HowTo: Rip audio from a YouTube video
HowTo: Rip audio from a YouTube video
I was asked recently if there was a way to extract the audio from a YouTube video to an mp3 on a Mac. This is an explanation of how I ripped the attached mp3 from this video…
In order to do any sort of ripping or extraction, you need a source file. This
means that we need a way to get the YouTube video on our computer. To do this
we are going to go to this page and enter the URL for the video
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mlsiw5lmEzw). When you click “Get Video” it
will begin the download of the video to the file get_video. This file is an
flv file, but it downloaded without an extension. If you want to watch it, you
will have to rename it to get_video.flv and open it with your favorite media
player (mine is VLC).
Now that you have the source video, you need to extract the audio to an mp3.
This process is called
transcoding, and there are lots of
tools for
this. The simplest and easiest to use on
a Mac is ffmpegx. Download and
install following the instructions on
screen.
Note: I put the files in ‘/Users/will/Library/Application Support/ffmpegx’. I
created the ffmpegx directory and put them in it and then located them
there…
Once ffmpegx is installed, drop the get_video file on the window where it
says “Drop file here”. Now on the right where it says “To” select “Audio file
to mp3”. Click on “Encode”…
It will then output the mp3 file get_video.ff.mp3 and you are now the proud
owner of the soundtrack to the YouTube video…
Attachment: get_video.ff.mp3 2.69 MB
