Download YouTube Videos in Chrome

YouTube streams videos online, meaning you need an internet connection to watch. If you want to download the video to watch offline, you'll need a third-party tool. This is because YouTube does not support downloading videos. To make matters even more complicated, downloading a 1080P or 4K video will not download audio, meaning you will need to combine the audio and video tracks for high-quality videos.

Steps

Using the Video Downloader Extension

  1. Click the Chrome Menu button.
  2. Select "More tools" → "Extensions".
  3. Click the "Get more extensions" link at the bottom of the list.
  4. Search for "Video Downloader".
  5. Select "Video Downloader" from the list of Extensions results.
  6. Click the "+ Free" button, and then click .Add.
  7. Visit the video you want to download.
  8. Click the new "Download" button underneath the Uploader's image.
  9. Select the format you want to download the video in.
    • 720P is the highest quality supported by this extension.
    • FLV files will need a special player to open.
  10. Wait for the download to complete. Large, high-quality videos may take a long time to download. The finished video will appear in your Downloads folder.

Using the Chrome YouTube Downloader Extension

  1. Visit the download website. This extension cannot be downloaded through the Chrome Web Store. You'll need to download it and install it manually. You can get it from mandel-design.xf.cz/Chrome-Youtube-Downloader/.
  2. Click the "Download Now" button. The ZIP file will be downloaded.
  3. Open the ZIP file. You can double-click it to open it. Double-click the second ZIP file to show the CRX file inside.
  4. Drag the CRX file to your desktop.
  5. Click the Chrome Menu button and select "More tools" → "Extensions".
  6. Drag the CRX file from your desktop into the Extensions window. Release the CRX file install the extension.
  7. Click .Add to confirm that you want to install. You may need to restart your browser.
  8. Visit the video you want to download.
  9. Click the new "Download" button to the right of the "Subscribe" button. You won't be able to see the Download button if you are Disable-Adblock.
    • Clicking the Download button will automatically download the highest quality version available, while clicking the arrow next to the Download button will allow you to choose your format and quality.
    • 1080P and 4K videos will not have audio, as YouTube has changed the player for higher-quality streams with separate audio and video streams. See the next section for instructions on combining the audio and video tracks.
  10. Wait for the download to complete. Large, high-quality videos may take a long time to download. The finished video will appear in your Downloads folder.

Combining a 1080P or 4K Video With an Audio File

  1. Use the "Chrome YouTube Downloader" extension to download the video file. See the above method for detailed instructions on downloading the video. The 1080P or 4K video that you download will not have audio.
  2. Use the same extension to download the M4A audio. This will download the audio track for the video as a separate file.
    • Make sure that the video and audio file are in the same location.
  3. Install ffmpeg. This is a command-line program that allows you to perform a variety of functions on multimedia files, including combing audio and video tracks into one file.
    • Install-FFmpeg-on-Windows.
  4. Open the folder that contains your audio and video files.
  5. Hold down Shift and right-click in the folder.
  6. Select "Open command window here". This will open the Command Prompt in the current directory.
  7. Type .ffmpeg -i .m4a -i .mp4 -acodec copy -vcodec copy .mp4 and press Enter.
  8. Wait for the process to complete. It may take a while for longer videos. Once the process is complete, .mp4 will contain both the video and audio tracks synced together.

Tips

  • You can also use the extension to download MP3 versions of videos as well.

Warnings

  • Downloading YouTube videos can be against copyright law depending on the current laws in your area.

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