What To Expect From This Guide
This is meant to not only accomodate those who are looking to gain new knowledge, but to also provide methods that require the least amount of effort. This guide will only go into detail on how to use addons for Firefox, you're on your own if you wish to find something for a different browser. In this guide, you will learn what addons have the greatest benefit, where to find them, and how to use them. You will be using addons that not only make downloading youtube videos possible, but ones that will optimize your download speeds, and ones that will allow you to manage multiple downloads.Why Addons?
Simply because they are a lot less of a hassle to use. I've tried using programs such as GetFLV and RealPlayer, but I prefer not to. Not only does RealPlayer have a nightmarish interface, but it's really buggy and bad for your computer. GetFLV isn't that bad at all, but it still requires a little more work than browser addons do. Browser addons are much less time consuming to use, a lot easier to work with and you can get so much from them too, so this guide will be dedicated to those.Recommended Addons
Single Link Generators This is what you will generally use to download the video. I will recommend three different addons that are all generally the same, and you can choose whichever best fits your tastes. Download YouTube Videos as MP4 - This is the one that I personally use. I prefer this mostly because the download button blends in very naturally and it only shows the basic features that I care about. (Appearance) Easy Youtube Video Downloader - This would be my top recommendation out of the three. Not only will it download the MP4 of the video, but you also have the option to download only the audio and the album image if you desire. I avoid this mostly out of preference, but this seems to be the best choice for most general users. (Appearance) Flash Video Downloader - This is my least prefered out of the three addons suggested in this guide. Appearance wise, it's a tad bit cluttery and doesn't really have that many redeeming features. Also, this will not download to your browser's directory like the other two addons, it basically makes it to where you set it up on your own. Now, for some people, that may work out well, but I generally prefer using my browser's setting. And since it downloads straight to your directory, it can't be used with DownThemAll. (Appearance) Multiple Link Generator I have only ever used one addon for multilink downloading, but I haven't found any good alternatives. If you know of any that work, feel free to share them in the comments section. BYTubeD - Bulk YouTube video Downloader - Very useful for downloading multiple links and makes it incredibly easy to download multiple videos in a channel. The interface does take a little bit of time to get use to, but once you get the hang of it, it's a really nice tool! Download Manager DownThemAll - This is what I prefer to use for all of my youtube downloads. Not only will it be useful for downloading multiple videos, but it also provides download acceleration (for free) and it's preferable to use in single video downloads as well. It's thanks to this addon that I can download at full speed more frequently. I highly recommend it!The Guide (Resizing images to something more reasonable)
Installing The Addons![]()
Open up the Firefox menu at the top left corner of the screen and select "Add-ons". Type in the names of the addons you wish to use in the search field. The ones I suggested in the previous section will be displayed exactly as they appear in the addons page. Once you have obtained your desired addons, restart the browser (Note: Flash Video Downloader doesn't give you the option to restart after installation and you'll need to do so manually or with a different addon).
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Configuration
The only addons you want to change settings with is ByTubeD, DownThemAll, and Flash Video Downloader (if that's your prefered addon). Easy Youtube Video Downloader and Download YouTube Videos as MP4 are fine as they are.
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DownThemAll - Right click on your browser and select "DownThemAll!..." from the menu. Select the directory you wish to save everything in and that is all. There's no need to apply filters since you'll be using this to download links that have already been generated.
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BYTubeD - Bulk YouTube video Downloader - Right click on an active youtube page and select "BYTubeD" from the menu. Choose the directory that your generated links will be saved in and select the video format/quality you want to download. Setting it to 1080p will make it to where you download the highest available quality. Under the Additional Features and Preferences tabs, you can select whatever you find most convenient (I personally just leave it on default).
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Flash Video Downloader - Click the download and select "Set Default Dowlnoad folder" from the dropdown menu. From here, set the default directory so that it will automatically go to this folder when you choose where to save your videos. You can adjust the other settings as well, if you want, but the default should be fine.
