By Justin Pot, MakeUseOf – August 11, 2012 at 04:31PM
Download any YouTube video, playlist or channel with what is perhaps the best YouTube downloading tool ever. Direct YouTube Downloader is a Windows program that makes backing up your favorites for offline viewing easy.
Yes, there are other YouTube downloading tools out there, including more than a few web apps. Why pay any attention to this one? Its feature list. This program lets you download your choice of format direct from YouTube’s servers, and can also convert those videos to play on a number of different portable devices including the iPad, Android, iPhone and even the PSP.
But the main reason to use this program in place of the competition is the ability to download entire channels or playlists. If you want to catch up with all the episodes of a particular channel during your next trip, this is the tool you’re looking for.
Please remember though that YouTubers need you to visit their channel – their viewcounts determine their popularity and their pay – so don’t use this service for every video you watch. If you just want to take some YouTube videos with you for offline viewing, however, it’s hard to find a better tool for the job.
Using Direct YouTube Downloader
Like most YouTube downloading software the interface is simple at first glance. There’s a box where you can paste URLs to videos (by default any YouTube URL you copy will show automatically).
But as I said, this isn’t limited to videos. You can also download the entirety of a particular playlist or channel. Downloading a playlist is simple – just copy a link to the playlist. This can usually be found on a given channel’s page. For example: you could download Crash Course World History, one of the best shows on YouTube.
From here you can pick which videos to download or simply download them all. Again, YouTube users need views so watch videos online whenever possible.
To download an entire channel, simply type the username. For best results, type “cgpgrey”:
Seriously: if you’re not subscribed to CGP Grey on YouTube that needs to change. Immediately.
The software gives you control over the quality of the video you’re downloading. By default you’ll get the highest quality offered; change this if like.
The range of quality offered will very depending on video – a video uploaded in SD obviously won’t be available in HD. You can also convert the videos you’re downloading to formats for specific devices – a nice feature if you want to fill your iPad with videos for an upcoming trip.
I don’t own these devices, so I was unable to test, but if you do own them, please share your experience in the comments below.
There are a few settings you can tweak, including your downloads folder and whether or not the software should start at boot.
Why you’d want this to start at boot is a mystery, but hey, the option is there.
Install Direct YouTube Downloader
Ready to try this software out? Download Direct YouTube Downloader here. Be warned, there’s a couple of sneaky toolbars in this installer:
Remember, kids – pay attention when you’re installing Windows software or you might end up with toolbars. Knowledge is power!
Conclusion
There are no end of tools out there for downloading YouTube videos, but this one offers more features than most. I’d highly recommend checking it out. Of course if you know of something better you should point it out. Share your suggestions in the comments below.