- Publisher
- Nick Mead |
- Date
- March 31, 2011
It's clear from the response to this post that many people are still having problems using the Video DownloadHelper extension in Firefox on Macs. Since a slightly simpler solution has emerged since it was written, here is a crystal-clear guide that may make it easier for some users.
1. Download ffmpegX into a folder on your Mac:
2. Double click on the DMG file. Right click on the ffmpegX icon and select "Show Package Contents":
3. Find the ffmpegX file by drilling down the "Contents" and "Resources" folders:
4. Drag the ffmpegX file to anywhere on your Mac. I used my user folder "Nick".
5. Open Firefox. Go to your Download Helper preferences by selecting "Tools" in your Firefox Menu bar:
6. In the "Conversion" tab, enter the path where you dragged your ffmegX earlier. In my case "/User/Nick/ffmpegX". When you've entered the correct path the letters will turn black. If the path you've entered is wrong, the letters will remain red and Video DownloadHelper will not work!:
7. You can now download videos in YouTube and other video sites when the Video DownloadHelper icon animates next to your URL bar:
Some people seem to be confused where DownloadHelper downloads videos to but its quite obvious when you click download. DownloadHelper creates a folder called "dwhelper" in your user folder (in my case "/User/Nick/dwhelper") when you first install it. All videos are downloaded into this folder.
Don't worry if the download doesn't start immediately - it can take a few seconds to initiate.
However, I'm unable to get the conversion tool working. Whenever I select the "Download & Convert" option, after I select the format I want to convert to, it just download an empty file. I'm not even sure if this feature will work at all on Macs. I read on one forum that XCode needs to be installed for it to work on Macs although this is tool only available to developers. I'm sure there must be a simpler way than this so if any users have any suggestions, it would be appreciated.
Commented
You're my hero. Thank you! Thank! Thank you!
Once I've got the DownloadHelper preferences window open...how do I close it? There's no red ball or close button or anything that'll let me close it in any tab, and I can't click on the main Firefox window to hide it. I ended up just having to restart Firefox to make it go away - there has to be a solution to this, especially as I'm not sure it's saved my settings!
hello I can't open the ffmpegX(2).dmg file, "the following images failed to mount" reason: not recognized I downloaded it again, same problem, anything else I can do?
Hello same problem: ffmpegX(2).dmg isn't recognized by my mac. Is there an alternative way? I'm not familliar with VDH but I would love to finally be able to use it. Thanks.
Thanks Nick, that's fixed it. I got the problem about two weeks ago when updating Firefox. The red writing ffmpeg, no OK button, only way out was to bail. My problem was that the address was /USR instead of /users. The moment I changed that the writing went black and I knew I was home and hosed. Thanks again!
If anyone have the problem that the .dmg file can´t be read, then it´s because it´s not complete. The file you are linked to here is only 22mb large. The one you need is 32mb and can be found here: http://www.ffmpegx.com/download.html at their homesite. After that, follow this guide til the end, and you´ll have DownloadHelper working in no time! :)
@Toby : esc worked on my mac
I got excited when I found this site, hoping to find a solution to the CONVERSION issue. I have never had a problem with Download Helper downloading files, but the inability to convert a .flv file to a .mp4 or .mov
You mentioned on your earlier site post that you could "convert them later."
Can you please PLEASE explain how? I want to be able to download my church pastor's live sermons so I can make audio files and hear them again.
If you can explain how to CONVERT the flvs this would be a GODSEND!
Thank you!
It worked on my Mac for a few years, but since a few days I cannot download youtube videos anymore, with each video it says "0 bytes". So I installed video download helper and ffmpegx again, but when I try to click the path in the conversion tap the location where I dragged it doesn't appear, even when I type the name of the location the text stays red. Can you please help.