[TheZookie007]

Most, if not all, files stored in YouTube are in the Flash video format (.FLV). There are a number of standalone players that can play .FLV files, such as VideoLAN Client (VLC), which is available here. It's not perfect (for instance, I cannot seem to make the .FLV file seekable when playing them in VLC), but it plays a wide variety of video formats as well as .FLV files.

[Goldeneye]

Is there a way to convert FLV files BACK into more standard formats?

[TheZookie007]

Yes, but you should expect some degradation in picture quality. You can see here for a FAQ on how to go about it.

[Inherency]

Quote:
Is there a way to convert FLV files BACK into more standard formats?

You might find Riva useful.  I think its intention is to convert mpeg variety files into flv, but it works the same if you manually change the output.  It can be found here: http://www.rivavx.com/index.php?encoder&L=3

[fun_bags]

Thanks, for the info.

[Goldeneye]

This Riva stuff is by far the most confusing I've come across.  I downloaded GeoVid's Flash to Video encoder and that should work but is just giving me white screen with no sound.  Everything else has massive trial restrictions or is complex as hell.  Keepvid's not even letting me download some of the vids I want.  There's gotta be an easier way to simply obtain files and convert them.

[MasterDragonfly]

Assuming you figure out the downloading part, I find 'ffmpeg' on Linux to be quite handy doing the conversion.

If you don't have Linux, either set up an old box with it and put it on your network, or get VMware installed on Windows, then create a VM, install Linux there, and you're golden.

[Goldeneye]

That, too, sounds complex.  Oh well.

[TheZookie007]

Recently, yeah, KeepVid and that Javimoya site have had a few small problems with saving some videos from YouTube. The video will save but when I play it back in VLC Media Player, there are five vertical purple stripes down the screen. Bummer.

[Goldeneye]

It'll show me the download link and then say there's nothing there.  I really wanna save YouTube videos because it seems like every day now I'll go back to watch an old one and it's gone or the user's entire account is gone.  I had a subscription to a user who had hundreds of concert vids, now they're all gone.  But every fucking way to go about saving/converting them seems so damn needlessly complicated.

[TheZookie007]

Makes me nostalgic for the good old days when everyone used QuickTime instead of Flash video.

[glacier]

SwitcherX, many thanks.  However, after my first grab, Net Transport won't open for me.  Any ideas?  Thanks again.

[glacier]

I've only caught one successful download.  I can't get the damn net transport to open!

[TheZookie007]

URL Snooper used to work for me, but soon after I installed my wifi card, it stoppped working...I haven't used NetTransport (even though I have a copy of it) since between my copy of WM Recorder and Streambox, I usually get what I want. I may just uninstall URL Sniffer, install NetTransport and re-install URL Snooper, for the heck of it.

[SwitcherX]

If you use Opera for your browser, there's a widget called VideoDownloader that can download videos from most video sites.