Thread: scheduling youtube videos

Hi friends..
I am in desperately in need of scheduling youtube video downloads. Currently I use IDM to grab and download the videos but unfortunately I can't schedule them via the IDM scheduled queue. This is because when I schedule my IDM youtube download at 10 pm and reboot the modem thro Imran utilities at 2.15 am, by this time the youtube link expires I guess. So the files in the download all throw up as "error downloading"..definitely this is because the youtube link expires upon reboot that am sure.

Is there any way to capture the link corresponding to a youtube video? I badly need this facility cuz if I have this facility, after that I know how to work-around and get this thing done. So once I have the downloadable links, I can make a batch of downloadable youtube IDM links and save it in a notepad file so that I can later use these links to update them into IDM queue at lets say 2.10 am using a macro manager.

Pls pls help me.

The problem is, when you grab using IDM, IDM use cache of your system as download link. When you close the browser, this cached files get deleted. Not sure, but I think you can use real player. Install Real player and similar to IDM, it can grab the link. Or you can try some YouTube downloader with scheduler ( I don't know which one).

Another method is, open the link in browser and allow 100% buffering. Do not close this window till IDM complete the download. ie, leave the window open till morning.

schedule the download after 2.15am

or use Macro Expert...

Originally Posted by imrock

or use Macro Expert...

How it work

hi dilip long time..

Actually I have tried many youtube downloaders but most are buggy in the sense some error or the other crops up and the download is never really successful. So I really have given up on youtube auto downloaders as they are never really foolproof.

By the way I do have realplayer Superpass2 (which is the latest version of real player). It comes along with the browser record plugin that goes hand in hand with firefox. But this I believe in no way helps my issue here really.

I am in dire need of something really foolproof. Otherwise its really tough to wake up at 2.15 am just to grab these videos in youtube. (Link expiry of youtube--perhaps maybe I think youtube is doing this to deter bulk/scheduled auto downloading of videos I guess but am not sure)

Is there anything, any other solution that is really really much better than any of these mentioned above?

Also another thing I want to mention is I want to download the videos ultimately via IDM (download accelerator) because if I use any other 3rd party auto downloaders for youtube, the download rate will be just hoverign around 50Kbps while IDM gives whopping speeds like 210 to 220 Kbps..
((This is because IDM makes multiple connections to the same download thereby incresing the speed and later joining the individual segments downloaded into a single file.))

And Dilip, by the way from the solutions you have given I gather that
1) I should not close my browser under any cost so that cache link won't get deleted. Is my understanding right? Anyway I will check up if this technique works..

2) and the other solution in which you mention that I need to allow it to buffer 100%, I don't get this. "buffer it to 100%"-->Are you hinting that I need to play the video fully while downloading it? Not exactly able to understand. Pls elaborate. Thankyou dilip.

Originally Posted by srinpraveen

hi dilip long time..

Nice to see you here.

You can try any Macro tools. Just go through the steps.ie, open browser, take the youtube link. Click the download button. Record this macro and execute it during night unlimited. There are a lot of Macro tools available. Grab a free one.

Originally Posted by srinpraveen

And Dilip, by the way from the solutions you have given I gather that
1) I should not close my browser under any cost so that cache link won't get deleted. Is my understanding right? Anyway I will check up if this technique works..

2) and the other solution in which you mention that I need to allow it to buffer 100%, I don't get this. "buffer it to 100%"-->Are you hinting that I need to play the video fully while downloading it? Not exactly able to understand. Pls elaborate. Thankyou dilip.

Yes. You are correct. Just browse to the YouTube link, allow it to buffer completely so that you can watch the full video (this is what I meant by 100% buffering).

Hey dilip..

1) I am ok with the first solution where you mentioned that I shouldn't be closing the browser.

2) But am not okay with the second solution because my main intention is to download some big big IIT lectures that are there in youtube. And each of these lectures are 59 min videos of 120 MB size on an average and in this case if I buffer them fully, my bandwidth will be really absorbed to the core. So I guess I can't afford to do that..

3) I do have macro expert and I am thoroughly conversant with its usage. But I have a playlist of youtube videos (on an avg 11 videos in each playlist). So its definitely not feasible to create a macro for every youtube link.

So in summary, can I follow the 1st technique above as of now instead of the second and third?Can u give me guarantee that technique (1) will work (keeping the corr browser open)??

Leaving browser open will work.

Ok so I'll leave the browser open. Here is the sequence am gonna follow. Pls send me an "ok" if this is right.

