How to Download Facebook Videos

 

Everyone focuses on downloading YouTube videos, or videos from any other popular platform. Downloading Facebook videos seems a bit uncanny and may not have been thought of by many because there is no direct option for it. I am not sure that there are a lot of converters which would be able to get the job done in an effective manner while promising high output quality. That was till the time I checked out this amazing online video conversion tool which supported Facebook video conversion. 

So I decided to check it out this tool and find out whether it was really capable of delivering what it was claiming. I opened my Facebook profile and found a video of my friend SahilMakhija (a.k.a the Demonstealer) promoting his band, Demonic Resurrection. This was a decent video which I am sure that all the fans of the band would want to download and circulate on WhatsApp and other messaging platforms. 

 

I copied the URL of the video’s link and then opened the website for the online tool. On the home screen I selected the “Extract audio or video from URL” option. As a test, I decided to keep the destination format as MP4. However, there were plenty of audio as well as video formats that I could have selected from. Personally I felt that the availability of such formats only strengthened the trust that I had on the tool. 

I made no change to the default settings for video resolution and aspect ratio. Neither did I select a specific section of the video to be converted. Once I had finished marking the fields, I clicked on the convert button and to be surprise, the file had converted in less than 30 seconds. This was unlike any other experience that I have had before. 

 

The file was made ready for download and the file size (in MP4) was nothing out of the ordinary. 138 MB was considerable. Anyways I decided to hit the download button and within a few minutes, I was able to get the video. The moment I played the video, I was taken aback by the quality of the video. I am not saying that it converted the video to a super high definition format. But for a converted file taken from Facebook, the quality was pretty good. Now I could get all the videos that my friends uploaded on Facebook. 

This is a really great tool, which I personally recommend to all. Why don’t you try it out? Go ahead, and give it a shot. Don’t forget to share your experiences and views in the discussions thread below.
 

How to Choose an Online Video Converter

When it comes to downloading online videos from YouTube and other video sharing platforms, the first thought that comes in our mind is, “Which online video converter should I choose?” This question is not as simple as it appears. There are hundreds of options when searching for an online video converter, each offering some highly desirable features. The point of concern is whether the claims are genuine.

It is important that the online tool that you have selected is capable of maintaining high quality in the output file. Here are some of the factors you should consider when searching for a tool to convert your video to a different file type.

Type of Source File

This is the most basic requirement when it comes to selecting online video conversion tools. The selected tool should be able to handle and process the file that is being sent for conversion. Identify the format of the source file and run a search query to find out the most compatible conversion tools for the particular video file format.

Type of Output File

The main purpose of using an online conversion tool is the processing of a video file to convert it into a new format altogether. This is done so that the output file can be accessed on the preferred media device. There is no sense in using a file that is incapable of being played. Check out the destination format options that the tool provides. This should help you in making up your mind.

Conversion Options

Video conversion does not only involve selecting the formats for the source file and the destination file. There are more options available such as video resolution, aspect ratio, video quality, duration of video to be converted, etc. All of these may be modified as per preferences to get the output file as desired.

Features Offered by the Tool

Online video conversion may be the primary function of the selected tool. But there is a good chance that it may offer other features as well such as YouTube to MP3 conversion, wav to mp3 conversion, YouTube to MP4 conversion, etc. The possibility of converting video to audio formats is a really useful feature and has immensely beneficial applications.

Pricing

Most of your basic video conversions requirements can be fulfilled by free online video converter tools. However, for more complex or lengthy files, you might have to use paid online conversion services. The best case scenario would be to use a free video conversion tool that is capable of delivering advanced features and handling complex file formats.

Convenience / Ease of Use

It is quintessential for the online video converter to be easy to use and offer high levels of convenience. No one likes to use a complex tool with a messed up interface. This is where the online versions really stand apart from the options that require you to download something to your desktop. Online tools require you to copy the URL and paste it in the respective field. Thereafter you only need to adjust the settings and click the “convert” button to initiate the process.

Efficiency

Efficiency of the online video converter pertains to crucial factors of the process such as processing / conversion time, quality of output files, handling capability of the tool, file size limits, etc. A good tool will be able to process even large file sizes in the least time and deliver high quality output files in a format that you like.

Future Application

The world is gradually moving to the mobile domain, so it is obvious that online conversion tools would have to be made compatible with this platform in the future. As of now, there are a few converters which work with mobile web browsers. But this is not available on a large scale. Check your preferred online tool for the possibility of such scalable features. It would be better to go for a tool that already supports the mobile platform. 

