As you well know, Google’s YouTube is one of the most popular video sharing sites out there. Millions of people watch videos in YouTube daily and probably wonder if there is any way they can download them into their computers. A few tech-savvy people do it through certain browser plugins and computer applications designed to download online video.
In order to get YouTube movies into a DVD, first you have to download the video, and then if necessary, convert the format so that it fits into a DVD. The downloaders usually do the conversion too. First, let’s look at how you download videos from YouTube.
If you have a regular Windows PC or laptop, then use one of the following applications to download videos from YouTube. Some of these applications also work with other video sharing sites like MetaCafe, DailyMotion, MegaVideo, Veoh, etc.
VDownloader
Well, if you want a free application for video download, this is the one. VDownloader is an absolutely free application, and it downloads from several popular video sharing sites. The number of file formats supported also is big—avi, mp4, 3gp, mpg, flv, and the list goes on. Besides this, the application uses a built-in proxy server that helps download from blocked video sites.
In fact, if you have an application like Nero, then this downloader is all you need to fetch, convert, and burn videos into a DVD.
ClipGrab
This is another free program for not only YouTube, but also DailyMotion, Vimeo, MyVideo, etc., among others. ClipGrab is available for both Windows and Apple Mac OS X. The videos can be converted to MPEG4, WMV, OGG, etc.
Fastest Free YouTube Downloader
Just as the name suggests, Fastest Free YouTube Downloader downloads videos from YouTube very quickly. Tests have indicated that it fetches videos at the speed of nearly 2MB/s (that’s 16mbps). As long as you have a fast Internet connection, this application could be very useful. Also, it has both Windows and Mac versions.
Here’s a how to video:
Tubulator
With an interface similar to your web browser, this download manager is easy on the eyes. Although it has limited support for output format, it is a free version for the time being.
Until the software development reaches version 1.0, Tubulator will remain free. And it has got a Mac version too.
Vixy Freecorder
Vixy Freecorder runs from your browser, whether it is Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, or Mozilla Firefox. The application is free and powerful. Vixy Freecorder can download videos from a number of sites other than YouTube. It also can download videos in HD format. The biggest advantage of the application is that it has what you really need—a media converter. It can convert videos into other popular file formats so that you can burn them into a DVD or a VCD easily.
Besides these applications, you can use the following website to download the video directly.
FetchVideo.com
This is a popular video download site. Just paste the URL of the YouTube video you want to download and press the button ‘Download by URL’. It will generate a download window, from where you have to click ‘Run’ in order for the download to start. However, you should have your browser’s Java plugin updated and enabled properly as the site uses Java for this purpose.
Do you have that video downloaded? Good! The video you have is probably in .flv format. If so, you need a converter to make it into the DVD format. If you already have a proprietary application installed (such as Nero Burning Rom), then the conversion is not difficult. In case you don’t have an application, here is the free alternative.
Creating DVD Directly From YouTube Videos
The free application developed by DVDVideoSoft, the Free YouTube to DVD Converter is a complete application that downloads and converts YouTube videos and then burns them into a DVD. Here is the ‘for-dummies’ for this application
1. Download the Free YouTube to DVD Converter from here.
2. Open up YouTube and get the links to the videos that you want to download (make it into a list), and paste the list into the application.
3. Among the presets, make your choice (DVD-NTSC or DVD-PAL).
4. Now, click on ‘Create DVD’, and off you go!
The Free YouTube to DVD converter, as you can see, is an amazing application. Maybe, you could use just that to get a DVD collection of all your favorite YouTube videos.