Convert and Download YouTube Videos
Basically, YouTube doesn’t allow you to download its videos. Download managers like IDM (Internet Download Manager) help you download the video in FLV (normal) or MP4 (high) format. But what if you don’t have those download managers? Here are few sites with which you can download YouTube videos.
Vixy
Vixy (vixy.net) is a YouTube Downloader and an online FLV converter. All you have to do is, paste the video URL right in to the text-box and click Start. It allows YouTube videos to be converted and downloaded in different formats and players – AVI (DivX + MP3), MOV (MPEG4 + MP3), MP4 for iPod & PSP (MPEG4 + AAC) and 3GP (MPEG4 + AAC) for 3GP supported phones, or you can strip the videoand download the file as MP3.
If you are not sure about DivX and MPEG4, they are video codecs. Windows Media Player (WMP) supports playback of DivX and MPEG4 codecs. If not, you can always use VLC, a player that could play most video & audio codecs. MP3 and AAC are audio codecs.
Vixy now allows YouTube videos to be downloaded in raw MP4 or FLV format, currently on alpha testing. This allows the video to be downloaded in its raw format (without converting). The RAW Downloader can be found here (vixy.net/rawvideo). You need to have an FLV Player to play FLV files (scroll to the end of this post), or you can use VLC instead.
There’s also a software from Vixy that helps convert YouTube videos right from your desktop. The software can be downloaded for Windows and MAC OSX. Windows XP users need to have .NET Framework 2.0 installed.
KeepVid
KeepVid (keepvid.com) is a well-known YouTube downloader. Similar to Vixy, you’ll just have to paste the video URL in to the text-box available there, and click ‘Download’. Unlike Vixy, KeepVid doesn’t convert videos. It just fetches the file from YouTube’s servers and gives you the download link. FLV is the standard extension for the default low quality video. MP4 is for high quality. Remember, MP4 format is available for download only for high quality videos. You need to have an FLV Player to play FLV files (scroll to the end of this post), or you can use VLC instead.
KeepVid also has a Bookmarklet to download YouTube videos just while you are watching. Drag this KeepVid Bookmarklet to your browser’s bookmark bar.
PWN! YouTube
Similar to KeepVid, PWN! YouTube uses YouTube’s server to fetch you the download link. But downloading is simple. Just prefix the YouTube video URL with ‘pwn’ and you can start downloading the video in FLV/MP4 format. Lets say, you want to download the video available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgJ6DA50thw, prefix the URL with ‘pwn’ so that it looks like http://www.pwnyoutube.com/watch?v=fgJ6DA50thw. The image below explains it
You can also use the PWN!YouTube Bookmarklet. Drag it to your browser bookmark bar.
Playing FLV & MP4 Files
VLC is a Free & Open Source (FOSS) audio & video player that could play most audio & video codecs. More over, the player is available for all Operating Systems. Get it here. Visit its Official site at videolan.org.