Have you ever wanted to download the videos you watch on the internet to your Mac? If so, then you have come to the right place! In this article, I will explain two methods that you can use to download online videos to your Mac, one is using an application for ElMedia, and the other uses the Google Chrome browser directly.
Table of Contents
First Method: Downloading Using Elmedia Player
The first method I will show you is how to download online videos using Elmedia Player. This method is the easiest one; however, you will need to purchase the Elmedia Player PRO application, which costs around $19. You can click here to find out more about the application. Come back to this article once it has been installed so that you can continue the tutorial. Otherwise, you can always try method #2 below.
Navigate To The Video You Want To Download
Using any web browser, navigate to the video that you want to download. For this tutorial, the fifth episode of Tari Tari from Animefreak.tv will be used.
Copy The Link And Open It In Elmedia Player
Once you have the link for the webpage containing the video that you want to download, open Elmedia Player, then you will need to click the "download" button, as per the screenshot. Now paste the link into the address bar, and press enter to load the website with the video on it that you want to download.
Start Playing The Video
Before Elmedia Player detects the video, you will need to start playing it. So press the play button, and as soon as it starts playing, you can press pause.
Download The Video!
Now you can download the video! Under the "video" tab, the mp4/avi will now be showing up so you can press download and the video will save to your downloads folder.
If you have any issues following these steps, please leave a comment at the bottom of this page, and we will get back to you.
Second Method: Download Using Google Chrome
This method will be done using Google Chrome only - no other software is required, and nothing needs to be purchased. However, this method is somewhat more complicated, so if you would like an easier process, see the one above.
Navigate To The Video You Want To Download
Using Google Chrome, navigate to the page containing the video that you wish to download. We'll use the fifth episode of Tari Tari from Animefreak.tv again.
Open The Developer Console
Next, you must open the developer's console in Google Chrome. To do this, firstly click anywhere on the background of the website to make sure that the video is not selected, then press COMMAND-SHIFT-I on your Mac's keyboard. You should be presented with something like this (if not, make sure you have the "network" tab selected in the box that popped up):
Reload The Page
Since the video and the rest of the page are already loaded, you must reload the page for the elements of the page to appear in the Developer's Console. To do this, click on the background of the website (so that the Developer's Console isn't selected) and press APPLE-R on your Mac's keyboard. Once the page has reloaded, you should see the various elements of the page appear in the Developer's Console, like so:
Start Playing the Video
You must start playing the video for it to load, and therefore show up in the Developer's Console. So hit the play button, wait for it to load and start playing, then hit the pause button.
Locate The Video In The Developer Console List
Once the video has loaded, and you have paused it, scroll through the list of elements in the Developer's Console window, keeping your eyes trained on the "Type" column. When you come to an element that either says "Video/MP4" or "Video/FLV" or something else similar to that, you've found the video element on the page!
Double Click The Video Element
Once you have located the Video/MP4 or Video/FLV element, double click it. Note that you must click the "name" part of the component (the bit that is circled in the screenshot below):
Wait For The Video To Load In a New Window
When you double-clicked on the element in the previous step, it would have opened up in a new browser window or tab. Go onto that new tab/window and wait for the page to load.
It will probably take a long time, so don't close it if it's taking forever, just go and do something else on your computer while that page loads (the page should look something like this while loading):
Download The Video
Once the page has loaded, the video will start playing in the center of the page. Downloading it from here is very easy, as it is in an MP4 format, not a Flash format. So simply pause the video, control-click anywhere on the video (if you don't know how to control-click read this), and select "Save Video As" from the drop-down menu (as shown in the screenshot below). A dialog box will then come up, asking you what you want to call the video and where on your Mac you want to save it.
Congratulations, you're done!
Third Method: Install Netflix
Netflix is not a name unknown to many. "Netflix and Chill," it is the thing. Netflix is a movie and tv show streaming service that is available in 190 countries worldwide. What's great about Netflix is, it lets you download the content offline viewing. So if you're are going on a trip where you know the internet will be scarce, download that favorite film, or the show you have on your watch-list. Netflix has got you covered. If you want to learn how to install Netflix to your Mac, check it out here.
This is amazing, so far your method is the only one that works. Thank you!
The video I'm trying to download has a commercial in the beginning. When I go through the steps you've instructed, the mp4 that pops up in a new window to download is only the commercial portion. Where do I find the link to the actual video? Thanks, k
Are you sure that the advertisement mp4 is the only video file in the list? Remember, the video that you want to download doesn't have to be a mp4, it could also be a flv -- so look out closely for both of those, and post back when you're sure the ad mp4 is the only one in the list. Also, what website is it that you're trying to download the video off?
Thanks for visiting MacInfo!
Everything worked up until I double clicked - it auto downloaded to a MacBinary Archive file wich I can't open. The video file type is video/x-flv does that make a difference?
There is no video type listed for the video I'm trying to save. Help?
Does downloading movies take up more memory and more battery life than watching them on YouTube or streaming them?
In safari, "save as" does not appear.
Everything worked except when I control clicked. The only option appearing was "inspect element". Using safari 5.1.10. I also tried to save as, from the file menu. It is not allowing me to save the page.
https://embed-ssl.wistia.com/deliveries/6df4784a8cb5f294656da552d74691659bc7e64d/file.mp4
Any solution to this?
I used Command Option I instead of Command Shift I at the beginning. At the end I right click and save as. Worked!
What if you can't see any FLV or M4V file? i've on a site that runs locked Flash (I think) content but doesn't let me download and I see no video files in the window as described above? Annoying as I paid for the content and can only watch it when I'm online!
im having the same problem.
Thank you for these instructions, really helpful!! I always use acethinker video downloader to save online videos to my macbook pro for offline playback. It is a free cloud based software to download videos without install any software in your device. Share it here as an alternative.
Command-shift-I inserts the page into an email. "To do this, firstly click anywhere on the background of the website to make sure that the video is not selected, then press COMMAND-SHIFT-I on your Mac’s keyboard." It's impossible to tell from the thumbnail what one should be presented with, but it's not email. "You should be presented with something like this (if not, make sure you have the “network” tab selected in the box that popped up):"