Downloading Video and Audio from YouTube and other Social Media Platforms for Free

 

 I recently 'discovered ' a useful software package for downloading video and audio content from various social media platforms, including Google's You Tube. It purports to be compatible with a wide range of providers, and will even work with BBC iPlayer. Unfortunately, it won't work with the free-to view commercial providers' apps (e.g. My5, All 4, ITVX), or any of the subscription-based providers' sites.

The yt-dlp software is a revised version of the orirginal yt-dl package, and works best with later versions of Windows (Win 10 onwards). Here is some info reproduced from my website page, from which you can download the Excel command line compiler.

Setting Up and Using the yt-dlp Video/Audio Downloader

Introduction

Many of us at some time need to download video content which we want to view at a time convenient for ourselves. 

Sadly, this quite reasonable user requirement is becoming increasingly difficult to achieve in practice, with providers seemingly intent on frustrating our efforts to view their content other than by online streaming. 

Those sites that do allow content download generally only do so if we are signed up; they often require a monthly subscription before we are allowed to download,  or even just view, content. A further 'bugbear' is the widespread integration of Digital Rights Management (DRM) with any content downloaded from the website or app. The effect of this is to limit playback to a set time period after download (usually 30-days), after which the DRM prevents further viewing. Unless you are strict with turnround of you downloads this will often render a large slice of your saved downloads unviewable before you get to them.

All the more reason, then  for finding something which will avoid the pernicious effect of DM and allow you to download stuff quickly and easily without the need to sign up to specific sites or pay expensive monthly subscriptions. Yt-dlp is such a tool, and will assist you in extracting video and audio content from a variety of sites, including YouTube, some social media platforms and BBC iPlayer.

The main deterrent for most users is that, like GetiPlayer, yt-dlp is a command line processor, and thus a certain amount of knowledge is required to make best use of the software. The following info should help make life easier by simplifying the setup process and providing help compiling command line syntax.

The package works best on Windows 11, but will also function on Windows 10. The yt-dlp software has a useful self-update switch to ensure you always have the latest version. This is important because individual provider sites frequently change their output formats, and yt-dlp is regularly updated to try to keep pace with such changes.

In this article we describe how to set up the software on a Windows pc running the Win 11 version of the OS, with access to MS Excel (Office 2010 or later). We’ll then show you how best to use the software, using the Excel Syntax compiler workbook, which you can download from this website. We’ll also provide some details on how to find sites compatible with yt-dlp downloading.

Setting up yt-dlp for Windows

The yt-dlp software is open-source and can be downloaded free of charge. It works well for Windows 11, and should also work for the recently deprecated Widows 10. Although it is possible to find older versions of both yt-dlp and ffmpeg compatible with Windows 7 and 8, I would not recommend attempting to use them. The reason is simple – the yt-dlp software needs regular updating and any older versions of yt-dlpthat still work on Win 7 or 8 aren't updateable and will be rapidly outpaced by developments.

 

To run the software, you need to place the following files in a new directory in your computer's C:/ drive called yt-dlp before you start:

yt-dlp.exe;  ffmpeg.exe;  ffplay.exe;  ffprobe.exe.

 

You can download the latest version of yt.dlp.exe from the yt-dlp GitHub page.

 

You’ll find the ffmpeg-related files here. 


(When downloading, make sure you select the Windows Icon from the ‘Get packages and executable Files’ Box, and then select Windows Builds from Gyan.dev). 


Extract the files and you can then transfer them manually to C:/yt-dlp/  using Explorer.

Using the Software

 

To access yt-dlp, use Windows Explorer to locate the yt-dlp directory, right click it, and select the ‘Open in Terminal’ option. This will open a command window and set the directory to yt-dlp. You can now run any valid command lines. (if you use the software regularly, you can shorten this process by creating a desktop shortcut which opens a command window in the yt-dlp directory for you).

