HappyGet 2 is a featured application on QNAP NAS devices that makes it easy to download and keep a local copy of your online audio and videos from YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo and more.
Of course as with all of our other QNAP app how tos, you’ll want to get started by installing HappyGet 2 from the App Center.
Install HappyGet 2 from the App Center.
Once that’s done, you’ll be prompted to install the Chrome extension if you’re a Chrome user. (Sorry Firefox fans, I checked around but couldn’t find one for you guys.)
Chrome users will be prompted to install a Chrome extension.
The extension is optional but recommended. It also requires some advanced QNAP configuration options that are beyond the scope of this howto, so we’ll assume you’re going to be using it from the QNAP web interface instead.
To use the extension, your QNAP NAS must be viewable from the Internet.
With the HappyGet 2 app installed on your QNAP, it’s really pretty simple; launch the app, and you can search for your media using the text input bar at the top. It’ll show you the search results, and you just hit Download.
(Note: Technically this allows you to download other people’s media; Geek Beat does not condone or endorse violations of other people’s copyrighted material. Be responsible in how you use this and all other apps.)
Search with HappyGet 2 to find your media and hit Download.
Once you hit download on the media you want to back up, that’s really about it; mission complete!
It’s as easy as that!
Of course that does beg the question of what you do now. There’s no handy interface for working with that media you just backed up. So where’d it go?
Okay, but now where did it put the files?
It’s stored securely on your QNAP’s file system. Fire up the File Station, and you’ll see a new folder has joined the usual group you see on launch. Your media is under HappyGet.
Downloaded audio and videos are easily found in File Station.
You should note that when you download media from places like YouTube, you’ll likely get more than one version. When I downloaded the YouTube version of a short audiobook I recorded, I got two versions of the video in different resolutions, and I got a copy of the audio as a separate file. This will be important to keep in mind if you’re downloading large videos in areas with limited bandwidth or data caps.