subject: Downloading YouTube Videos for free [print this page] Downloading YouTube Videos for free Downloading YouTube Videos for free
YouTube doesn't allow you to download their videos but there are several third-party utilities that enable you to do this. One of my favourites is Cucusoft's YouTube Mate. It's a downloader, player and video converter all in one. The latest version (8.0+) supports YouTube HD video.
The software is free, you can download it at www.cucusoft.com. Once you download the program you need to get an activation code by supplying your email address. The activation code is sent to your email, you enter it in the appropriate field and you're away. What I like about this program is that it's standalone no additional buttons on your browser. To use YouTube Mate you run the program and click the Download button, enter the URL of the video you want to copy (that is, go the video you want in YouTube and copy theURL shown in the browser), click OK and the program begins downloading the video. You can specify the folder in which downloads are stored and the name of the output file (by default this is the same as on YouTube but you can specify a different name if you want). One of the nice things about this program is that you can enter as many videos as you want in this way - the software supports unlimited simultaneous downloads: it works away in the background completing the downloads while you're free to do other things.
If you need to convert YouTube videos to other formats you can buy the full version of the program which enables you to convert to the following formats: avi, DivX, XviD, rm, rmvb, MOV, MPEG, and WMV. The full version also supports a wider variety of input files than the standard .flv and .swf files that are used on YouTube. The paid version also provides profiles, including for portable devices, and a preview window for conversions.
YouTube Mate works with all current Windows operating systems and requires 512Mb of RAM as minimum, at least a 1Ghz processor (preferably MMX-enhanced) and DirectX 8.0 or later. It's a great utility if you'd like to download YouTube videos and if you don't need the conversion features the price can't be beaten! Download your free copy here.
