Why Download YouTube Videos? An Overview of User Rights and Options
YouTube is the world‘s largest video platform, hosting over a billion regular visitors monthly. For many, it has replaced traditional broadcast television as the go-to source for entertainment, news and instructional content.
But this shift from decentralized media access towards walled gardens online also limits how users can consume content – you ultimately remain at the mercy of internet connectivity, advertising patience and platform owner policies.
Downloading videos for offline enjoyment sidesteps such constraints, though tech corporations increasingly fight such fair use exceptions. It‘s a complex debate around copyright controls balanced against consumer device utility.
Thankfully multiple tools still exist currently that let us exercise some freedom – to archive memorable moments, catch-up on long flights without WiFi or share clips without losing fidelity from social media compression.
We‘ll survey what‘s feasible circa 2023 using free software and compare it against YouTube‘s own Premium offering for saving videos. Do note that legal conditions remain in flux here but a bit of civil disobedience arguably keeps tech ethics in check!
Okay, soapbox aside – let‘s get straight into actionable advice on actually downloading YouTube videos on desktop and mobile…
YouTube Premium – The Legit Alternative for Saving Videos
YouTube Premium (formerly YouTube Red) is the official subscription service for power users, offering ad-free streaming, background play and exclusive content.
Crucially, it also enables downloading videos for offline consumption – a capability increasingly restricted for regular members over the years through restrictive Terms of Service.
Here‘s an at-a-glance view of what you gain as a Premium member:
| Benefit | Details |
|---|---|
| Ad-Free Viewing | Uninterrupted enjoyment without video ads |
| Background Play | Audio continues with screen locked |
| Offline Viewing | Save videos to device storage |
| YouTube Music | Ad-free songs and downloads |
The video download allowance is fairly generous – you can save up to 500 videos offline on mobile devices and have them available for 30 days after initial access.
And appreciative creators actually get a higher share of revenues from Premium compared to regular ad views. So indirectly, downloading here aligns better with supporting user generated content.
On desktop, the downloading procedure is quite straightforward – click on the download icon available below videos to select a resolution and save file:
[insert desktop download GIF walkthrough]But does shelling out $11.99 monthly just for downloading YouTube clips make sense for you? Let‘s analyze some key considerations:
Premium Pricing
YouTube Premium pricing in the United States has held steady after the launch discount ended:
| Duration | Price |
|---|---|
| Monthly | $11.99 |
| Annual | $107.99 |
Students get a nice $6 monthly deal. Countries like India and Turkey have lower pricing in line with purchase parity. Family plans allow sharing benefits across 5 household members.
Downloaded Video Quality
Maximum resolution quality depends on one‘s streaming plan:
| Plan | Streaming | Download |
|---|---|---|
| Premium | 1080p HD | 1080p HD |
| Premium Plus | 4K UHD | 1080p HD |
So 4K streaming gets capped at 1080p for saving offline. For most devices, that still offers superb clarity along with smaller file sizes.
Uploading Downloads Elsewhere
The downloads are still protected by DRM – so uploading them to other sites would constitute copyright violation. You‘re essentially licensing videos exclusively for personal offline viewing.
So that‘s the official way to download from YouTube in 2023. But it remains prohibitively expensive for many. What are the free alternative options then currently?
Saving YouTube Videos on PC with VLC Media Player
VLC is a hugely popular open source media player prized for its format flexibility and no-nonsense interface without ads or tracking.
Less well known is how it can double up as an effective YouTube video downloader through some technical wizardry under the hood!
Here‘s a step-by-step walkthrough on using it to save YouTube clips on your Windows or MacOS desktop:
Prepare Video in Browser
- Visit video page on YouTube you wish to save
- Click ‘Share‘ icon below player
- Choose ‘Copy Link‘ to copy URL
Setup Streaming in VLC
- Launch VLC media player on desktop
- Select Media > Open Network Stream
- Paste YouTube video URL into input box
- Ensure Play is set to Stream
Select Save Destination
- In Destination Setup popup:
- Set Destination type to File
- Click Add to pick save folder and filename
- Click Next to advance
Configure Transcoding
- Under Transcoding options:
- Choose video format from Profile dropdown
- Set quality to 1080p or 720p
- Select compatible Container like MP4
Start Saving Video!
- Finally click Stream to begin download
- Process will complete based on video length
- Find saved video file via file explorer
And that‘s all there is to it! The process involves several steps but quickly becomes second nature after a single run-through.
Beyond YouTube, VLC can harness its decoding prowess to download videos from DailyMotion, Facebook and 1000+ other streaming sites.
I‘d recommend MP4 or MKV as output formats – they balance quality and compatibility across devices. For ultra sharp 4K videos, use the MKV container.
Now let‘s tackle some common troubleshooting issues:
Slow Streaming? Pause and resume download after a minute. Also reduce output quality if needed.
Chopped Videos? Pause and retry once. Or delete and re-download from scratch
Audio missing? Check container format compatibility with video codec
So with some minor effort adjusting settings, VLC can rapidly empower you to amass a collection of YouTube videos on demand for perpetuity.
But it‘s still an unofficial hack reliant on YouTube not changing things under the hood. Are there more specialized video downloading tools?
Top 5 YouTube Video Downloaders for Desktop
Beyond VLC, there‘s a mini-industry of video downloader apps employing browser extensions, converters and download managers to reliably save YouTube clips.
