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I'm wordering how apps such as Video DownloadHelper work.
Any ideas?
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It essentially reverse engineers the HTML/JavaScript (previously Flash/ActionScript) that serves the video and gets the source. It then prompts your browser to start downloading that FLV file, or it converts it in the cloud for you to download in the format you want.
In case you are watching a video and want to save it for offline viewing, just tap on the Download button (down arrow) below the video title. In this case as well, YouTube will ask you to choose the video quality. Once the download is complete, you'll see a “View” button at the bottom.
YouTube is designed only to allow users to watch and view (stream) videos and movies on their website. Many users want to download or save YouTube videos to their computer to watch offline, view on other devices, capture a picture or screenshot of a scene, or edit them.
Of all the YouTube downloaders we've tried, WinX HD Video Converter Deluxe is the most impressive. It doesn't just grab videos – it can also convert them into virtually any format, rips content from DVDs and Blu-ray discs, and lets you burn your own. It handles 4K content with ease, too.
UPDATE: This answer may now be outdated, see comments below. This was going to happen eventually anyway, as YouTube phases out FLV and shifts toward HTML5 video...
They simply resolve the link to the actual FLV file, and download it.
This is done by copying the video identifier from the URL:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEeqHj3Nj2c
Which is used to request info about the video:
http://www.youtube.com/get_video_info?&video_id=WEeqHj3Nj2c
The video info includes a TOKEN, which you can then you use to make another request:
http://www.youtube.com/get_video?video_id=WEeqHj3Nj2c&t=TOKEN
If all goes well, YouTube will respond with HTTP 303 See Other, including a Location header with a direct link to the FLV file.
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