As someone who has run a software download website for 25 years, a few frustrations stand out. One of these frustrations is trying to download videos from websites.
There must be hundreds of apps to download online videos, but many claims to be free fall short with shareware, adware, crippled, or third-party software bundled. And good luck trying to find a free, functional, portable app. Rather than install a third-party app you never heard of, numerous websites allow you to paste a YouTube URL and then download the video. Here are some we have tested. Note that some of these websites come and go, so please leave a comment if one of the following websites no longer works. Remember that most videos, like photography, are copyright to the person who shot the video.
Paste in a URL and click continue. Clip Converter is another website that also offers to convert. There are 5 video and 3 audio conversion options. Click on Start when you have made your selections. Clip Converter is one of our favorites due to its uncluttered, attractive website design and ease of use.
Type in your URL and press Catch. After a brief pause, you can choose a resolution and MP4 or MP3. One of the unique features of Catchvideo.net is the ability to convert files. Converting can be useful when 1080p isn't available. Some conversions are done externally.
YT5s.Com works well. Type in the URL and click Start. Choose the resolution from 144p to 1080p and even download as a 3gp, 0gg, or mp3. Click on Get link and finally click on Download. They also offer standalone apps for converting and more.
Type in the URL, and press Enter. Choose a resolution and video, audio-only or video-only. Next, right-click on your choice and click Save. If you click download, the video will open in a new tab. You can only download videos in MP4 format, and in our tests, 1080p was not always an option.
Converto.io is intentionally designed. Type in your URL and choose MP3 or MP4. You have to click on the gear icon to choose other options. However, it appears that the conversion, by default, is done at the highest possible quality settings. The only downside is the nag to download Vidkeeper, including a popup window.
Get Video is another simple-to-use downloader. Type in the URL and press Download. You are given a few options, mostly video quality, but like Converto.io, the default is the best quality. There are no conversions available.