Do you enjoy watching videos or even entire movies online? Between websites such as YouTube and Vimeo and platforms such as Hulu, Amazon, and Netflix — there is a huge selection of videos, TV shows, and movies that you can watch with just a few clicks.

In order to watch online videos however there is one caveat: You need to be online. If you aren’t, or your internet connection isn’t stable — you’ll have trouble streaming and watching the videos.

The way to get around that may seem easy: Download the online videos or movies that you want to watch. However, that is not as easy as it sounds, and you need to know the right ways to go about it.

Use Built-in Features to Save Videos

It may surprise you, but an increasing number of platforms nowadays have built-in features that allow you to save videos and download videos for offline viewing.

In fact, YouTube introduced its YouTube Offline option several years back, and Netflix as well as Amazon have similar features too. However, all of these features tend to have limitations, both in terms of which videos or movies can be downloaded as well as the platforms they can be downloaded on.

Simply put it is worth looking for the option — but it may not be there for every video.

Try Video Downloader Tools

Video downloader or online video downloader tools are essentially apps that specialize in downloading online videos – whether it is short clips, TV shows, or entire movies.

Nowadays these apps come in different shapes and sizes. Some take the form of web-based apps, while others run as browser extensions or even software. For example, you could look at the 4K Video Downloader.

Most video downloader tools function in a similar fashion, however. To use them you will need to copy and paste the URL that contains the video you want to download.

Some tools will attempt to find the video source and download the video directly from it onto your computer. However, most web-based tools will process the video and then allow you to download it via a link that they provide.

The main drawback of this option is that video downloaders aren’t universal so you’ll need to find one that supports the platform you want to download from. On top of that, some may have limitations in terms of the file size, duration, or quality that can be downloaded.

Record Videos Using a Screen Recorder

Instead of ‘downloading’ videos, there is another option that you can use to save online videos and movies: Record them from your screen.

That can be done using a screen recorder and setting it up to record the video while it is playing. Unlike the other methods, this option can be used to save any video or movie from any platform, and has no real limitations.

The only slight disadvantage is that it can take longer to save videos in this way seeing as you’ll need to record them from start to finish.

Although using a screen recorder to record videos from your screen may seem confusing at first, you can click here to see exactly how it is done. Once you’re used to setting it up, it should be relatively straightforward – depending on the software that you use.

Conclusion

All in all, it should be clear that if you’re looking for a one-size-fits-all option to download online videos and movies from various websites, a good screen recorder is your best bet. That being said it doesn’t hurt to explore the other options and see what else is out there.