Download YouTube Video in Highest Quality (Mac & Windows)

If you’re trying to download a YouTube video in the highest quality, you’ve probably noticed that most online downloaders produce blurry or heavily compressed results. I recently faced the same problem while trying to download one of my own YouTube videos, and after plenty of trial and error, I found a method that downloads the highest-quality version available directly from YouTube.

In this guide, I’ll show you exactly how to do it on both Mac and Windows. This yt-dlp tutorial shows you how to download a YouTube video in the highest quality on both Mac and Windows, with screenshots for every step so even complete beginners can follow along.

Why It’s Hard to Download YouTube Video in Highest Quality

Most online YouTube downloaders prioritize speed and convenience.

Instead of downloading the original video and audio streams provided by YouTube, many services compress the video further or limit downloads to lower-quality versions.

As a result, the downloaded video may look blurrier or less detailed than the version you watch on YouTube.

The solution is to download the actual video stream directly from YouTube and merge it with the corresponding audio stream.

That’s where yt-dlp comes in.

The most reliable YouTube downloader is yt-dlp, which is a popular open source command line program which allows you to download videos and audios not only from YouTube but from many other sites. It is definitely the best YouTube downloader for Mac and Windows.

What You’ll Need

Before we begin, you’ll need:

• A Mac or Windows computer
• An internet connection
• yt-dlp
• FFmpeg

Don’t worry if you’ve never heard of these tools before. I’ll walk you through everything.

Step 1: Install yt-dlp

Mac Users

Open Terminal and run:

brew install yt-dlp

Might ask you to proceed with the installation at one point:

If you don’t have Homebrew installed, install it first by following the instructions on the Homebrew website.

Windows Users

1. Download the latest yt-dlp release.
2. Save it to a folder on your computer.
3. Open Command Prompt or PowerShell.

Step 2: Install FFmpeg

FFmpeg is required because YouTube stores high-quality video and audio separately.

FFmpeg combines them into a single playable file.

Mac Users

Run:

brew install ffmpeg

Windows Users

1. Download FFmpeg.
2. Extract the ZIP file.
3. Add FFmpeg to your system PATH.

Step 3: Copy the YouTube Video URL

Open YouTube and navigate to the video you want to download.

Copy the URL from your browser’s address bar.

It should look something like:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID
or
https://youtu.be/VIDEO_ID

Step 4: Find Formats to Download YouTube Video in Highest Quality

Run the following in the terminal/command prompt:

yt-dlp -F "YOUR_VIDEO_URL"

For example:

yt-dlp -F "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID"

This command displays every video and audio format available for download.

Step 5: Identify the Best Format to Download YouTube Video in Highest Quality

Look through the list for the highest available resolution.

In my case, I found:

• Format 137 = 1080p MP4 video
• Format 140 = AAC audio

Your format numbers may be different depending on the video.

Pay attention to:

• Resolution
• File size
• Bitrate
• File format

Step 6: Download YouTube Video in Highest Quality as MP4

Once you’ve identified the correct formats, run:

yt-dlp -f 137+140 --merge-output-format mp4 "YOUR_VIDEO_URL"

This command downloads:

• The 1080p video stream
• The audio stream

and merges them into a single MP4 file.

NOTE: If you are unsure about this you can still do it using the following:

scottshak@Scottshaks-MacBook-Air ~ % yt-dlp -f "bestvideo+bestaudio" "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNlsUYwUbCU"

[youtube] Extracting URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNlsUYwUbCU
[youtube] sNlsUYwUbCU: Downloading webpage
[youtube] sNlsUYwUbCU: Downloading android vr player API JSON
[youtube] sNlsUYwUbCU: Downloading player 445213fb-main
[youtube] [jsc:deno] Solving JS challenges using deno
[youtube] sNlsUYwUbCU: Downloading m3u8 information
[info] sNlsUYwUbCU: Downloading 1 format(s): 399+251

What this basically does is find the best video and best audio and download it for you.

Step 7: Wait for FFmpeg to Merge the Files

After the download finishes, FFmpeg will automatically merge the video and audio.

You’ll see a message similar to:

[Merger] Merging formats into "video.mp4"

This is exactly what you want to see.

Step 8: Find Your Downloaded Video

By default, yt-dlp saves files to your current directory.

If you ran the command from your home folder, that’s where the video will be saved.

Mac

Open Finder and navigate to:

/Users/yourusername/

Or run:

open ~

Windows

Open File Explorer and navigate to:

C:\Users\YourUsername\

A Mistake I Made (So You Don’t Have To)

At first, I used:

yt-dlp -f "bestvideo+bestaudio" "YOUR_VIDEO_URL"

While this downloaded the highest-rated stream according to yt-dlp, it created a WEBM file that wasn’t ideal for my workflow.

When I switched to:

yt-dlp -f 137+140 --merge-output-format mp4 "YOUR_VIDEO_URL"

I received a standard MP4 file that worked perfectly with my editing software.

If your goal is compatibility, MP4 is usually the safer choice.

For me, the video I was downloading was 1080p max, and luckily, YouTube allowed me to download the video in 1080p.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is my downloaded YouTube video blurry?

Most online downloaders compress videos or provide lower-quality versions. Using yt-dlp lets you choose the highest-quality stream available.

Why did I get a WEBM file instead of an MP4?

Some videos use newer codecs that are packaged as WEBM files. Specifying MP4-compatible formats can solve this problem.

Is yt-dlp safe?

yt-dlp is a widely used open-source tool trusted by many users for downloading videos from supported websites.

Can I download 4K videos?

Yes. If YouTube provides a 4K stream and your chosen format supports it, yt-dlp can download and merge it.

Will the downloaded video be identical to my original upload?

Usually not. YouTube recompresses videos after upload. The downloaded version is generally the highest-quality version currently available from YouTube, but it may still differ from the original file.

Which Format Should I Choose to Download YouTube Video in Highest Quality?

For the highest possible quality, choose the video and audio streams with the best available resolution and bitrate, then merge them into a single file. This is exactly what yt-dlp does when you use the bestvideo+bestaudio option.

If you want a file that works on almost every device, MP4 is usually the best choice. For maximum quality, you can download videos in resolutions such as 1080p, 1440p, 4K, or even 8K when available on YouTube.

Keep in mind that the highest quality format depends on the source video itself. If a video was uploaded in 720p, downloading it in a higher format will not improve its quality. The best approach is to download the highest-quality version that YouTube provides for that specific video.

Final Thoughts on Downloading YouTube Videos in Highest Quality

If you’re tired of blurry downloads and low-quality online converters, yt-dlp is one of the most reliable solutions available.

It gives you full control over which video format you download, allows you to choose the highest quality available, and works on both Mac and Windows.

It took me a bit of trial and error to figure it out, but once everything was installed, the process became surprisingly simple.

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