Have you ever wanted to save a funny cat video or viral sensation from YouTube, but weren‘t sure how? I‘ve definitely been there before!
Sometimes you may want to watch videos later without an internet connection. Or maybe you just want to take your favorite YouTube content with you on a trip. The process of actually downloading YouTube videos isn‘t very straightforward unfortunately.
Not to worry my friend! In this guide, I‘ll walk you step-by-step through the various methods to save YouTube videos on your devices for offline viewing.
Here’s what I’ll cover:
- Clarify key YouTube terminology – liking vs saving vs downloading videos
- Provide a detailed tutorial for using VLC media player to download videos
- Breakdown what YouTube Premium offers and if it‘s worth it
- Best practices for managing and watching saved YouTube videos
Let‘s get started!
Liking, Saving, and Downloading YouTube Videos
Before we get our hands dirty, it helps to define what YouTube means when it talks about "liking", "saving", and "downloading" videos. These may seem similar but represent very different functions:
- Liking a video simply gives it a thumbs up or like publicly. This adds it to a playlist on your YouTube account for easier access later. But no video file gets saved locally.
- Saving a video to a general or custom playlist lets you refer back to it faster under your YouTube profile. Again though, no offline copy.
- Downloading a video means transferring the video file to your device storage. This creates a local version accessible without internet. Downloads are only officially available via YouTube Premium.
Hopefully that clears up some common misconceptions! Now let‘s explore ways to actually download videos.
How to Save YouTube Videos with VLC Media Player
One of my favorite free tools for saving YouTube videos is VLC media player. Let me demonstrate the quick and easy process!
Step 1: Download and Install VLC
First, head to VLC‘s official site and download the free software for your Windows, Mac or Linux desktop computer.
Once downloaded, open the VLC installer .exe or .dmg file and follow the prompts to install. Pretty straightforward so far!
Figure 1. Downloading VLC media player to save YouTube videos offline
Step 2: Copy Link of YouTube Video
Now playing the part of savvy video saver, find whichever YouTube video you want to download for offline access.
Right click on the video itself and select Copy link address – this grabs the direct URL we‘ll need in a moment.
Figure 2. Using right click menu to copy exact video link
Alternatively click the Share button under the video and copy it from there.
Step 3: Launch Network Stream Wizard
Hop back to VLC on your computer. Near the top left click Media > Open Network Stream to launch the wizard.
Figure 3. Accessing Open Network Stream to setup YouTube download
This tells VLC we want to stream a network video source – in this case our targeted YouTube video!
Step 4: Paste YouTube URL
In the network source box, simply paste the YouTube video URL we copied earlier.
Make sure the dropdown underneath labeled Play says Stream instead of anything else. Once set, click the Play button to the right to continue the wizard.
Figure 4. Inserting the YouTube video URL into VLC
After a moment, VLC should start buffering and processing data from the YouTube URL.
Step 5: Set Destination to Save Video
Shortly after clicking play, a "Destination Setup" window will pop up. This is VLC asking us where to save the incoming video!
Click Add in the lower left section, then set:
- The name to save the YouTube video file as
- The folder location you want it saved
I always include the video title so it‘s easy to identify later.
Figure 5. Setting local file destination and name for VLC YouTube video download
Step 6: Choose Output Video Format
Next let‘s make sure to choose what file format we want. I typically just stick with MP4 format since it works reliably across devices.
Click the dropdown menu next to Profile to view format options like MP4, AVI and more. Make any other tweaks here as well.
Figure 6. Choosing MP4 format for saved YouTube video
Step 7: Start Streaming & Download!
Alright – we‘re now all setup for VLC to grab our video from YouTube and save it locally in the chosen folder!
Click Stream in the lower right corner. VLC begins working its magic to download the video. Wait 2 minutes and voila! You‘ll find your freshly saved YouTube video ready for offline playback.
Pretty straightforward right? VLC makes downloading videos a breeze.
Figure 7. Starting the video stream download process in VLC
And there you have it! With those 7 simple steps you can rely on VLC to save YouTube videos for offline access and storage.
Next let‘s talk about why VLC is such as handy tool…
