Helpful Hints - Downloading HD Trailers from Apple Trailers

Ever been perusing the Apple Trailers website, checking out the HD trailers, and been annoyed by the process of buffering and watching the streaming video? Wouldn’t it just be better to download the video to your desktop and watch it at your own convenience, without having to buffer the video?

Well, there are a couple of ways to do this.

The Quicktime Alternative Download Method

For Windows users, I highly recommend the alternative to the Quicktime player called, well, Quicktime Alternative. Quicktime Alternative is really a Quicktime codec pack plus the lightweight video player, Media Player Classic. Quicktime Alternative does not restrict you to using Media Player Classic (in fact, it’s an optional component of the install), but in fact allows you to playback the video in any video player you choose.

So, to download the HD trailers, you first download Quicktime Alternative and install it. Then while attempting to view one of the high-definition videos from Apple Trailers, you are given the option of downloading the trailer instead.

When given the option of downloading the trailer, I recommend checking the box that offers to rename the file extension to .hdmov. As I mentioned, Quicktime Alternative allows you to view Quicktime video files using any DirectShow-compliant video player (Windows Media Player, Media Player Classic, etc.). By renaming the file with the .hdmov extension you can engage the DirectShow video playback engine and thus allow smooth playback of HD videos.

The Greasemonkey Download Method

Now, in the case that you’re not a Windows user (or even if you are a Windows user, but just prefer not to use Quicktime Alternative to download the trailers), you can use the Greasemonkey script, “Apple Trailer Download“, to download the videos using Firefox.

Once you’ve installed the script, try re-visiting the HD trailer page for a movie at Apple Trailers. You should see a neat little box in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen that looks something like this:

You just right click on any of the three sizes and choose “Save Link As…”, or use the download manager of your choice. Personally I prefer DownThemAll!.

For Windows users, even if you decide to use the Greasemonkey script for downloading the trailers, I still recommend using the Quicktime Alternative download for playing the movies.

About these ads