HOW TO DOWNLOAD YouTube, iPlayer & NETFLIX
For almost as long as there have been video-sharing websites, there have been tools that let you download their content. Shortly after YouTube launched in February 2005, a site called KeepVid emerged for the express purpose of grabbing videos from YouTube and others. Hundreds of similar tools appeared in KeepVid’s wake, so if you wanted to download web videos to watch offline, there was no shortage of options to choose from.
Recently, however, there’s been a backlash against these so-called ‘stream rippers’, with copyright holders taking legal action to stop them. Last October the software developer community GitHub was ordered by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to remove the YouTube downloader YouTube-dl, though it’s since been restored.
More worryingly, as we reported in Issue 600 (page 9), a group of major record labels represented by the British Recorded Music Industry Ltd (BPI) and Phonographic Performance Ltd (PPL) has appeared (virtually) in the High Court, demanding that UK ISPs block access to stream-ripping tools.
With that legal case ongoing, you may not have much longer to download YouTube videos, so in this feature we reveal how to grab them while you still can. After all, as we’ll explain later, there are valid reasons for downloading content that don’t involve breaching copyright.
There are still plenty of websites, programs and add-ons you can use, but many are stuffed with ads, pop-ups and junk, or don’t work as they claim. We recommend the fastest, safest and most reliable methods.
There certainly wouldn’t be such demand for these tools if YouTube offered its own download options, outside of its paid-for Premium service. And while BBC iPlayer and Netflix both include download options, they come with restrictions. Over the next few pages, we’ll show you how to bypass these restrictions, optimise your downloads and keep them forever.
DOWNLOAD FROM YOUTUBE
YouTube might reserve its built-in download tool for YouTube Premium subscribers (which we’ll look at later), but there are other ways to download videos. Here we look at the best free YouTube download tools.
4K Video Downloader
What we like
Versatile, fast and easy to use, 4K Video Downloader is our favourite desktop program for downloading YouTube videos. Unlike similar free tools, it isn’t bundled with junk.
To download a video, simply copy its URL from YouTube, then open 4K Video Downloader and click the Paste Link button on the toolbar (see screenshot below). Select the quality – up to the highest possible resolution of 4K/UHD (2160p), the format (MP4 or
