Depending on your region, internet provider, and the rules of the portal you want to visit, video streaming can be a blessing or a curse. That's when offline playback comes to the rescue, eliminating any conflict point by creating a local copy. Obviously, the vast majority of sites don't allow this, but all you need is one of these three Chrome extensions to download videos from anywhere.
The best Chrome extensions to download videos
Video DownloadHelper
With more than two million users and frequent updates, Video DownloadHelper tops the list. It's a Chrome-compatible port (let's not forget the original is compatible with Firefox) that fortunately doesn't sacrifice too many features (some are still pending), and it extends support to hundreds of portals. Its preferences section has dozens of advanced options, but it works well with its default values. Start here.
Video Downloader for Web
The latest reviews of Video Downloader for Web haven't been entirely positive, but our experience with this extension has been very good. The only major restriction is YouTube, a service that is often ignored by many extensions to ensure their permanence in the Chrome Web Store. Video Downloader for Web lets us download, copy the video link (for use with an alternative downloader), or move its playback to a mini window.
Video Downloader Professional
As with the previous extension, Video Downloader Professional blocks access to YouTube to avoid the wrath of Mountain View, but aside from isolated exceptions, it has no issues with the rest of the portals. In fact, we've noticed that in some cases it also allows downloading audio separately. Its only 'flaw' is that it sometimes offers duplicates in the download links. If all else fails, give this extension a try.
Bonus track: How to download YouTube videos
From a technical standpoint, Video DownloadHelper should work with YouTube without issues. However, don't forget that there are dedicated tools like Xtreme Download Manager, and that online options for downloading music from YouTube work very well. The restrictions that most extensions face are irritating, but we have to adapt to the rules of the game, and overall, everything is in our favor.
