In 2009, YouTube started offering videos in High-definiton. The picture above shows the properties of a file I downloaded from YouTube in High-definition. H.264 video at 1280x720 (720p) with stereo AAC audio, 44100Hz at 125kbps. Not bad at all. The files are playable in the Xbox 360 console and PlayStation 3 console (from USB, CD or Network) as they are - no need for transcoding the video or audio, just play.
In this second part of the YouTube video saving guide, we look at using the popular Mozilla Firefox web browser to easily download any HD video you want from YouTube.
How it works
Above, in the textbox, is some Javascript code. When watching a YouTube video that has a HD option available, if you were to copy and paste this code into the Address Bar and hit Enter, you would then be prompted with the option to download the HD video.
However, copying this code each and every single time that you want to save a YouTube HD video is not realistic - therefore we will setup a Bookmark (on Bookmark Toolbar) that you can click anytime you want to download a HD video from YouTube.
Add Bookmark Toolbar
Firstly, launch Mozilla Firefox and click View -> Toolbars. Make sure the Bookmarks Toolbar is selected. Now, if you right-click on the Bookmarks toolbar as shown above, you will get the option to add a New Bookmark. DON'T DO THIS YET, just remember it for a few moments and read on.
New Bookmark
For your convenience I have placed all the text that needs to be inserted as the Location right under the screenshot of the New Bookmark box. With your mouse, click inside the textbox above, then hold down the "CTRL and A" keys together. All the text will now be selected (only the text inside the textbox should be selected!)
With all of the text selected, hold down "CTRL and C" (or right click with the mouse and click Copy). Now, right click on the Bookmarks Toolbar again and click New Bookmark (as previously shown). Now, click inside the Location box (highlighted in screenshot) and hold down "CTRL and V" together (or right-click in the Location bar and click Paste). The code should now paste in as the location.
Once this is done, Give your bookmark a short but descriptive name, such as "Save YouTube HD Video". You can add keywords and a description if you want to, but it is not totally necessary. When done, click Save Changes.
Find a YouTube HD video to Test
Above this text is a screenshot of a video of a Gameplay trailer for Assassin's Creed 2 (available here) on the YouTube website. Notice how it has a button in the bottom-right corner that says "HD", and how for a few moments after the video starts it gives you the option to "watch in HD". If this "HD" feature is available on a video that you want to save, then you can download the HD video with this method.
Now that you have the YouTube HD video open, click the Bookmark you just created which should be on your Bookmarks Toolbar.
Save YouTube HD Video
If everything went successfully, you should now be prompted to download "video.mp4" from YouTube. This video file contains the HD version of the video you are watching. If you do not get this box then make sure that Firefox is not asking for your permission to save the file, as it might be (at the very top of the webpage there might be a message you can click on in order to save the video).
If that's not the case, then make sure your Bookmark location is correct (right click the Bookmark and click Properties to edit it). If that still doesn't help, it is possible that a YouTube system change is making this impossible (in which case this guide should be updated soon).
If all did go well, you should be able to play your new MP4 file on an Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 if you wish. If you need instructions on playing it in Windows, then check our How to play MP4 files guide.
Finally
If all went well, you should now be able to download YouTube videos, and HD videos from YouTube, quite easily from now on. Thank you for reading. If you experience any problems, please try our Discussion Forums to get help.
