While searching online, you might find a YouTube video that is so funny, inspiring or educational that you want to download it to watch on your computer anytime. You also might want to use sections of an already published video in your own creations. While there is no official download button for a YouTube video, you can download a program that enables you to download videos, or you can use an online site.
Download Video
Video of the Day
Step 1
Find your favorite YouTube video. Copy the URL of the video and paste it into a word-processing document for safekeeping.
Video of the Day
Step 2
If you don't already have RealPlayer on your computer, download a free version from the RealPlayer website. Then, install it.
Step 3
Go to your video and reload the page once RealPlayer is installed. Move your cursor over the video, and in the upper right-hand corner, you will see a button pop up with the RealPlayer logo and an option to download the video. The video will automatically begin downloading in an FLY format to a RealPlayer folder.
Step 4
Search online for a website that downloads YouTube videos by typing into "download YouTube videos" into the search engine. Different websites will work one day and be offline the next, so you may have to search for several different options. Sites that are operational will have a place to put in the URL of the YouTube video. Some sites will allow you to pick the format to download the video, such as FLY, MP4 and MOV. Download the video and find the file on your computer.
Step 5
Not all editing programs can use a FLY file. Search online for a FLY converter. Most programs will do well if the video is converted to MP4.
Edit Video
Step 1
You may have video-editing software already installed on your computer. If not, the best free programs are Microsoft Movie Maker for PCs and iMovie for Macs. These programs are user friendly, so you should be able to get started on editing as soon as the program is installed.
Step 2
Cut, edit and add your own music, pictures or videos to the original downloaded YouTube video. Both Microsoft Movie Maker and iMovie allow you to customize videos quickly and easily.
Step 3
Once your edited video meets your standards, you can choose to publish to YouTube yourself. Many editing programs have a feature that lets you to upload directly to YouTube. You can also save the file, go to YouTube and upload from there.