How to download youtube videos onto pc youtube

We use cookies to make wikiHow great. By using our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Cookie Settings. Learn why people trust wikiHow. Download Article Explore this Article methods. Tips and Warnings. Related Articles. Article Summary. Method 1. Start by navigating to YouTube in your browser. This method should work for most videos, but sometimes may display a "Your input can't be opened" error during the download.

The only way to get around this is to use a download website not subject to this, such as mpgun. Go to the video you want to download. You can search for the video using the "Search" bar at the top of the screen. Once you select the video, it should begin playing right away. Copy the video's URL. Open VLC Player. It's the icon of an orange traffic cone. VLC is an open-source video player with a lot of beneficial features for playing all kinds of files.

Open a new network stream. Network streams allow you to play content from your web browser in VLC. If you are still unable to play any YouTube videos, copy the text on this web page and paste it into a new Notepad or TextEdit file. Save the file as " youtube. On Mac, right-click on VLC.

Delete the "youtube. View the video's codec information. Mac: Click Window , then click Media Information. Copy the "Location" field. At the bottom of the window, you'll see a long address that you'll need to copy. Highlight the entire address and then follow these steps to copy it: Windows: Right-click the highlighted link and click Copy. You can skip this step if you're using a Mac as the video should already appear in a browser.

If you're using Windows, open a new browser tab, right-click the address bar, and then click Paste. Right-click the video and select Save video as.

This should open your computer's "Save" dialog. Download the video. Right-click the video in your browser, then click Save video as in the resulting drop-down menu.

The video will begin downloading onto your computer as an MP4 file with the name "videoplayback". Select a location and click Save. This downloads the video to your computer. Once the file is downloaded, you can view it by double-clicking the file. Method 2. Download the 4K Video Downloader setup file. The 4K Video Downloader setup file will download onto your computer. Install 4K Video Downloader. Once the 4K Video Downloader setup file finishes downloading, you can install it by doing the following: Windows: Double-click the setup file, click Yes when prompted, and follow the on-screen setup instructions.

Mac: Double-click the setup file, verify the installation if necessary, click and drag the 4K Video Downloader app icon onto the "Applications" folder, and follow any on-screen instructions.

The video should begin playing. Copy the video's address. Open 4K Video Downloader. If 4K Video Downloader didn't automatically open upon finishing its installation, click its link in the Windows Start menu or your Mac's Applications folder. Click Paste Link. It's in the top-left corner of the 4K Video Downloader window. Doing so will cause the 4K Video Downloader to extract the address you copied. Select a video format from the "Format" menu. YouTube does not allow you to download videos directly from their site.

You need to use a third-party service, install software, or get a YouTube subscription service to download a YouTube video. Below are our recommendations for downloading and watching YouTube videos on your computer.

To download YouTube videos to your smartphone or tablet, see: How to download YouTube video on a smartphone or tablet. This page only provides recommendations for downloading or saving a video to your computer. For instructions for saving a video as audio, see: How can I record sound from YouTube videos?

Most websites that offer a service of downloading a YouTube video for free are no longer safe to use. These websites often results in malware being downloaded to your computer, either from the website service itself or through one of their partner websites. Websites that offered free YouTube video downloading services have now permanently shut down their sites e.

Due to these reasons, Computer Hope doesn't recommend the use of any website service offering free YouTube video downloads and no longer provides instructions for those websites. Instead, we now recommend the use of youtube-dl, a screen recorder, or a YouTube Premium subscription. These are the best options to keep your computer free of malware.

Built-In Video Editor : Many times, you like to watch songs in the middle of the video. At this point, you require video editing functionality. You may want to view a particular song in the middle of a video or edit out a specific portion of a film.

You can try out a converter that comes with a built-in editor. Speed : The software should be able to quickly download and convert any video. The download times must not be highly affected by fluctuations in the wi-fi and internet connectivity. Report a Bug. Previous Prev. Next Continue. Home Testing Expand child menu Expand. SAP Expand child menu Expand. Web Expand child menu Expand.

Must Learn Expand child menu Expand. Big Data Expand child menu Expand. Live Project Expand child menu Expand. AI Expand child menu Expand. Toggle Menu Close. Select the video file you wish to convert to MP3. It must be a video that has already been downloaded. The audio will take a minute or two to convert, during which time you can watch its progress in the Activity tab.