There are at least 100 million Mac users, making the brand a favorite of many tech geeks and creatives alike. Apple has consistently produced high-quality computers that are easy to use and offer powerful features.
However, many Mac users miss out on a video download feature. With a few tips, you can download a video from a website without having to spend a dime (unless you want to). Keep reading to learn easy ways to download a video from the Internet to your Mac.
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Desktop Software
If you have MacOS 10.0 or later, you can use a desktop app to download videos on your Mac. The best part is that there are many free options, and they’re really easy to use.
The most popular choice is iFunia. This free Mac software lets you download online videos in 1080p, 4k UHD, and more.
Another good option is YT Saver Video Downloader, which makes it easy to download YouTube videos directly onto your Mac.
A word of caution: If you have an older computer with less than 80 MB of space, avoid using YT Saver Video Downloader. It requires at least 80 megabytes of space for download, but you’ll need more room to ensure that your device continues to work well.
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Browser Extensions
The Internet Download Manager extension lets you download videos from websites on Mac. To use this application, click the Extensions tab in the drop-down menu of your browser. From there, you can open the Chrome web store.
Search for Internet Download Manager and click on the blue circle with the white arrow to install it. Once installed, all you have to do is visit the video you want to download and click the button that appears next to your address bar.
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Video-Grabbing Tools
Most video grabbers have a very simple function. All you need to do is copy and paste the URL of the video you want, choose your resolution, and wait for the video to download.
Many of these tools also have a built-in player so that you can watch the video while it’s still downloading.
They also have other useful features, such as being able to fast-forward and rewind during playback. You can save your videos at a different speed than normal if you want to.
There are many video-grabbing tools out there, but we’ve found two that stand out above the rest: VidPaw and Savefrom.
VidPaw offers five levels of video quality and allows users to control file size. It also provides an option that lets you extract only the video portion from a YouTube link without downloading the audio as well.
Savefrom is a great alternative if you’re looking for a video grabber that doubles as a Chrome extension. However, it only allows you to download videos in their original formats and with the resolution at which they were uploaded.
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Online
Subscription-based services like Netflix and Hulu offer offline viewing options for when you don’t have an internet connection. You can download the full seasons of your favorite shows and watch them whenever you want.
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VLC Media Player
If you want to download videos using a Mac and don’t want to pay for another piece of software, then VLC is the best choice. VLC is a free, open-source media player that’s available for MacOS X 10.7.5 or later. The download manager allows you to save any video that you find on the Internet.
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Screen Recording
If you want to record the screen and save it as a video file, then use a free app like ShareX. ShareX is an open-source program that takes screenshots in MacOS X.
The steps are straightforward:
- Open the ShareX application
- Give it permission to run on startup
- Click Screen Recorder
- Select Capture Screen Recording
This is a neat little hack that you can use to download any video you want. The files may be a little large and not of the highest quality, but they’re still good enough to watch on your computer.
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Memory
Before you’ll be able to download and watch a video, you’ll need to have enough space on your computer. You must first find Memory on Mac. The Memory section lists the amount of RAM and storage space available.
Compare your available space with the size of the file you want to download. If it’s larger than your available storage space, you’ll need to make room by deleting old files or moving them to an external hard drive.
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Trash
The trash on your Mac is the same as a file folder. It’s where you put files and folders that you want to delete, but don’t want to permanently erase them from your computer.
These files still take up space on your device. That means there’s less space available for you to download videos. If you want to expand your video collection, check out the trash and eliminate any files that you don’t need.
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Closing Apps
It’s a good idea to close all apps that you’re not using. This frees up RAM for faster video downloads, since the more open apps you have running, the more resources they’ll use.
Get a Video Download for Free
Obtaining a video download on a Mac can be done in a few clicks. If you have the right desktop app, you can download videos from a variety of sites. And if you prefer using the Chrome browser over Safari, there are tons of extensions that can help you get the job done.
If you’re looking for more useful software for your Mac, explore our tech news section. We have the latest news on software, apps, and gadgets.
