6 ms·

I just download youtube videos[1]. It has many advantages over youtube.com. Hardware acceleration is one but also no stalling when skipping ahead, no disappeari

I just download youtube videos[1]. It has many advantages over youtube.com. Hardware acceleration is one but also no stalling when skipping ahead, no disappearing videos that you planned to watch later, no need to sign in. Actually, youtube as a repository of material for download works much better than youtube as a streaming site. [1] http://rg3.github.io/youtube-dl/ http://rg3.github.io/youtube-dl/

Crito 13y ago
I do the same. The one disadvantage is you lose the ability to click on overlayed links to related videos that some people often put at the end of their videos.
- erichurkman 13y ago
  I could argue that being a benefit -- the overlays and other annoyances during the video playback go away, too. So do the YouTube comments.
  - Crito 13y ago
    I'd say it depends entirely on the video/channel. For instance, on Brady Haran channels (Periodic Videos, Sixy Symbols, Numberphile, etc) the overlays are very useful as they link to videos about tangentially related topics, followup videos on the same topic, or even other videos on the same topic featuring a different professor explaining things a different way.
onosendai 13y ago
I second this. I've been using youtube-dl for years and it's essential for viewing video content on your terms. A little know fact that no one seems to mention about this tool is that, the name notwithstanding, it also supports many other sites besides Youtube (use --list-extractors for a full list, currently 108!)
- arprocter 13y ago
  I also found newer versions have a --buffer-size option which allows you to set a huge buffer and download at a much higher speed
x0054 13y ago
On OSX I highly recommend YouView[1]. It streams H.264, and CPU usage during playback is 1/3 of what the browser player uses. I guess it really inconsequential unless you are on a laptop. On a laptop it's a difference in 1-1.5 hours of battery life. [1] https://mrgeckosmedia.com/applications/info/YouView https://mrgeckosmedia.com/applications/info/YouView
- jsilence 13y ago
  Awesome! Thank you for this hint!
- rcthompson 13y ago
  I used YouView for a while, but I switched to Mactubes because YouView doesn't have Retina support. But I much prefer YouView's interface, and I would switch back in a moment if they released a Retina-enabled version.
  - x0054 13y ago
    I have a rMBP as well. You can use a little program called Retinizer[1] to convert YouView to retina compatible app. Retinizer works on almost any cocoa app, I have tried it on a bunch. All it does is set a flag in the info.plist file that tells OSX that the app is HiDPI compatible, the OS does the rest. You should also get Maximizer[2] to add full screen app option for it. [1] http://retinizer.mikelpr.com/ http://retinizer.mikelpr.com/ [2] http://chpwn.com/apps/maximizer.html http://chpwn.com/apps/maximizer.html
    - rcthompson 13y ago
      Retinizer is nice, but it only "retinizes" the UI controls in YouView, not the actual video view, which is the part that matters.
      - x0054 13y ago
        Ha! You are right. I usually watch videos in 720p, because my connection isn't all that great to YouTube servers, so I never noticed. Just tried it with a 1080p clip, and sure enough, the content isn't running in retina resolution. I guess if I haven't noticed after this long, I am not switching, but good catch.
voltagex_ 13y ago
The only issue I have with youtube-dl is that there's nothing stopping Google from playing hardball and blocking youtube-dl completely. That said, I'd love a Firefox plugin that dumps the YT url directly to youtube-dl.
- panzi 13y ago
  This userscript downloads the video via the browser. I guess YouTube shouldn't be able to tell if the user downloads the video or views it with the html5 player. The script can be used with Firefox (Greasemonkey) and Chrome. http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/98782 http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/98782 Please only use it to download videos that are under a free license or otherwise allow downloads. ;)
saurabh 13y ago
I use SMTube[1] for that. http://smplayer.sourceforge.net/en/smtube http://smplayer.sourceforge.net/en/smtube
anom987 13y ago
And no ads!

Crito 13y ago

I do the same. The one disadvantage is you lose the ability to click on overlayed links to related videos that some people often put at the end of their videos.

erichurkman 13y ago
I could argue that being a benefit -- the overlays and other annoyances during the video playback go away, too. So do the YouTube comments.
- Crito 13y ago
  I'd say it depends entirely on the video/channel. For instance, on Brady Haran channels (Periodic Videos, Sixy Symbols, Numberphile, etc) the overlays are very useful as they link to videos about tangentially related topics, followup videos on the same topic, or even other videos on the same topic featuring a different professor explaining things a different way.

onosendai 13y ago

I second this. I've been using youtube-dl for years and it's essential for viewing video content on your terms. A little know fact that no one seems to mention about this tool is that, the name notwithstanding, it also supports many other sites besides Youtube (use --list-extractors for a full list, currently 108!)

arprocter 13y ago
I also found newer versions have a --buffer-size option which allows you to set a huge buffer and download at a much higher speed

x0054 13y ago

On OSX I highly recommend YouView[1]. It streams H.264, and CPU usage during playback is 1/3 of what the browser player uses. I guess it really inconsequential unless you are on a laptop. On a laptop it's a difference in 1-1.5 hours of battery life. [1] https://mrgeckosmedia.com/applications/info/YouView https://mrgeckosmedia.com/applications/info/YouView

jsilence 13y ago
Awesome! Thank you for this hint!
rcthompson 13y ago
I used YouView for a while, but I switched to Mactubes because YouView doesn't have Retina support. But I much prefer YouView's interface, and I would switch back in a moment if they released a Retina-enabled version.
- x0054 13y ago
  I have a rMBP as well. You can use a little program called Retinizer[1] to convert YouView to retina compatible app. Retinizer works on almost any cocoa app, I have tried it on a bunch. All it does is set a flag in the info.plist file that tells OSX that the app is HiDPI compatible, the OS does the rest. You should also get Maximizer[2] to add full screen app option for it. [1] http://retinizer.mikelpr.com/ http://retinizer.mikelpr.com/ [2] http://chpwn.com/apps/maximizer.html http://chpwn.com/apps/maximizer.html
  - rcthompson 13y ago
    Retinizer is nice, but it only "retinizes" the UI controls in YouView, not the actual video view, which is the part that matters.
    - x0054 13y ago
      Ha! You are right. I usually watch videos in 720p, because my connection isn't all that great to YouTube servers, so I never noticed. Just tried it with a 1080p clip, and sure enough, the content isn't running in retina resolution. I guess if I haven't noticed after this long, I am not switching, but good catch.

voltagex_ 13y ago

The only issue I have with youtube-dl is that there's nothing stopping Google from playing hardball and blocking youtube-dl completely. That said, I'd love a Firefox plugin that dumps the YT url directly to youtube-dl.

panzi 13y ago
This userscript downloads the video via the browser. I guess YouTube shouldn't be able to tell if the user downloads the video or views it with the html5 player. The script can be used with Firefox (Greasemonkey) and Chrome. http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/98782 http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/98782 Please only use it to download videos that are under a free license or otherwise allow downloads. ;)

saurabh 13y ago

I use SMTube[1] for that. http://smplayer.sourceforge.net/en/smtube http://smplayer.sourceforge.net/en/smtube

anom987 13y ago

And no ads!