4K Video Downloader is a cross-platform utility that lets you download YouTube videos, Facebook videos, and even those from Vimeo and more. It’s been one of my go-to tools for a long time.
Background Info on 4K Video Downloader
The developer of 4K Video Downloader is owned by Open Media LLC, which first launched its YouTube video download tool in 2011 for Windows, macOS, and Linux. It went from being completely freeware in the beginning to now being free supported by advertisements with additional paid options to unlock more advanced features and get rid of ads.
Why this program?
There are hundreds of programs out there that do the same thing, but 4k Video Downloader has been around for a long time and is cross-platform, which gives it tremendous staying power. It’s great for downloading audio from YouTube or the videos themselves.
Installing
It may not be a problem for Mac or Linux users, but people using Windows 10 will see a scary-looking dialog box when they attempt to install 4K Video Downloader. It will say that it is an unrecognized app but click More Info and then the Run anyway button.
This software is safe, and here is a screenshot of the installation file being scanned by 57 different virus scanning engines on VirusTotal. However, if you are still concerned, you can do the scan yourself.
The 4k Video Downloader interface
After you launch the program, you’ll see a clean white list with an array of buttons across the top. It’s minimal but very easy to understand. The easiest way to start using the video downloader is to click the Paste Link button. You’ll want to paste in the address to the video that you want to download here.
You can also hit the Subscriptions button to add channels. From there, you can download new videos as they are released.
In my example, I found a video on YouTube that I want to download. I can either right-click and copy the link, or go straight to it and copy the URL in the address bar above.
Features
4K Video Downloader, of course, can download YouTube videos and such, but it has a few more unique features that make it worth having on your system.
Smart mode
If you’re someone that is constantly pasting links to download videos, Smart Mode is just a fancy way of setting up defaults so that you have fewer things to click. If you want all videos to be downloaded and converted to a certain format in a specific folder, you can set it up that way.
Subtitles download
Some videos on YouTube have subtitles that were either done by the creators themselves or submitted by volunteers. 4K Video Downloader lets you grab these subtitles and export them into an SRT file that can be used alongside the video you download.
Here you can see that the video downloader grabbed English subtitles to go along with this video by LGR that I downloaded.
When I go to play the file in Pot Player, I also have the subtitles that were originally built into the web YouTube player. Having the subtitles offline has been incredibly useful when I needed to show content to students or someone offline.
Downloading Videos
After pasting in the link to a video or channel, 4K Video Downloader will ask you what format you want to convert the video to. You can change it to be an audio-only file or adjust the video size accordingly. In my case, this was very useful when grabbing videos to put on a tablet for my daughter for long travels. And for those wondering, yes, the software can download videos that are 2 to 4K resolution on YouTube.
Premium Features
Not all the features in this program are free. If you buy a premium license, you can download entire playlists or even a WHOLE channel from YouTube rather than pasting in single links.
Final Thoughts on 4K Video Downloader
I’m happy with 4K Video Downloader and highly recommend it to everyone because it’s easy to use and available for most platforms. It’s been a lifesaver for both my work and home by being able to download audio, video, and even subtitles.
Links:
Download it! (Windows)
Download it! (macOS)
Download it! (Linux)