Download YouTube HQ22 HQ37 HQ38

08.Mar 2015 important information!
Download Helper 4.x is no longer working with Firefox since its version 36! Download Helper 5 ist still being developed - you can read about it here: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/video-downloadhelper-5  Currently I'm trying the Beta http://www.downloadhelper.net/install-beta.php?version=5.0.0b1

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I often download a YouTube video ...  to extract a soundtrack and save it as mp3 or to save a short film for offline viewing, so the kids can watch stuff in the train and so on.
There are many documented methods out there but still some people aren't aware, that all web videos actually can be saved. I use three different tools to get the best results:

• the Firefox Add-On Download Helper  or use keepvid.com (no add-on needed 08. Mar 2015)
• and Handbrake to convert the videos to the size and format that best suits my needs
• AudioCoder for all audio related tasks with full control (aka Mediacoder Audio Edition)

Before you start grabbing videos you need to know just one important thing:
>> YouTube offers most videos in different resolutions

Let me give you an example: If you're an audiophile type, then you certainly want to know that higher quality streams also offer better audio encoding. It might be essential to the music grabber to understand the different quality levels available, since Download Helper offers you to choose the desired encoding and size level. If you haven't heard about that, you gonna end up with lower quality than expected.

[Update 03. Aug 2014]  >  Important: A lot of time has passed since I wrote this up in 2010. Meanwhile all cell phones and portable devices became real media powerhouses. 90% of the readers can stop reading here because you will be perfectly happy, if you just get download Helper for Firefox and always grab the HQ22 / 720p  youtube video stream or use keepvid.com (no add-on needed 08. Mar 2015) . You then have a clean MP4 video with good resolution and decent file size which will suit almost all your needs. Just trust me on this. [/end]


This list gives you an overview of common YouTube formats
(for a complete listing check the wikipedia link below)

Type	Resolution	Ratio	Format	Audio (quality)	Name	video bit rate
[HQ6]	480x360	4:3	FLV	mono	HQ6
[HQ18]	480x360	4:3	MP4	stereo	add &fmt=18 to url
[HQ35]	854x480	16:9	FLV	44.1 kHz stereo AAC 102kps	480p
[HQ22]	1280x720	16:9	MP4	44.1 khz stereo AAC LC 128kps	720p	~730kbps @30fps
[HQ13]	176x144	4:3	3GP	mono	HQ13
[HQ17]	176x144	4:3	3GP	stereo	QCIF Mobile
[HQ34]	640x360	16:9	FLV	stereo	360p
[HQ37] nov, 2009	1920x1080	16:9	MP4	stereo	1080p
[HQ38]	3840x2160 ( was 4096x 2304) also 2048x1152	16:9	MP4 AVC1 high @L5.0	44.1kHz stereo AAC 151Kbps /VBR)	4k  or  4096p or “original” or 2k, 2160p (old 2048p)	4k ~??? 2k ~1570 kbps @30fps
[HQ5]	400x226	16:9	FLV	stereo	240p

DASH video streams:

[HQ137]	1920x1080	16:9	MP4	AAC	1080p

[discontinued formats are greyed out]

25.05.2014: Since November 2013 HQ37 / 1080p streams can't be easily saved anymore. YouTube began using the protocol DASH (Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP) to stream 1080p videos. Current YouTube download programs can't handle DASH.  Dash or mpeg-dash are breaking the content into a sequence of small HTTP-based file segments, conventional web servers can then send those segments.
To download 1080p youtube DASH streams try the firefox addon Easy Youtube Video Download Expess - works fine for me. Not as comfortable as download helper but it just works.
Or use keepvid.com to grab 4k video streams, no audio though (no add-on needed).

(04 Aug 2014 update forget the add wares I mentioned in May - although Freemake is the only known option to me for downloading 4k Videos from youtube)  MassTube - adware alert! - adfree version @Softpedia works fine for me. Also the AdWare Freemake works - MAKE SURE you don't use express installations! I've warned you.

05.02.2014: interestingly some of my format observations differ from the table at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YouTube


In some cases you then want to convert the downloaded stuff:
>> Handbrake is very easy to use and delivers fantastic results.

• Open the video you want to convert (the source video)
• choose one of the predefined profiles
• edit the settings (resolution) to your likings
• choose the destination for the converted file
• go!

Looking for an easy way to create MP3 Files from the grabbed video? Usually it takes only two to three clicks to extract the sound. I suggest using AudioCoder. (Beacause of LAME.exe problems and drag&drop you should download the 32bit version only.) I convert because I prefer how perfectly mp3 is treated by all devices out there - I'm talking about skipping tracks, embedding cover art, embedding meta data etc.
You lose a bit of quality while converting AAC to let's say mp3 "cbr 164kb/s" because both are lossy compression formats but I couldn't care less about that, while being in a crowded airport or a TGV...   phreaks just shouldn't convert.

[09.08.2011 - please note, that I'm checking on alternatives to MediaCoder products because - they violate GPL for not properly informing about the ffmpeg licence, not to mention the absence of source code providing since 2008. Chinese product - open source first - closed source since 2008? It's wrong. BTW Same problem with Freemake - with freemake I'm even more sceptic because they hide all their intentions and sources.]

>>  If you want to deal with the original AAC audio stream only,  you might want to try the small tool Yamb >> developer site, "editing" / "extract streams"to split/demux the AAC audio stream from the video stream.