Almost of today's internet traffic is spent streaming online video, with YouTube taking up a massive chunk. Over 400 hours of video content is uploaded to YouTube every infinitesimal, and YouTube has a greater attain in the eighteen-49 demographic than even cablevision TV.

And then you have to consider other video streaming sites like Vimeo, Dailymotion, Twitch, so on. That's a lot of data flowing around—and if your ISP caps your monthly data allowance, so all this video streaming can exist expensive.

The solution is to capture or download online videos to watch offline, allowing y'all to re-sentinel videos as many times every bit you want without wasting data.

Here are some of the best tools for capturing and downloading streaming video from websites online, and so you can spotter them offline.

1. Video DownloadHelper

videodownloadhelper

Available on: Chrome, Firefox.

Supported sites: YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Vimeo, Dailymotion, Lynda, Twitter, Udemy, and hundreds of other sites.

Video DownloadHelper is easily one of the most useful browser extensions for downloading streaming video that you'll ever install. The downside (sort of) is that you lot have to install it on your browser; if you already run numerous extensions, the last matter y'all need is another one making Chrome fifty-fifty slower. But, if you download numerous videos on a twenty-four hours-to-day ground, Video DownloadHelper is definitely worth it.

The extension adds a button next to your browser'southward address bar. Whenever you come beyond an online video, just click the button to download any video on the electric current page. Utilise the pop-up box to decide where to relieve it on your calculator.

2. 4K Video Downloader

Available on: Windows, Mac, Linux.

Supported sites: YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo, Flickr, Dailymotion, and several other sites.

4K Video Downloader is the simplest and well-nigh straightforward tool to capture video from a website. We recommend it if you want a no-hassle option that requires shut to zero effort on your part. It works quickly and doesn't throttle your download, plus it's straightforward to get to grips with.

But copy the URL of an online video and paste information technology into 4K Video Downloader. Y'all tin paste links to YouTube playlists or YouTube channels to download every video available. In fact, y'all tin can even subscribe to YouTube channels and auto-download new videos equally they're fabricated available. You lot tin also download the annotations and subtitles in YouTube videos.

Video downloads are available in 8K, 4K, 1080p, or 720p (as long as the source video was uploaded at that resolution, of course). In improver, videos can also be downloaded in MP4, MKV, and FLV formats. Or, y'all can download but the audio portion in MP3 or M4A formats.

three. Freemake Video Downloader

Freemake Video Downloader interface

Available on: Windows.

Supported sites: YouTube, Facebook, Liveleak, Veoh, Vimeo, Dailymotion, and dozens of other sites.

Freemake Video Downloader is ane of the most pop video downloading tools out in that location. Indeed, it is one of the best online video downloaders for whatever site.

Information technology'south completely complimentary, easy to employ, and relatively flexible as far as quality and format options are concerned. However, the one big downside is that information technology'southward only available on Windows.

Videos can be downloaded in a handful of formats, including AVI, FLV, MKV, MP4, and WMV. If y'all only want the audio portion, videos tin also be downloaded in MP3 format. The actual process merely requires the URL of the video—just copy and paste it in.

4. JDownloader

JDownloader 2 interface

Bachelor on: Windows, Mac, Linux.

Supported sites: Nearly any site with streaming video.

JDownloader is a stream downloader, only with a twist. You take the URL of whatsoever page that has a streamed video on information technology, paste it into the app, and information technology volition scan the page for all the videos it can find. Yous get to option which of the detected videos you lot want to download.

The squeamish thing about JDownloader is that y'all don't need the direct URL of a specific video. For example, accept a MakeUseOf article with five embedded videos and all of them volition be detected. No need to fumble around finding out the direct URL of the video. This makes it effortless to capture several videos at in one case.

Even so, be aware that the installer comes with bundleware, which is where other programs are pushed to you that you lot don't need. When you run the installer, you'll come beyond a page that offers to install "Bing Search" or something else. On this page, the buttons will change to Turn down and Accept. Ensure you lot click Decline because this will prevent bundleware from being installed on your system.

5. youtube-dl

youtube dl

Bachelor on: Windows, Mac, Linux.

Supported sites: YouTube, Facebook, HBO, Metacafe, Vimeo, Dailymotion, and thousands of other sites.

youtube-dl is a tool for avant-garde users who are comfortable using the command line. If you prefer graphical interfaces, save yourself the headache and just use one of the ones listed to a higher place.

But if you're okay with command line utilities, then youtube-dl offers the nigh flexibility of any video downloading tool. It'southward complicated enough to have a non-trivial learning curve though, so prepare to read the documentation, or else you'll be lost.

Yous could likewise try youtube-dl-gui, which is an unofficial front-end user interface that's bachelor for Windows and Linux.

Features include several video selection and quality parameters, playlist processing, download charge per unit limit, batch video downloading, automatic naming of files, inclusion of ads, and downloading subtitles (for sites similar YouTube).

The post-obit formats are supported: 3GP, AAC, FLV, M4A, MP3, MP4, OGG, WAV, and WEBM.

The Final Resort for Capturing Online Videos

If you encounter a video that isn't supported by any of the to a higher place tools, the concluding resort is to play the video in total-screen mode and record your screen as information technology plays.

It's not a perfect solution, only it normally works when nothing else does. Keep in heed, even so, that some sites and apps (especially TV streaming services) volition not let a screen recorder capture the footage. When you go to play the video back once again, y'all will just be faced with a blank screen.

If you lot tin get the straight URL of an online video, you can likewise use VLC to play and record online videos as a kind of streaming video recorder.

How to Record Your Screen Using VLC

VLC Media Player has many uses, simply did you know that it tin record your screen besides? Here's how to easily record your desktop with VLC.

Read Next

Virtually The Author

Dan Price (1606 Articles Published)

Dan joined MakeUseOf in 2014 and has been Partnerships Director since July 2020. Reach out to him for inquires most sponsored content, chapter agreements, promotions, and any other forms of partnership. You tin can likewise find him roaming the show flooring at CES in Las Vegas every year, say hi if y'all're going. Prior to his writing career, he was a Financial Consultant.

More From Dan Price