The 5 Best Tools to Download Streaming Video from Any Website

Advances in internet connectivity have enabled video streaming across websites. Sites like YouTube take a big chunk of video content viewed and uploaded every day. In fact, more than 400 hours of video content make way to the site every 60 seconds. Besides, the site has a greater reach than even cable TV, especially in the 18 to 49 demographics. 

Other than trying to become a top 15 YouTube channel, streaming sites like Twitch, Dailymotion, Vimeo, and so on have their share of content and following, proving that indeed online video is becoming the trend. It also indicates the massive amount of data flowing around, making it hard to afford accorded monthly data allowance. If your Internet service provider caps your monthly data allowance, you might need to dig deeper into the pocket to stream more video. 

The best solution to all these expenses is to download the streaming video and watch it offline as many times as you may want. But how do you do these? Below are common tools to help you capture or download streaming video. 

1. Video DownloadHelper

Video DownloadHelper is one of the most commonly used browser extensions that quickly downloads streaming videos into your device. However, most people avoid the extension because it must install on the browser to work. No one wants to add another extension on top of others and eventually slow Chrome down. However, if you regularly find interesting online videos you wish to watch offline, Video DownloadHelper should be your preference. 

Once you add the extension to your browser, a new button will appear next to your address bar. You will need to click the button every time you are on a page with an online video that you want to download. A pop-up box will appear to help you choose the destination of the video once it downloads. 

With Video DownloadHelper, you can download videos from Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Lynda, Vimeo, Twitter, and hundreds of other sites. The extension works on Firefox and Chrome. 

2. 4K Video Downloader

4K Video Downloader is perhaps the most straightforward tool to capture video from any website. It is the best option for you if you just want a no-hassle tool that requires very little input from your side. You can understand all the dynamics associated with this tool within a day, and you’ll be pleased with its quick response. 

You simply need to open the video page on your browser, copy the link, and paste it into the 4K Video Downloader. Sure, you can paste links to channels and playlists to get every clip or video available. Also, the tool lets you subscribe to any YouTube channel to download every video posted there automatically. It’s worth noting that the 4K Video Downloader also downloads subtitles and annotations in the YouTube videos. 

With a 4K Video Downloader, you can choose the resolutions you prefer in the downloaded videos. However, the tool can’t provide a higher resolution than the uploaded video. Other available formats include FLV, MKV, and MP4. Besides, you can download an audio version of the video in MP3 or M4A format. 

4K Video Downloader is available on Linux, Mac, and Windows and supports Facebook, Dailymotion, Vimeo, YouTube, and several other sites. 

3. Freemake Video Downloader

The Freemake tool could be the most popular video downloader only if available on numerous operating systems. However, you can only use the site on Windows PC. As the name suggests, the tool is entirely free, not to mention its ease of use and flexibility. 

Freemake Video Downloader offers a wide variety of quality and format options requiring you to copy the link and paste it in. You can download video and MP3 audio from Facebook, Vimeo, YouTube, and dozens of other sites. 

4. JDownloader

Unlike other stream downloaders featured in this list, JDownloader does not require a direct link to a specific video to download. You only need the link to a page with the video, and the tool will scan for all its videos. Your job will be to pick which detected videos you want to download. For example, you can take any GeekInsider article with ten embedded videos, and all of them will appear in the tool. Click on the video you wish to download, and the rest will happen automatically—no more stress finding out the direct link to a specific video. Besides, you can capture several videos effortlessly. 

When downloading JDownloader, you need to avoid the bundleware full of unnecessary programs. If you are keen enough, you will notice a page requesting you to install “Bing Search” (or something of the sort) during JDownloader installation. “Accept” and “Decline” buttons will appear on the same page. Be sure to select “Decline’ to prevent the unnecessary bundleware installation in your system. 

JDownloader supports nearly any site with streaming video and is available on Mac, Windows, and Linux. 

5. Youtube-dl

If you’re an advanced user well-versed with the command line, youtube-dl is the perfect option. Note that the tool is complicated enough, so you should expect some documentation. Common features in this tool include automatic file naming, quality parameters, download rate limit, the inclusion of ads, several video selection, downloading subtitles, and playlist processing. 

Youtube-dl is available on Linux, Mac, and Windows and supports thousands of sites, including HBO, Facebook, Dailymotion, and YouTube. Moreover, you can download files in M4A, WEBM, OGG, 3GP, MP4, AAC, WAV, and FLV formats. 

The tools discussed above should help you download any video that you encounter online. Remember that you can also record your screen playing the video in full-screen mode if these tools don’t support your site. However, some apps and sites, especially TV streaming services, will bar the screen recorder from capturing the video footage. The recorder may seem to function, but you will face a blank screen when you go to play the video. It means that the recorder may work in some instances, but it’s not a perfect solution.