As YouTube changes, there are a number of people figuring out great YouTube add-ons for open-source browsers such as Firefox and Chrome to change the default YouTube experience. There are extensions to change the look of the site, download the videos you watch, block the ads, block the comments, figure out how the video is rated before you click on it, and more. So, with that, here is a list of YouTube Firefox addons. To go to a page where you can search for all sorts of other extensions, here's the link to the Firefox addon page.
YouTube Firefox Addons for Your Personal Experience
A couple of things to note:
- Some YouTube Firefox addons don't work with other extensions
- Always read the reviews and whether the add-on works with the latest version of your browser and/or YouTube
Also, while I've added my two cents on all of these, all of the descriptions come straight from the various pages where you can download the extensions. So that's why you'll see some occasional "selling" in the descriptions. I'm not endorsing anything here, just letting people know what's out there.
With that out of the way, let's take a look at some of the better-reviewed extensions out there and what they do.
Firefox Add-ons to Download YouTube Videos
1-Click YouTube Video Download
Description: The simplest YouTube Video Downloader addon for all YouTube Flash sites, period.
This puts a little icon underneath a YouTube video that simply says, "Download," and you can download any of these videos in any format (MP4, FLV, WebM, 3GP) and any quality (from 144p up to 3072p). It's the most used and highest rated that I could see of all the dowloaders.
Easiest YouTube Video Downloader
Description: This Addon simply adds a dropdown button that lets you download YouTube Videos in various Formats. Download YouTube Videos in FLV and MP4 (both Full High Definition and iPod compatible High-Quality) in a single click.
This is another highly-rated extension. It all comes down to choice.
Playing Videos Without Leaving the Page
YouTube Anywhere PlayerDescription: Play YouTube videos anywhere in cinema mode without leaving the website you're reading.
A pretty amazing extension that allows you to click on a YouTube link and watch the video right there, sort of like how videos are watched in Gmail. This extension is also available on Chrome and it's been made for Vimeo, DailyMotion, and Veoh. Also, works with playlists. This developer, Diego Casorran, appears very dedicated to this app. It's highly rated and recommended.
Add-ons that Change How YouTube Looks
Turn Off the LightsDescription: This extension dims everything in the background, so you can enjoy the video you’re watching without any distractions.
What this does is makes everything around the video dim, or dark, while the video shines nice and bright. It even has an "Easter Egg" where you can turn your screen into a movie theatre. This is for any place where you want to watch video, not just YouTube.
Black YouTube ThemeDescription: Dark style for Youtube.
This turns the background black on YouTube, with the text going white and really, the only thing left bright is the video and the recommended videos.
YouTube Grid ViewDescription: Grid view layout for YouTube search results.
This makes the search results a little easier to take in. When you search in YouTube, you get this long vertical list of videos and you have to scroll endlessly if you don't find what you're looking for right off the bat.
Buffering
Description: Better YouTube experience. Provides 'Smart Buffer' for slow connections; auto loop; buffer preferences; quality selection; and more.
For those of you who have slow connection speeds, or would just like to control when the video starts on YouTube, and all sorts of options for quality control.
Ratings
YouTube Ratings PreviewDescription: GOT RICKROLLED? With Youtube bogus remover you can see like/dislike bars directly on search results under every video. You can also hide from the search results the worst videos. Don't waste your time with useless videos!
This puts the "like" bar in the search results, so you don't have to click on the video to figure out how popular it is.
Description: YouTube Video Preview helps you to determine if a video is what you are looking for by adding a video rating below each video image, and when you mouse hover any video image you will see 3 thumbnails from that video.
So here, you see the like/dislike bar on top of the thumbnail, and when you hover over the image you can see three different thumbnails. So, pretty much like "Ratings Preview" with some added bells and whistles.
Believe me, there are tons more.
Resuming Where You Left Off
Description: Automatically resumes YouTube videos from where you played them last. Without this extension, for example, when you click through YouTube videos, back and forth, they always start from the beginning.
If you've ever started watching a video but then had to leave for any reason, picking up where you left off is sort of a pain. This extension makes it so that you can get right back to where you left off.
There are two extensions named YouTube Auto Replay. This one and this one. You can check a box that says "replay" and you can either make it so that the video automatically replays after it finishes, or you can select a section of the video that you want replayed over and over. A video of the first one in action is here.
Music
Firetube (YouTube Music Player)
Description: Fast and easy way to listen to a song from YouTube. Simply open the Search button and listen to the artist or song of your choice.
This application uses YouTube as a music database. After installing, you'll see a small sliver at the bottom of the screen, where you can search for bands and songs. You can hit the magnifying glass to find the stuff you want and then it starts playing. You can even download the song.
Description: Get instant lyrics on Grooveshark and YouTube in a flexible panel. Multiple sources are defined to ensure that lyrics are always found. The use and order of these sources are customizable.
I saw numerous posts about this a month or so ago. This allows you to see the lyrics of the songs you play in YouTube.
Annoyances
Description: Youtube Comment Blocker is an extension that hides comments and video responses.
Pretty awesome if you don't want to see all that nonsense underneath the video where people think they're being clever or outright trolling.
YouTube Uploads OnlyDescription: A quick fix for youtube's new homepage layout.
This is extremely useful. You see, YouTube's new layout basically defaults its display page to show you everything an uploader in which you've subscribed does: what they've liked or favorited or commented on, when you just want to see what they've uploaded. This makes it so that you only see the uploads.
Description: Provides a very clean interface to YouTube. Hides in-video ads, comments, related videos, promotional videos, annotations, channels etc.
Basically makes it so that all you see is the video that you want to watch. All the things that are supposed to pop up or otherwise distract you should be gone.
Do you have any extensions that you use regularly and enhance the YouTube experience? Let us know in the comments down below.
Hi. I’m Designer of Blog Magic. I’m CEO/Founder of ThemeXpose. I’m Creative Art Director, Web Designer, UI/UX Designer, Interaction Designer, Industrial Designer, Web Developer, Business Enthusiast, StartUp Enthusiast, Speaker, Writer and Photographer. Inspired to make things looks better.
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