CNET Editors' review
We can't say that JDownloader for Mac is very user friendly, but for more-experienced users willing to put in some time on the front end to learn about the app, it proves to be a very capable tool for downloading content from the Web.
JDownloader has some great features, but offers little in the way of user guidance for its busy interface. If you don't spend time getting a few helpful tips from the publisher's forums, you may end up with the same video file downloaded in multiple formats, which you will trash. The whole point of the app is to try to save you time, not waste it, so we suggest you get up to speed before using JDownloader. Once you get the hang of it, it turns out to be fairly easy to use. As you browse the Web for content, and find something you may want to have on your Mac, all you have to do is use the Linkgrabber tab to add the URL, and JDownloader does the rest. We found that it did a good job downloading content from all types of sources in multiple formats, including FLV, MP3, MP4 and WebM, at different quality levels. You can also easily choose to look only for specific file types, which helps speed things up even more. In addition to selecting the directory you want to save certain file types to, JDownload will also enter those captcha codes you typically need to enter manually to prove you're a human.
JDownloader isn't for the novice user, and its user interface isn't as intuitive as you'd expect from this type of application, but it excels at its primary function: downloading your favorite content from the Web.
Publisher's Description
From AppWork:
JDownloader is your personal internet robot that does all the work for you. He will download whole photo albums, playlists or just about anything else with just one click. Go ahead and try it! Ever wanted to have just a couple more hours every week in order to get more things done, or play that game you've been wanting to play for months? JDownloader saves its users millions of hours every week. Just look at those awesome features and begin saving time NOW! No wait times: JDownloader can reconnect your router in order to skip those painful waiting times some sites have. This will make your downloads Uberfast! Faster Downloads: We're using the fastest, and most fearless kick-ass ninja techniques out there to deliver your packages faster than anyone else. Even Chuck Norris is jealous. Automatic Captcha Recognition: Remember those annoying codes you have to enter to prove you're human? Guess what? Our robot does that for you! He has a heart, too, and he doesn't like racism :) Copy Links - Lean Back! Copy MULTIPLE links and JDownloader will automatically download all of them for you as fast as possible, without you having to return to your computer. Auto-Save: Automatically save files with certain filenames to certain preconfigured folders. Our robot likes to keep things in order and tidy :) Click'n'Load: One Click, and all the files you need automatically start downloading. No need to copy lots of links or click on each one individually-just Click'n'Load. Auto-Extraction: Ever wanted to start watching a movie, but first had to wait until it was extracted? JD automatically extracts those files and saves your passwords, too :) Thousand Supported Sites: If however you're out in the farthest, darkest, unexplored corners of the Internet and JD has no support for it yet, call Dora to hold your hand. Or shoot us a mail :)
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All versions:
3.6 starsout of 9 votes
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Current version:
3.6 starsout of 9 votes
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My rating:
Write review
Results 1-9 of 9
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"Installer is damaged when downloaded"
Version: JDownloader 0.9581
Pros
None can't open installer
Cons
None can't open installer.
Summary
Can't open the installer so can't tell if it works or not
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"Could not get my MacBook Pro to open the download file"
Version: JDownloader 0.9581
Pros
Probably good if I could get it working. I am using Mountain Lion and running the latest update
Cons
The same as above
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"Doing exactly what I wanted it to do"
Version: JDownloader 0.9581
Pros
I just downloaded and installed this with no problem. I've used it to download and save a few videos. It works great! I recommend reading cnethen's review from June 5, 2012, for some helpful tips. I tried to add a few tips of my own to the summary below.
Cons
I really don't have any complaints. It does what I wanted it to do. I have no idea if it's fast or slow because I have nothing to compare it to. Considering the price, I love it!
Summary
I read the review by cnethen on June 5, 2012, and followed the advice given. I stuck with the default settings on installation. I didn't need Flashgot because I don't usually use Firefox. So far I have found it easy to use, but I might have been a bit lost had I not read cnethen's review. I disabled the automatic URL-from-clipboard feature by clicking the clipboard icon in the toolbar (if it's not on the toolbar, look under Settings/User Interface/Toolbar Manager). Not every URL that I copy needs to be parsed by JDownloader. I prefer to copy and paste the links directly into the Add URLs window, which is accessed by clicking Add URLs in the LinkGrabber tab. When parsing is complete, control-clicking on a file listed under LinkGrabber lets you select it for downloading (choose "continue with selected link") rather than downloading everything listed.
