If you ever need to download and convert YouTube videos for offline viewing, there are a number of Firefox plug-ins to accomplish this!
Just search for YouTube on the Firefox add-ons site and you will immediately see a large number of results: https://addons.mozilla.org
Of course, if you are looking for some desktop software to accomplish the same thing, there are a large number of software vendors that provide this capability with varying degrees of functionality.
One such software application which I evaluated was WonderShare YouTube Downloader:
http://www.wondershare.com/pro/free-youtube-downloader.html
WonderShare actually has a FREE version as well as a PAID version called AllMyTube:
http://www.wondershare.com/pro/youtube-downloader.html
I went ahead and performed an evaluation of the AllMyTube version and I discovered that while it did a good job of downloading a large number of YouTube videos as well as converting them to MP4 for me, it could not convert a large number of the newer HTML5 format YouTube videos. Therefore, it seemed largely restricted to the older-style Flash Videos available on YouTube. While this certainly covers a large number of videos, it also makes a large number of YouTube videos unavailable for download for offline viewing as well. This, therefore, makes it not much better than any of the available free Firefox plug-in downloaders (at least for YouTube videos).
However, for streaming sites such as CBS.com, AllMyTube did an excellent job of downloading the videos without all of the advertisements included normally in the video while streaming the video directly from the CBS.com site. AllMyTube also has support for a large number of other streaming video sites as well which come in very handy if you view streaming videos from the list of other supported sites: http://www.wondershare.com/reference/youtube-downloader.html
Another software application I evaluated was WinX HD Video Converter Deluxe: http://www.winxdvd.com/hd-video-converter-deluxe/
However, as with AllMyTube, WinX HD Video Converter Deluxe was not able to handle HTML5 YouTube videos and therefore once again does not offer much benefit over the free Firefox plug-ins.
Finally, there is the option of YouTube Red: https://www.youtube.com/red
YouTube Red is a subscription-based service costing around $10/month and supposedly offers the ability to download any of its videos for offline viewing from your phone or tablet. The videos will expire 30 days after they are downloaded, so you will not have a permanent copy for your viewing pleasure, but it may be sufficient for your needs.
To read more about YouTube Red and if the service is right for you, you can check out this article: http://www.cnet.com/how-to/youtube-red-details/
Just search for YouTube on the Firefox add-ons site and you will immediately see a large number of results: https://addons.mozilla.org
Of course, if you are looking for some desktop software to accomplish the same thing, there are a large number of software vendors that provide this capability with varying degrees of functionality.
One such software application which I evaluated was WonderShare YouTube Downloader:
http://www.wondershare.com/pro/free-youtube-downloader.html
WonderShare actually has a FREE version as well as a PAID version called AllMyTube:
http://www.wondershare.com/pro/youtube-downloader.html
I went ahead and performed an evaluation of the AllMyTube version and I discovered that while it did a good job of downloading a large number of YouTube videos as well as converting them to MP4 for me, it could not convert a large number of the newer HTML5 format YouTube videos. Therefore, it seemed largely restricted to the older-style Flash Videos available on YouTube. While this certainly covers a large number of videos, it also makes a large number of YouTube videos unavailable for download for offline viewing as well. This, therefore, makes it not much better than any of the available free Firefox plug-in downloaders (at least for YouTube videos).
However, for streaming sites such as CBS.com, AllMyTube did an excellent job of downloading the videos without all of the advertisements included normally in the video while streaming the video directly from the CBS.com site. AllMyTube also has support for a large number of other streaming video sites as well which come in very handy if you view streaming videos from the list of other supported sites: http://www.wondershare.com/reference/youtube-downloader.html
Another software application I evaluated was WinX HD Video Converter Deluxe: http://www.winxdvd.com/hd-video-converter-deluxe/
However, as with AllMyTube, WinX HD Video Converter Deluxe was not able to handle HTML5 YouTube videos and therefore once again does not offer much benefit over the free Firefox plug-ins.
Finally, there is the option of YouTube Red: https://www.youtube.com/red
YouTube Red is a subscription-based service costing around $10/month and supposedly offers the ability to download any of its videos for offline viewing from your phone or tablet. The videos will expire 30 days after they are downloaded, so you will not have a permanent copy for your viewing pleasure, but it may be sufficient for your needs.
To read more about YouTube Red and if the service is right for you, you can check out this article: http://www.cnet.com/how-to/youtube-red-details/
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