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Downloading Individual Videos
Okay, now that we have everything set up, let's move on to the part where we download the videos. If you've been following the guide so far, this portion should not require a lot of explanation.
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Just go to the video you wish to download, click the download button, select your desired format, and download it using the dTa OneClick! option.
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Downloading Multiple Videos![]()
This part might take a little bit longer than the last. When using BYTubeD, it's best that you do so from a channel or playlist page rather than the actual video page. If you try to use it on the video page, the addon will include additional videos that are not in the playlist you're on (as shown in the illustration above) and it'll be a little less efficient.
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So here's what you want to do: go to the desired channel/playlist > right click anywhere on the screen > select "BYTubeD" from the menu > select the videos you wish to download > and click the start button. Notice how much cleaner it looks now compared to the last image? Yes, there's still a few extras at the end, but not quite as much.
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^Once you have clicked the start button on BYTubeD, you should have a page that looks something like this. This is where the links are generated and ready for download. It is less than ideal to download using this addon and will take a lot less time if you use DownThemAll. So what you want to do at this point is right click somewhere on this screen, select "DownThemAll!...", and proceed with the download.
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Doing this will open up the DTA interface where you will select which videos you will download from this list. Since you've already selected the videos you wanted in BYTubeD, there's no need to sort them out here (or you could sort them out using DTA, but I prefer doing this on BYTubeD). Now with DTA, you have to "check" the videos in order to download them. You do this by using CTRL + A to "select" all videos, and then you right click and choose the option "Check Selected Items". After that, you hit Start! and your download begins.
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Once the download has begun, just wait a little while for the videos to download and you're good to go. While you're waiting you can bring up the preferences window at the bottom right corner and set it to download however you want to. Also, ignore the 403 errors in the above image, my computer is a little bit screwy at the moment and it probably won't happen for many others (I haven't had this problem in the past).Concluding Statement
I hope this guide has been useful and informative to you. If there's any portion of the guide that you think can be improved, feel free to share your thoughts. I would definitely appreciate some useful feedback. Also, I may not stay completely up-to-date on everything involving these addons, but if there are any major changes made to them, I will try to include them in this guide.
This is meant to not only accomodate those who are looking to gain new knowledge, but to also provide methods that require the least amount of effort. This guide will only go into detail on how to use addons for Firefox, you're on your own if you wish to find something for a different browser. In this guide, you will learn what addons have the greatest benefit, where to find them, and how to use them. You will be using addons that not only make downloading youtube videos possible, but ones that will optimize your download speeds, and ones that will allow you to manage multiple downloads.
Simply because they are a lot less of a hassle to use. I've tried using programs such as GetFLV and RealPlayer, but I prefer not to. Not only does RealPlayer have a nightmarish interface, but it's really buggy and bad for your computer. GetFLV isn't that bad at all, but it still requires a little more work than browser addons do. Browser addons are much less time consuming to use, a lot easier to work with and you can get so much from them too, so this guide will be dedicated to those.
Single Link Generators This is what you will generally use to download the video. I will recommend three different addons that are all generally the same, and you can choose whichever best fits your tastes. Download YouTube Videos as MP4 - This is the one that I personally use. I prefer this mostly because the download button blends in very naturally and it only shows the basic features that I care about. (Appearance) Easy Youtube Video Downloader - This would be my top recommendation out of the three. Not only will it download the MP4 of the video, but you also have the option to download only the audio and the album image if you desire. I avoid this mostly out of preference, but this seems to be the best choice for most general users. (Appearance) Flash Video Downloader - This is my least prefered out of the three addons suggested in this guide. Appearance wise, it's a tad bit cluttery and doesn't really have that many redeeming features. Also, this will not download to your browser's directory like the other two addons, it basically makes it to where you set it up on your own. Now, for some people, that may work out well, but I generally prefer using my browser's setting. And since it downloads straight to your directory, it can't be used with DownThemAll. (Appearance) Multiple Link Generator I have only ever used one addon for multilink downloading, but I haven't found any good alternatives. If you know of any that work, feel free to share them in the comments section. BYTubeD - Bulk YouTube video Downloader - Very useful for downloading multiple links and makes it incredibly easy to download multiple videos in a channel. The interface does take a little bit of time to get use to, but once you get the hang of it, it's a really nice tool! Download Manager DownThemAll - This is what I prefer to use for all of my youtube downloads. Not only will it be useful for downloading multiple videos, but it also provides download acceleration (for free) and it's preferable to use in single video downloads as well. It's thanks to this addon that I can download at full speed more frequently. I highly recommend it!