Here‘s a hand-curated 2023 list of top-rated options across merits like simplicity, formats support and output quality:
| Downloader | Platform | Price | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4K Video Downloader | Windows, Mac | Free/$19 Pro | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Free YouTube Download | Windows | Free | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| WinX YouTube Downloader | Windows, Mac | $29.95 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| iTubeGo YouTube Downloader | Windows, Mac | $29.95 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| aTube Catcher | Windows | Free | ⭐⭐⭐ |
I actively use 4K Video Downloader which offers a convenient browser extension for one-click downloads alongside importing entire playlists and channels for archival.
Paid options like WinX HD provide premium technical support and automatic software updates delivering format compatibility fixes quicker.
Here‘s a comparative overview of key capabilities when researching options:
| Feature | VLC | Premium Downloaders | Free Downloaders |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simplicity | Technical steps needed | Browser plugins, 1-click operation | Varies based on software |
| Formats Support | Most open formats | Wide industry support | Limited without updates |
| Mobile Support | Platform agnostic | Windows, Mac focus | Light official mobile access |
| Output Quality | HQ retention from source | HQ consistent with source | Variable compression |
| Cost | 100% Free | $19 upwards per year | Free but No upgrades |
So that gives a sense of the landscape on desktop now to get your YouTube video downloading confidence up! But what about mobile devices?
Can YouTube Videos be Saved on Mobile Devices?
The ability to store YouTube videos offline on tablets or phones for planes, road trips or limited data plans seems extremely useful.
But YouTube deliberately restricts that capability currently to Premium subscribers alone as we learned earlier.
The harsh reality is that none of the open source or commercial downloader apps we saw for desktop have official mobile support anymore on Android or iOS.
Google and Apple treat such external downloading as violating terms of service – with threats to disable accounts or remove such apps from app stores if detected.
But there are still some tricky partial workarounds possible leveraging mobile browsers instead of the native apps:
Chrome on Android
Sideload desktop mode extension like ‘Desktop Video Downloader‘
Safari on iOS
Enable desktop mode to access alternative mobile sites like savefrom.net
However such loopholes tend to get patched by the platforms once discovered. Real device storage limitations and reliability tradeoffs exist as well.
So for most mobile users, the path of least resistance ultimately is a YouTube Premium subscription. For under $2 a week, it elegantly resolves otherwise dizzying technological constraints.
But should corporations really enjoy such disproportionate gatekeeping powers over personal use cases? How have precedents in other spheres of intellectual property balanced public interest? We tackle the legal debate ahead.
Analyzing YouTube Video Downloading Through a Legal Lens
YouTube downloading exists in a legal grey zone currently shaped by technology use cases rubbing against copyright law doctrines.
To set some background context, downloading even purchased media for personal use hasn‘t always been a straightforward right. Formats like music cassettes to VHS tapes saw early pushback but courts upheld consumer freedoms through concepts like ‘fair use‘.
Online spaces however make copying and distribution frictionless – leading to content industry advocates pushing more aggressive digital restrictions. Judges have often sided with rights holders in interpreting exemptions more narrowly.
YouTube itself has witnessed several high profile lawsuits against tools that enabled downloading from the platform:
2007: Viacom sues YouTube for $1 billion over video clips copyright infringement
2014: Premier League gets YouTube downloader apps blocked under EU court ruling
2020: YouTube launches lawsuit against YouTube-dl open source downloading library
With its gigantic video vault and creator ecosystem however, YouTube perhaps has more incentive currently to monetize rather than fight downloading demand outright.
Premium subscriptions offer a middle path that retains platform lock-in while compensating media owners. Creators indeed get 55% of revenues in aggregate – an industry leading rate.
And creators producing original short form YouTube content themselves may care less about downloaded reuse since the platform dynamics around discovery, comments and challenges differ starkly from passive video consumption.
But downloading for archival among public media like news content raises intriguing questions on preservation obligations. Especially where hosting platforms go through systemic purging on flimsy pretexts or geo-political censorship pressures.
We perhaps need urgency around updating policy frameworks to the digital context – building in stronger public interest protections as a counterweight to inevitable commercial motives.
So while current laws may impose a chilling effect on downloading activity, the underlying checks and balances arguably still hold democratic merit. We ignore their spirit at our own peril!
In Summary: Evaluating Your YouTube Video Downloading Options
Given the myriad considerations around features, costs and ethics discussed so far, let me try distilling executable suggestions personally tailored to common user needs:
For households – Get a YouTube Premium family plan. It streamlines ad-free access alongside downloading on all devices. Shareable across 5 users making it very affordable.
For travelers – Premium lets you reliably save ample video content spanning flights, train routes and hotels stays offline each month. Well justified by data roaming bills avoided!
For students – Strong case for the discounted YouTube Premium student tier. But the free tools route works too if you‘ve only occasional downloading needs.
For archivists – Specialist downloader apps provide bulk playlist and channel ripping capability for preservation. Legality remains complex here though.
For light users – An open source solution like VLC affords one-off downloads easily. Just ensure to support creators through alternate means over time.
For video creators – Monetize through Premium revenue share plus original vertical content plays. But also publish openly, guard against platform dependency and diversify income streams.
So in closing, hopefully mapping out the precise tradeoffs helps you better evaluate paths forward basis individual situations and ethics.
As online autonomy discourse continues maturing, we‘re bound to see innovative middle grounds sustaining video openness alongside equitable commercial incentives into the 2020s.
Feel free to reach out with any other questions!