How to Download YouTube Videos to Your Mac in 5 Different Ways

Who doesn’t know about YouTube? It is the largest video sharing website in the world and has a vast collection of videos that people love to upload and share. This single platform has been responsible for the popularity of various artists who uploaded their videos and shared them across various social networks. When we come across a video that we like, we (obviously) would want to download it so that we may view the video whenever we want and as many times as we like.

Here are 5 methods by which you can download YouTube videos to your Mac and enjoy high quality media at your disposal. 

With Real Player

When you download RealPlayer, you get the RealPlayer downloader along with it. After installing the player on your Mac, the download option will show up automatically whenever a video is played. If you want to download the video, then you may do so from the window itself, or you may clear the list. 

With Safari

It is possible to download your favourite YouTube video with Safari. Just follow these steps for downloading the video.

• Open the URL of the video

• Let the video play for a few seconds and then pause it

• Wait for the video to buffer completely. You will be able to detect this as a grey progress bar that gets filled up gradually. 

• When the bar has filled up completely, click “Windows”.

• In this option, select “Activity” and find the line that represents the video (that you selected for download). 

• Double click on the line and your download should begin. 

The benefit of this method is that you do not require any third party software or online tool to download the video. However, you have to wait for the entire video to buffer before it can be downloaded. There is also the lack of control over the resolution, aspect ratio and quality of the video. So, the default settings would be applied to the downloaded video. 

With Chrome

Chrome is a popular web browser which has garnered a lot of attention due to the integration of Google’s features in the browser. While there is no direct download option in this browser, you can manage downloads with the appropriate plugin. Visit the Chrome Web Store and search for the plugin called “Ultimate YouTube Downloader”. When this plugin is installed, you would be able to download any video by simply clicking the “download” button in the widget that appears near the player. With this plugin, you would be able to choose the video format (MP4 / FLV) as well as the video quality. This makes it a really handy plugin. 

With Firefox

Firefox users are more than familiar with the role of plugins / add-ons and the convenience that they provide. Click on the “Tools” option in the menu bar and select the “Add-Ons” option. From here you would be able to search the required add-on and install it. While there is no need to wait for the entire video to be processed (when using the add-on in Firefox), there is a time limit so you need to click the add-on as soon as the limit expires. For example, if the limit is 8 mins, then you would have to click it again after 8 mins (and in further intervals of 8) for any video that exceeds this length. 

With Online Video Converter Tools

Online video converters are becoming quite popular mainly due to their platform agnostic nature. You can use them on a desktop, laptop or even a smartphone. Moreover, they use online processing to covert and download the video instead of relying on any software or downloaded elements. They can work with any OS as the online tool is accessed via a browser. So OS and other specifications should not make any difference. Just follow these steps for downloading the video.

• Open the online tool in the browser. 

• Find the video that you wish to download and copy its URL.

• Paste the URL in the respective field and select the format in which you would like to get the video.

• Modify the details related to resolution, aspect ratio, etc. 

• Click on the “convert” button and wait for the download link to be provided. 

• When the download link appears, click on it and the download will begin. 

This is one of the best way to download YouTube videos and ensure that you get them in the highest possible quality. Moreover, you can get the videos in your preferred formats. Personally, I would recommend this method over others. 

Do Buffering YouTube Videos And Downloading These Videos Consume the Same Amount of Data?

Probably everyone has this confusion regarding the amount of data consumed while downloading videos from YouTube and streaming them online respectively. Some believe that both of these processes consume the same amount of data, while others believe that data consumption is different in both the processes. This is a never ending debate with each faction having their own explanations and reasons for supporting their view. Let’s try and get to the bottom of this confusion and arrive at a conclusion. 

When you download YouTube videos, you get the option of selecting the resolution and based on your selection, the file size is determined. An HD file will obviously have a larger size as compared to one with a lower resolution. So when it comes to downloading a video file, the size gets fixed according to the selected resolution. Make sure that you keep this consideration in mind before making any comparison related to speed or data consumption. 

Basically both streaming and downloading consume almost the same amount of data. It is an obvious understanding because once you fix the resolution for the video file, the file size gets fixed also. However, streaming a video on YouTube might require a little more data as compared to the downloaded file. This is due to the constant interchange of data between the online video player and server which is done to accommodate packet errors, buffers, etc. The size of this “extra” data is very small, to the point that it can easily be considered insignificant. For example, the extra bandwidth for a 1 Mb/s video would come out to be between 10 kbits/s and 20 kbits/s.

Apart from the very minor difference in data consumption, both streaming and downloading consume the same amount of data. During streaming, the file’s data is directed to the browser’s cache while during download, the file is directed to the storage location specified by you. Once the file is downloaded, you can view is over and over again without the need for any part to be downloaded again. However, in the case of streaming, some part of the video might have to be downloaded in the cache again if it is lost.