1) Go to the youtube video link.
2) Just click play. The IDM download button appears button appears at top right of the video.
3) CLick download and choose "download later" and dump it into a queue (do all this at lets say 10 pm before going to bed)
4) Schedule the queue where all the youtube download links have been put to 2.15 am.
5) Keep the browser that was used to access the youtube video intact ie. just minimised instead of closing it so that the cache remains intact.
6) That's it. The rest is an automation sequence.

So modem reboots at 2.10 am via imran's utilities. At 2.15 am, the files in the IDM queue are downloaded one by one.

So is this sequence right?

A small correction. You need to keep the window with YouTube link open. Not just the browser.

Oh okay. I have a firefox addon called "flashblock" which prevents any flv videos from automatically playing such as the videos in youtube unless I click the play button available. I guess u might be knowing about this addon. Am using this in a bid to reduce the bandwidth consumed.

So I'll do this then.
1) Click the youtube link. Start playing the flash youtube video. Get the IDM download button.
2) put it into the IDM queue by clicking "download later".
3) Then click back again. (This am doing for fear that the full video will be play cuz remember its all 59 min videos am talking about)
4) Then I click forward once again to get me back to the same youtube link site. (But ofcourse the flash video will be failthfully blocked by flashblock). But I'll still be remaining in the same site where I got my video that way.

This is actually kind of trick am playing to reduce the bandwidth.

So is this sequence now ok?

Can you please explain point no. 4. Was not able to understand. I think this will work. Even I have not tried this method. We need to do a trial and error. Try it today and check.

Flashblock is an addon which by default blocks all flash content of any website. So each time I get to this site containing youtube video, it is blanked out with a play button at the centre. So in other words if we want we can play the flash content or if we don't want we can let it be as it is. The point here is each time we enter this desired youtube link site, each time it blocks the youtube flash video. It looks like somewhat like the screenshot I have just taken to show you what I mean. Here is the link.
Image - TinyPic - Free Image Hosting, Photo Sharing & Video Hosting

http: //tinypic.com/r/vijuq8/5 (remove the spaces after http)

The essence In point no 4 is that am trying to avoid the full 59 min video from being played in the quest to obtain the download button. When the IDM download buton appears at the top right, I add it to IDM scheduled queue. Then click back. and then click forward again to obtain the same youtube site but with video blocked by flashblock just like the image shown in that link.

Now do u get what am trying to say? Will this work out?

I am not sure whether it will work. Once you browse out of the page, cache is deleted. We need to find some way to pause the download than browsing out of the page. But we can still try it today and see how it works.

Wait. Let me check myself. 5 minutes.

Okay I will try this and let you know. By the way thanks a ton for lending a patient ear to my query. I have long been struggling to find an answer to this youtube saga and I wanted to vent my thoughts onto someone who could understand and guide me. So really thanks.
I'll let u know the results.

By the way, just an info. There is another way to get an flv link at will to place it in the iDM queue at will.. this very simple. Just add ok after the www and before the youtube link.. It will generate a downloadable flv link.
for eg.. If the ordinary youtube link is http: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkFX7NjgEdA, Just add an ok as in http: //www.okyoutube.com/watch?v=PkFX7NjgEdA

This will produce a downloadable flv..am not sure if you already know this..But its just info for anyone who wants to know novel ways to download from youtube..will be beneficial for everyone in this forum..

You are always welcome. Just tried myself the link will download even if we browse out of the page. But don't close the browser or window. Post your experience tomorrow. All the best.

Originally Posted by srinpraveen

By the way, just an info. There is another way to get an flv link at will to place it in the iDM queue at will.. this very simple. Just add ok after the www and before the youtube link.. It will generate a downloadable flv link.
for eg.. If the ordinary youtube link is http: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkFX7NjgEdA, Just add an ok as in http: //www.okyoutube.com/watch?v=PkFX7NjgEdA

This will produce a downloadable flv..am not sure if you already know this..But its just info for anyone who wants to know novel ways to download from youtube..will be beneficial for everyone in this forum..

Thanks. I have heard of this. But never tried.

Yup thanks..Will report back tomorrow. Just a last min query. Because of rebooting at 2.15 am by imran's utilities, the link added to the queue basket will not expire right? I hope so..Am assuming it won't be affected and moving ahead with this venture..

I think it won't be affected. Browser cache and network settings are entirely independent of each other.

OK thank you. See you then and good night. Will report back tomorrow morning.

Good night ...............

Hi dilip..It worked..So that means success at last..
I think keeping the browser open did the trick.

Congrats ! Glad the problem is solved.

...........Reps added..

Thanks ..........................