Update: mxTube v1.5 with Walkthrough
MxTube v1.5a Beta | Published by MxWeas | Via built-in Cydia Repo | Free
What's New In This Version
Everyone's favorite app for downloading YouTube videos and storing them directly on the iPhone has now been updated to work with the iPhone 2.0 firmware. Version 1.5a is a temporary release to get users back on MxTube while the new features of version 2.0 are being tested. Currently, v1.5a offers the same exact functionality as the original MxTube, with the following extras:- Background Downloader
- Video Descriptions
- The ability to watch videos on MxTube before downloading them
How-To
1. Download MxTube v1.5a Beta from Cydia (see this Tutorial for help)
2. Run MxTube
When you first start MxTube you are asked to 'Accept' their license agreement and must do before proceeding. After tapping 'Accept', you are prompted with a one-time notice about how to donate to the author. I can't stress enough how much time these developers spend on creating these great applications for free, so if you have a buck to spare, please pitch in and contribute (especially if you find yourself using their app everyday, like we do).
The startup 'Featured' screen has a notice about where to find the developer for support, known bugs, and current features. In case you missed where to donate in the one time popup, the 'Featured' tab also has this information toward the bottom :).
3. Search for YouTube Videos
Tap 'Search' in the bottom tab bar, and type in your search words to find YouTube videos. You will see two search options appear as you start to type.
- YouTube Mobile
- YouTube.com
Apparently some videos available on YouTube Mobile are not available on the full site, and vice versa. Currently searching YouTube.com will display a message about "Feature Unavailable". From the developer's site, this feature will be available when v2.0 is released soon.
4. Select video to download from search results.
After tapping 'Search' you are presented with a listing very similar to the listing of the built in YouTube application on the iPhone. Select the video you wish to download and you will be prompted with two options:
- Stream
- Download
Stream gives you the ability to watch the video now, letting you decide if it is in fact the video you are looking to download. I already know that my favorite "Salad Fingers" video is number 2, so I will select 'Download'. Had I selected 'Stream', the YouTube video player would have launched with the video requested.
4. Choose what kind of file to download
The program lets you choose whether to download a high quality version, or a low quality version of your selected video. Below I will show you two screenshots to illustrate the difference. Over an EDGE connection it could take a very long time to download a high quality video, but over 3G or WiFi you should be fine. We are using a 3G for this tutorial, so I selected high quality without hesitation, and also selected the Low Quality version to highlight the differences.
After selecting a download type, a notification will appear on the 'Downloads' tab showing you how many active downloads are present. Tap on 'Downloads' to view all active downloads.
NOTE: One advantage of mxTube v1.5 is that the downloads will run in the background even if you close the application. To test, we went to the SpringBoard and checked our email, and then came back -- both downloads were complete.
5. Play your downloaded videos
Once the downloads are complete they appear in the 'Videos' tab at the bottom. Notice it combined both the High Quality and Low Quality versions into one item on the menu. When selecting that video to watch I'm prompted to choose which version I would like to play.
Below you'll see the same screenshot from both for quality comparison.
