How to Capture YouTube to a Mac

As a video resource, YouTube is one of the most commonly used and referenced sources. It has an abundance of videos in many genres for people of all ages to enjoy. If you want to capture a video from YouTube to keep on your Mac computer’s hard drive, it is a simple process. Using Safari, the Web browser native to Macs, you can download embedded videos, such as those on YouTube.

Things You'll Need

• Safari

Instructions

1. Open Safari on your Mac by double-clicking on it. Safari is in the dock or your Applications folder.

2. Navigate to the YouTube video you want to capture. Click “Activity” in the Windows menu.

3. Select the largest file from the list of files on the page. It will usually be 3 MB or more. Double click on the file. A new window will open. Leave the window alone while the file downloads.

4. Click on the new file on your desktop to highlight the text. Change the file extension to FLV.

Tips & Warnings

• You will need a VLC player or Perian for QuickTime to view the FLV files on your Mac.

References

• Mac OS X Hints: Easily download YouTube movies via Safari Web Browsers
• The WWW Blog: How to download youtube videos from Safari browser in Mac OS X

Resources

• Video Lan: VLC media player
• Perian: Perian Download