Are you looking for a way to download m3u8 videos to your computer? If so, this article will help you!
First of all, it's important to note that the method described in this article is only applicable to PC devices. If you're looking to download m3u8 videos on a mobile device, this article won't be able to assist you.
In fact, m3u8 is not a video format but rather a text file that serves as an index for streaming videos. It contains a series of video segments. Downloading and merging these segments into a single video file can be a cumbersome task, so you'll need a tool to accomplish this. This article will introduce how to download m3u8 videos using a browser extension.
FetchV is a browser extension used for downloading online videos. It can download video segments from m3u8 index playlists and merge them into an mp4 file. With this tool, saving m3u8 videos becomes easy.
Here are the steps to download m3u8 videos using the FetchV extension:
1. Install the extension
If you already have the FetchV plug-in installed, you can skip this step.
Google Chrome Browser
If you're using the "Google Chrome" browser, you can get the extension from this link: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/nfmmmhanepmpifddlkkmihkalkoekpfd
"Microsoft Edge" Browser
If you're using the "Microsoft Edge" browser, you can get the extension from this link: https://microsoftedge.microsoft.com/addons/detail/dbepbhhcmhodojepbagfppgpieeplpik
Other Chromium-based Browsers
If you're using other Chromium-based browsers such as Opera, Brave, Vivaldi, 360 Browser, etc., you can download the .zip file from this link: https://fetchv.net/install/fetchv.zip .
After downloading, unzip the file and load the unpacked extension in developer mode. If you're unsure how to load an unpacked extension, you can refer to this article: How to load the unpacked extension in developer mode.
Firefox Browser
Due to the relatively small number of Firefox users and the complicated review process of its application store, so, FetchV does not support the Firefox browser. It is recommended to use the Google Chrome browser instead.
2. Capture the m3u8 video
Once the extension is successfully installed, you will usually see the extension's icon in the top-right corner of your browser. When you open a webpage that contains m3u8 videos, the extension will capture the video resources on the page and display a number indicating the total number of captured video resources. Clicking on the icon will show the list of video resources contained on the webpage.
In the list, you may see multiple m3u8 files, which can have two possible explanations:
- Video advertisements on the page may use m3u8 files.
- The target video has multiple resolutions. The browser first loads an index (usually named master.m3u8) that contains URLs of different resolution m3u8 files. Then, based on your network condition, it loads an appropriate resolution m3u8 file. All loaded m3u8 files will be captured with the extension, so you will see multiple m3u8 files in the list.
At this point, you can identify the video you need by playing the preview.
3. Start downloading the video
Once you've determined the target for downloading, click the "Download" button. The extension will open a new tab for downloading and processing the video data. This tab serves as a download control interface where you can make some download settings if needed.
4. Download complete
The entire download and data conversion process is automated by the application, so no manual operation is required. When the download is complete, a "Save" button will appear. Click on it to save the video in mp4 format.
