Saving YouTube videos?

[vid83]

What is a common free software used to download YouTube videos to a hard drive?
I am wanting download YouTube videos to my hard drive and from my hard drive to my cell phone so that I can watch videos on my phone.

[MOVIEGEEK]

www.keepvid.com

[vid83]

www.keepvid.com

I mean an actual software, not through a website.
There are some I can find on my own but what are some reputable ones out there that most people uses? I'm new to this.

[Wink Dinkerson]

In FireFox, you can use the Download Helper extension. The program will allow you to download and convert to several formats. This program is free and works.

[guns1inger]

I use both, but keepvid.com and keephd.com are simply the most convenient. Just add them as to the links/bookmarks toolbar of your browser and click. Download Helper covers a wider range of pages than KeepVid and KeepHD, and has become more reliable over time. Either is a good solution.

I have yet to find a standalone program that works anywhere near as good as these solutions. Most of them seem to fail to download even the standard flv version, and have no hope at all of getting the higher quality versions.

[johns0]

Cant remember the post but someone mentioned using kick in the address to d/l something from youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch  to  http://www.kickyoutube.com/watch

[vid83]

I've noticed sites like the ones you mentioned where you can enter the video URL and you can download the videos. How do sites like these work if it is not a standalone program?

[johns0]

The kick option i mentioned puts up an extra border above the picture which has a few options and a go button which changes to a down after you click on it which then downloads the video.

[guns1inger]

If you go to Keepvid.com it will show you how to put a button on your browser tool bar. Go to the youtube page with the video you want to keep, press the button on the browser bar (basically just a favorite/bookmark link) and it returns the download link to save your video.

Download Helper puts an icon on your browser toolbar that rotates when a downloadable video is detected. Click on the icon and it gives you a list of links to choose from.

[mikeny]

I lost my original .mp4 which I uploaded to youtube and I tried keepvid, savevid and a trial of 'Replay Video' but the 'HD .FLV that you get access to has substantially reduced quality than the original. Luckily I found my source file..in the Recycle Bin.

[MJ Peg]

Look in the hidden folders in your cache folder ---\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5 and you'll probably find the flv or mp4 file that you can copy into another folder for safekeeping

[FTW]

you can use FlashGot to snag those vids. It's free and works in both Win & OSX.

[jagabo]

Orbit Downloader, Replay Media Catcher, or just look in your browser's cache.