clicked that link. It indicates unwanted loads from the site. It's usually been accurate.
VSO Downloader was the one I always recommended to friends but -- and it's suddenly a big 'but' --I'm wondering if in the urge to monetize this software, the developers are now being waaaay too deceitful?
VSO has worked fine for me until tonight, when it suddenly stopped all three YouTube downloads at the 50% mark. . . and reported that they would only be completed if I bought the 'Ultimate' version.
This makes a nonsense of the claim that VSO Downloader is freeware.
Either it is. Or it isn't. The developer is plainly trying to finesse that, because its website is nowadays noticeably coy about maximum file sizes downloaded in video streams, which was never the case before.
In a nutshell: there seems no justification for continuing to publicise VSO Downloader in any freeware list now that it has become -- and very explicitly, too -- trialware / crippleware. There's absolutely no point in downloading and using a 'free' product which downloads only half a file, and when you open its screen to see what's happening, it reports that you're using a TRIAL version and that if you want more than 50% of what you were expecting, then pay for it.
As noted: I have no objection to developers seeking to monetize their work. I do, however, have every objection to developers who try to pull this sort of stunt yet at the same time piously insist that oh my yes, their software is truly free and genuinely unrestricted, rather than being trialware or crippleware. (NB: VSO Downloader halted my downloads at 1 Mb, 1.2 Mb and 1.6Mb: it's not as if some ultimately huge download was in play here. . .)
A bit late but perhaps other people are reading this section too -
The free version of VSO is still freeware but only for certain types of streaming; RTMP streams require the licensed version so I'd guess that the inability to fully download some Youtube streams is due to some of the changes that Youtube has made over the last year or so.
I'd imagine that VSO will still work fully for some YT streams as the site seems to be a bit of a mixture.
In VSO's defence, this limitation of the free version is explained clearly on their website and it's not uncommon for vendors to include demos of licensed features in freeware versions.