3 Methods to Download YouTube Videos to iMovie

iMovie, developed by Apple, is a free application for editing videos. It is being used for converting macOS photos as well as video clips. You must be wondering why we need to convert video formats.

The reason behind watching the YouTube videos in iMovie is more related to personal preferences. More often, users want to keep the videos on internal storage on their digital devices.

There are different ways to download YouTube videos to iMovie. Before moving towards the process of converting YouTube videos, let’s explore more about iMovie.

iMovie: A Synopsis

 All mainstream videos, images, as well as audio formats are being supported by iMovie formats. If you have any YouTube resources in the form of audio, video, or image, you can import that into iMovie format.

  • The image formats supported by iMovie are JPG, TIFF, PNG, BMP, and GIF
  • The video Formats supported by iMovie are MP4, MOV, MPEG-2 MPEG-4, and M4V
  • The audio Formats supported by iMovie are WAV, MP3, AAC, M4A, and AIFF

 Why Is MOV Format Better for Mac Users over MP4?

MP4 files are supported by all video players and can be used anywhere. On the other hand, MOV is a file format that is supported by the macOS QuickTime application. So, being a MacOS user, you are suggested to convert MP4 files to MOV files.

Both of these formats are supported by the format. However, you can also convert MP4 to QuickTime compatible formats for better video accessibility.

MP4 vs. MOV: The Differences

MP4 is the basic multimedia format widely used for storing video files. The file format works with an array of digital devices on various operating systems. MP4 is a digital container file that contains compressed video data and other data necessary to play videos.

MOV, on the other hand, is a type of digital container file developed for video and other multimedia content. Developed by Apple to run videos in Apple’s proprietary media player – QuickTime Player, the MOV files are encoded with the MPEG-4 codec.

The major difference between the MOV and MP4 is that the former is developed by Apple, whereas the latter is an international standard supported by multiple media players. Moreover, The MP4 files are comparatively more compressed than other file formats.

More About QuickTime Player

QuickTime is Apple’s native video player that provides synchronized music, video, audio, and text. It integrates a set of plug-ins to help you in most of the tasks you want to do when watching video and audio files. QuickTime works as an audio player, video player, or image viewer.

 What You Need for Downloading YouTube Videos

Once you move on to the process of downloading YouTube videos into iMovie, you need to download YouTube videos. To do this process, it is suggested to get a YouTube Downloader.

Here, you can get a better understanding of YouTube Downloader. The YouTube Downloader is a tool to assist you in downloading YouTube videos from the YouTube website. Also, it helps to export the Youtube videos into other preferred formats. It helps to save the time and effort you have to make editing YouTube videos in iMovie format.

Ways to Download YT Videos to iMovie

Method 1: YouTube Video Import in iMovie (No Software Required)

If you are the one who has updated iOS, and specifically the version iOS 11, then you can follow the process to download YouTube videos to iMovie. The iOS11 comes with a free screen recorder facility. It works for recording audio and videos for iPhone users only.

The screen recording feature should be enabled first. To do this, via settings, go to customize controls where you can get the Screen Recording button. Now the YouTube video page should be open for converting that into iMovie.

Load those files from the YouTube page and pause it. Swipe up to record the screen. Play the video you paused. Stop the recording once the task is done. The location of the file saved will be there in your Photos folder; now the video can be converted.

Method 2: Free Method to Import YouTube Video on iMovie

To do this process, you need to use a free app that will allow you to collect, save and manage different files on your iPhone. The app will be there within a built-in browser to permit users to download videos. Also, users can view videos too.

Get the YouTube video for importing that into C. Copy the URL of the video and open it in the built-in browser. The y2mate.com and your URL will work together. Once you open the URL in y2mate, you will be allowed to download the YouTube video. Get the YouTube video and open that in iMovie for further editing.

Method 3: Import YouTube Video To iMovie

If you have iPhone and Mac devices, you can get YouTube videos on your iPhone via your Mac. Once this task is done, the video can be moved to iMovie format for further editing. To convert the YouTube video to iMovie, download the video on your computer. You can use the process to import YouTube videos on iMovie, as mentioned above.

Over both devices, the iPhone and Mac, open AirDrop. On a Mac computer, navigate to the Finder, click AirDrop, and share the video. The method of drag and drop will work to shift the video from Mac AirDrop to the iPhone. On your iPhone, launch the iMovie, then go to “Add to Project”. It will help to import YouTube videos to iMovie.

The Conclusion

In a nutshell, if you wish to watch and store YouTube videos on your Mac’s hard drive, convert them to iMovie-supported file formats. You can convert YouTube videos using built-in apps, online tools, or professional software. The manual steps might be time-consuming, whereas automated processes allow for faster conversion without errors.

Regardless of the method, you adopt to convert multimedia files, make sure that you follow the steps carefully to avoid data loss. Also, back up your data so that you can restore important files if anything goes wrong.

RELATED ARTICLES