 

Please note that when you first run the program, any downloads will be stored in the yt-dlp directory by default. To avoid clutter, it is best to select another directory for output files. You can choose this as your new default, and set up other permanent preferences,  as follows:

 

Setting permanent preferences for yt-dlp using a config.txt file

 

You can customise your preferences using a config file within the Win 11 hidden APPDATA folder.

 

To access this folder, use WIN +R and type in %APPDATA%. Create a new directory entry within the APPDATA folder called 'yt-dlp'.

 

Using NOTEPAD as editor, Add the following lines:


# Set the default download path e.g.

-P "C:\DR_E\MP3\CAPTURE\DVR"

# Limit maximum video resolution to 480p (or change to 720, 1080, etc.)

-f "bv*[height<=480]+ba/b[height<=480]"


Now save the file under filename Config.txt using the 'Save As' command.

 

You can, of course, specify other directories/video resolutions in the above lines, and you can also add any other preference settings as you wish, either now or later.

(When compiling config.txt, remember to add a # at the start of a line to show it's not executable)

Using the Excel Syntax Compiler

This useful little workbook is designed to take the 'sting' out of command line programming by ensuring you avoid those annoying syntax errors which often make commands fail. You can download it from the Downloads page of my website. 


The design of the workbook is fairly simple and uses the CONCATENATE function to combine different elements required in the yt-dlp command line in the correct order, and thereby avoids re-typing errors. Yt-dlp requires a minimum of a valid URL to work; other refinements to the output, and other commands, are made via ‘switches’. The workbook places any switches added to boxes D3 and E3 before the URL.

 

Place your Video's URL in box B3; Place up to 2 different switches in boxes D3 and E3 (for frequently used switches, add these to config .txt to avoid retyping each time)


You can see a variety of possible switch commands on sheet 'Compile' . (There are many others – see the GitHub page for a detailed manual.)

 

Excel will now concatenate these into a command line with the correct format. All you need to do now is to transfer the compiled command line (Red) to your clipboard and paste it into the command window.


A useful way of checking what formats are available to download for a given URL before attempting a download, is to use the following syntax:

yt-dlp -F <URL>

 

You can then decide what if any limitations to put on file size/resolution, etc.

Other Useful Tips

1) yt-dlp provides an updated list of all sources compatible with downloading. To extract this use the following command line:

 

yt-dlp --list-extractors.

 

This will generate a long list - you can transfer it to the clipboard by highlighting the text and pressing 'Enter'. You'll find a recent version of this list in the workbook on sheet 'Supported' as a filtered searchable list – you can update the list yourself as needed.

 

NB: Unfortunately yt-dlp won't allow you to download anything encrypted or otherwise restricted - this includes ITVX, All4, My5 and most of the other subscription-based streaming sites. To view these I’d recommend either using their individual pc/tablet apps, or a cheap second TV streaming box such as NOW TV /Roku. These will normally come pre-loaded with most of the free to view apps and can be used without a subscription.

 

You may also find some of the sites listed by yt-dlp no longer provide downloadable content, or may no longer be available at all.


2) yt-dlp does provide some online help with syntax but the output is somewhat indigestible for the novice and is not searchable. To access, use the syntax:  yt-dlp --help.


3) You can also download audio from a video clip as an audio only .mp3 file use: yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 <URL>.

NB if a video file of the same name is already present in the same directory, this will be overwritten.


4) Important: To keep up with changes to site formats, etc, yt-dlp is updated regularly. To make sure you have the latest version, use the following to update: yt-dlp -U

Some Possible sources of Video/Audio for free downloads

 

Social & Video Sharing Platforms: YouTube, Vimeo*, Dailymotion, TikTok*, Facebook*, and Instagram*.

Public Broadcasters & News: BBC (including iPlayer links), ARD, ZDF, CBC, ABC News, and Al Jazeera.

Audio & Music Streaming: Bandcamp, SoundCloud, Audiomack, Mixcloud, and Apple Podcasts.

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