YT Saver 10.15.0 — macOS

Version 10.15.0 of YT Saver handles more than twenty input audio formats, from AAC and FLAC to OPUS and WEBM, so you can pull sound out of almost any stream.

Queue up multiple downloads and browse sites in-app

• Simultaneous downloads — Queue up several videos at once and let them run while you do other work.
• Built-in browser — Browse video and audio sharing sites inside the app, no need to switch windows.
• Private mode — Store downloaded content in a password-protected folder for extra discretion.
• Format conversion — Export video as MP4, MOV, WMV, AVI, MKV, HEVC, or device-specific presets for iPhone, iPad, and Android gear. Convert audio to AAC, WAV, and other formats.

YT Saver runs on OS X 10.10 or later, but note it's built for Intel Macs (x86 64-bit), so Apple Silicon users will need Rosetta. If you manage an older office Mac, this fits right in.

How YT Saver compares to similar Mac apps

There are a handful of downloaders for Mac, but they each take a different approach. If you have used something like Downie or 4K Video Downloader, here is how YT Saver differs.

YT Saver versus Downie. Downie focuses on a streamlined, minimal interface. You paste a URL and it grabs the file. YT Saver does that too, but it adds the built-in browser and the format converter in one window. Downie relies on your system's media player or a separate converter if you need a different output format. YT Saver keeps conversion inside the app, which saves a step if you regularly export to device presets like iPad or Android tablets.

YT Saver versus 4K Video Downloader. 4K Video Downloader is known for downloading entire YouTube playlists and channels, and it handles subtitles. YT Saver also downloads playlists and covers more than 10,000 sites, not just the major platforms. The private mode in YT Saver — a password-protected folder — is something 4K Video Downloader does not offer. If discretion matters in a shared office or household, that is a real difference.

All three apps work on macOS. YT Saver's conversion options are broader on the input side, supporting formats like RMVB, VOB, and WEBM that the others may skip. For an office setting where you deal with clips from varied sources, that wider format support can save you from hunting down a separate converter.

A workflow for saving a playlist and converting to MP3

Say you need to grab a dozen tutorial videos from a streaming site and convert the audio to MP3 for listening on the commute. Here is one way to do it from start to finish in YT Saver.

1. Open the built-in browser. Launch YT Saver and use the internal browser to navigate to the site hosting your playlist. This keeps everything inside the app and avoids copy-pasting URLs.
2. Select the playlist. When you find the page with the list of videos, YT Saver should detect the playlist. Choose the option to download all videos in the list. The app will queue them up.
3. Set the output format. Before starting the download, go to the format settings. Choose audio output. Select MP3 or, if you prefer lossless, FLAC or WAV. YT Saver handles the conversion after the download finishes.
4. Start the downloads. With multiple videos queued, enable simultaneous downloads. The app will pull them down a few at a time. You can let it run in the background while you work on spreadsheets or email.
5. Check and move files. Once done, open the download folder. If you want the audio files on your phone, use the device preset for Android or iPhone to re-export as needed. Or just drag the MP3 files into your music app.

That playlist that would have taken several manual trips now runs itself. The format conversion is part of the same process, not a second step.

Fix stalled or failed video downloads

No downloader works perfectly on every site every time. Here are three things that can trip you up with YT Saver and what to try.

Snag: The download stalls or fails on a particular video. This usually means the site changed its player or the stream uses an unusual protocol. First, try using the built-in browser to navigate to the video page again — sometimes the link you copied works differently from the page the browser renders. Second, switch the output format to a more common container like MP4 and retry. If that fails, restart the app and try with a single download instead of the queue.

Snag: The private mode folder password is not accepted. The password is case-sensitive. If you set it once and forgot it, you will need to reset the private mode from the app's preferences. That clears the current password and lets you set a new one. Any content already in the private folder will be inaccessible, so use private mode only for files you can afford to lose or re-download.

Snag: Converted audio or video has no sound or wrong aspect ratio. This happens when the source format is unusual or corrupted. Check the input video format — if it is something like RMVB or VOB, try converting to a standard intermediate format like MOV or WAV first, then convert again to your target format. Two passes can fix encoding quirks that the app's single-pass converter does not handle.

Set your default output folder before heavy use

Before you start heavy use, a few adjustments can make YT Saver behave the way you want.

• Set your default output folder. By default downloads go to a YT Saver folder in your user directory. If you prefer them to land on your desktop or an external drive, change the download path in preferences. This saves moving files around later.
• Choose a language. The interface ships in a dozen languages, including English, German, Spanish, and Japanese. Pick yours from the language menu early so you are not guessing menu labels later.
• Configure simultaneous downloads. The default number of parallel downloads is usually fine, but if you notice slowdowns in other apps, reduce it to two or three. If your connection is fast and you want to plow through a big queue, increase it. Find the balance that works on your office network.
• Enable or disable the built-in browser as default. If you prefer to paste URLs from your regular browser, you can set YT Saver to open in a stripped-down mode without the browser pane. If you like the all-in-one approach, keep it on.

A few minutes tweaking these settings will save you from digging through menus when you are in the middle of a task. YT Saver is flexible enough to work both as a focused downloader and as a converter, so set it up for how you actually use it.

• macOS OS X 10.10 or later
• Intel (x86 64-bit) architecture