Ripping youtube video/audio for Pd using VLC

Windows/ VLC 2.1.3

There appear to be some new bugs with VLC 2.1.3 Windows, most notably that you can't rip youtube videos directly from Youtube anymore and that VLC won't transcode on top of already-existing files even when you tell it to. This how-to takes these bugs into consideration:

Download the video

This step is necessary because VLC 2.1.3 on Windows will not transcode directly from the network. Earlier versions of VLC were able to do this.

• Copy the video URL from the status bar in your browser.
• Open VLC and choose Media -> Open Network Stream... The video should now play in VLC
• Pause the video and go to Tools -> Codec Information. At the bottom of the dialog window that pops up you will see a very long URL in the location text area. Copy this URL.
• In your favorite browser, paste the URL. The video will now play in your browser.
• In the browser, right-click on the video and choose save video as... add the extension <mp4> to the video name you choose.

The video is now downloaded but not in a format Pd can read in Windows.

Transcode the video

Pd has to read the audio and video as separate files. We transcode each separately:

Audio

• in VLC choose Media -> Convert/Save...
• Add the video file you downloaded in the dialog window that appears, then click on Convert / Save
• In the new window that appears, choose Audio - CD as your Profile. Choose a non-existent Destination File (important: VLC will not overwrite files even though it says it will).

Video

• in VLC choose Media -> Convert/Save...
• Add the video file you downloaded in the dialog window that appears, then click on Convert / Save
• There is no appropriate already-existing profile. Click on the icon of the wrench and screwdriver to the left of the profile dropdown
• Change the following under each tab:
  • Encapsulation: MP4/MOV
  • Video codec: MPEG-4
  • bitrate: something high, like 4000Kb/s? If you don't fill this out, the quality will be low.
  • Audio codec: uncheck the Audio box.
• Choose a non-existent Destination File (important: VLC will not overwrite files even though it says it will).