Installing The Addons
Open up the Firefox menu at the top left corner of the screen and select "Add-ons". Type in the names of the addons you wish to use in the search field. The ones I suggested in the previous section will be displayed exactly as they appear in the addons page. Once you have obtained your desired addons, restart the browser (Note: Flash Video Downloader doesn't give you the option to restart after installation and you'll need to do so manually or with a different addon).
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Configuration
The only addons you want to change settings with is ByTubeD, DownThemAll, and Flash Video Downloader (if that's your prefered addon). Easy Youtube Video Downloader and Download YouTube Videos as MP4 are fine as they are.
DownThemAll - Right click on your browser and select "DownThemAll!..." from the menu. Select the directory you wish to save everything in and that is all. There's no need to apply filters since you'll be using this to download links that have already been generated.
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BYTubeD - Bulk YouTube video Downloader - Right click on an active youtube page and select "BYTubeD" from the menu. Choose the directory that your generated links will be saved in and select the video format/quality you want to download. Setting it to 1080p will make it to where you download the highest available quality. Under the Additional Features and Preferences tabs, you can select whatever you find most convenient (I personally just leave it on default).
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Flash Video Downloader - Click the download and select "Set Default Dowlnoad folder" from the dropdown menu. From here, set the default directory so that it will automatically go to this folder when you choose where to save your videos. You can adjust the other settings as well, if you want, but the default should be fine.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Downloading Individual Videos
Okay, now that we have everything set up, let's move on to the part where we download the videos. If you've been following the guide so far, this portion should not require a lot of explanation.
Just go to the video you wish to download, click the download button, select your desired format, and download it using the dTa OneClick! option.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Downloading Multiple Videos
This part might take a little bit longer than the last. When using BYTubeD, it's best that you do so from a channel or playlist page rather than the actual video page. If you try to use it on the video page, the addon will include additional videos that are not in the playlist you're on (as shown in the illustration above) and it'll be a little less efficient.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So here's what you want to do: go to the desired channel/playlist > right click anywhere on the screen > select "BYTubeD" from the menu > select the videos you wish to download > and click the start button. Notice how much cleaner it looks now compared to the last image? Yes, there's still a few extras at the end, but not quite as much.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
^Once you have clicked the start button on BYTubeD, you should have a page that looks something like this. This is where the links are generated and ready for download. It is less than ideal to download using this addon and will take a lot less time if you use DownThemAll. So what you want to do at this point is right click somewhere on this screen, select "DownThemAll!...", and proceed with the download.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Doing this will open up the DTA interface where you will select which videos you will download from this list. Since you've already selected the videos you wanted in BYTubeD, there's no need to sort them out here (or you could sort them out using DTA, but I prefer doing this on BYTubeD). Now with DTA, you have to "check" the videos in order to download them. You do this by using CTRL + A to "select" all videos, and then you right click and choose the option "Check Selected Items". After that, you hit Start! and your download begins.
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Once the download has begun, just wait a little while for the videos to download and you're good to go. While you're waiting you can bring up the preferences window at the bottom right corner and set it to download however you want to. Also, ignore the 403 errors in the above image, my computer is a little bit screwy at the moment and it probably won't happen for many others (I haven't had this problem in the past).I hope this guide has been useful and informative to you. If there's any portion of the guide that you think can be improved, feel free to share your thoughts. I would definitely appreciate some useful feedback. Also, I may not stay completely up-to-date on everything involving these addons, but if there are any major changes made to them, I will try to include them in this guide.