TMO Quick Tip - Saving YouTube Videos to Your Mac

by , 7:30 AM EDT, June 27th, 2007

Just because you can watch streaming videos from YouTube doesn't mean that's always the best way to see them. Even if you will be away from an Internet connection, you can still watch YouTube content by converting the videos and saving them to your hard drive.

Here are a few of options:

• TubeTV TubeTV is an application that works like a mini Web browser, so you can sift through YouTube content until you find what you are looking for, Alternately, it can grab a URL from your Web browser, or you can enter a URL in TubeTV's Web address field.

  Apps like TubeTV can convert streaming videos...

  Once you find the video you want, TubeTV will save the movie and convert it for playback on an Apple TV, iPod, or Mac. It also converts Google video files for playback, too. TubeTV is free, and you can download it from the Chimoosoft Web site.

• TubeSock TubeSock has been around long enough to make it to version 2. This application converts YouTube and DailyMotion videos for playback on your Mac, iPod or PlayStation Portable. If you have several videos to convert and save, you can load them up in TubeSock's queue, and let it do its magic while you are away or working on other projects.

  ...into movie files on your hard drive.

  If all you want is the audio portion from a movie, TubeSock can handle that, too. It simply strips out the video portion leaving you with just the sound track. TubeSock costs US$15, and is available for download at the Stinkbot Web site.

• Vixy.net Not interested in adding another application to your hard drive? Try Vixy.net. This Web site handles all the dirty work of converting YouTube content into files you can download to your computer, and you can specify what file format you prefer for the converted movie.

  Vixy.net uses a Web interface to convert videos.

  Like TubeTV, it is free to use. I found, however, that Vixy.net can be a little flaky at times, and I often had to try several times before it would convert YouTube videos with out erroring out and failing.

Remember to treat the videos you download from YouTube with respect, regardless of the quality of the content. Don't repackage or resell the videos without permission from the author.

Jeff Gamet is TMO's Morning Editor and Reviews Editor. He lectures, teaches and speaks on Mac OS X and design-related topics, and is the author of The Designer's Guide to Mac OS X from Peachpit Press.

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