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"Good but not as good as its windows version"
Version: JDownloader 0.9581
Pros
Good but not as good as its windows version
Cons
Good but not as good as its windows version
Summary
Good but not as good as its windows version
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"An awesome soft"
Version: JDownloader 0.9581
Pros
I like this program because of its simplicity and several super features
Cons
It works slowly. This bothers me a lot.
Summary
This is one of the best downloaders for Mac.
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"this app is incredible"
Version: JDownloader 0.9581
Pros
A great downloader, with many many features. Good support. All this for free (I donated to their project, they deserve it).
One thing I love about JDownloader is its bandwidth control, I can download stuff on my rather slow ADSL line without annoying the rest of my family.Cons
The only thing I really miss is a way of searching through the list of downloads. Sometimes I'm not sure if I have downloaded something or not, so I have to browse through the entire list. It'd be great if there was a filter or something. But it's far from a show stopper ;-)
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"Most powerful downloader for Mac; not for Grandma"
Version: JDownloader 0.9581
Pros
Love this app but it's not for your grandmother! (tips/instructions in summary)
WHAT'S SO GREAT!?
Well, this can do YouTubes, DailyMotion, pr0n.... you can put in passwords and dump entire lists of hotfiles, fileserves, megas, rapidshare whatever into it and it will parse download them all for you. So yeah, janky interface, but soooooo powerful.
You just copy links to your clipboard and it will automagically queue them... then you tell JDownloader to download them all at once (unless you change the setting ;) ... it's just not really that straightforward if you like to be organized ;) See below.Cons
Like I said, it's not something you'd just tell grams to download and install.
Just downloading this program is a little sketch because you come here to cnet and grandma will see that big link for "Clean your Mac" and download some malware instead of Jdownloader.
Love seeing all the different Youtube formats and qualities available but individually selecting and downloading them is non-intuitive and most people will end up downloading more versions than they really need/want.
You can configure the interface a little bit to add/remove buttons but yeah, this is the weakest part...Summary
Here's how to use it!
0) Download
1) start the installer
2) if you've got LIttle Snitch just go ahead and allow any connection/server for forever...this thing has a lot of connections to make (it's aware of hundreds/thousands of sites with embedded movie/flash/media content)
During Installation
3) I would uncheck "make icon on desktop/dock" (just launch it from Spotlight as needed).
4) change the default save-folder to something like "-Jdownloads" -- this will kick it up to the top of your Downloads list (right-click in "choose a location" whitespace and choose "new folder" or click right icon/symbol which makes a new folder)
5) flashgot? I say "no" but you might like the integration...I haven't used it
USE!
a) any time you copy a link to your clipboard with video/media content, JDownloader will parse it in the background.... for the most part... it's got hundreds (thousands?) of sites ... if it doesn't auto-find content, you can paste your link into Jdownloader manually. The available media will show up in the Linkgrabber tab....
b) Now, it will split YouTubes into four different versions.... FLV, MP4, MP3, and WebM....and then each of these is as a different quality level! So you don't need all that. If I love a video and want it in all formats, I will expand the four sections and then command-click to select the ones I want to queue. So like I get the biggest FLV (flash format), webm (highquality web format?), mp3 (just the audio! perfect when you want to dump a youtube song into iTunes), and MP4 (highquality video).
c) Got those selected? Right-click and choose "Continue with selected" and it will just download what you highlighted.... you can configure the interface a little bit to add/remove buttons but yeah, this is the weakest part... I don't know if they've added a button to just download selected but that's what they should do ;)
Or even a shortcut to "download highest quality" which grabs the largest in each section....
EXTRA CREDIT
You can force/resume/reset stalled downloads...you can tell how many simultaneous connections to open....so on and so forth. -
"Good but not as good as its windows version."
Version: JDownloader 0.9581
Pros
One of the best download managers out there for Mac.....just copy any link...and it will be able to download it for you....i love the part where it splits up the youtube video into several different categories which allows the user to choose his/her preference.
Cons
Slow on startup and also link detection. Much faster on its windows version
Summary
i would recommend this to anyone.....its just that they have to be smart and learn how to use this app....its actually not that hard at all....all my friends are using this app and i have been using it on my windows long before i switched to mac.....its just frustrating that the mac version is lagging compared to its windows counterpart...
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"difficult to work with"
Version: JDownloader 0.9581
Pros
it does work but.......
Cons
.........if you use it for youtube then you end up with up to 9 movie versions (eg 240meg download for a 13meg movie),
after adding & parsing an url it shows all the versions of your movie, but you cannot select a single movie, you must download all versions & then delete the ones you don't want, the download list cannot be change or cleared before full download!!!!!!!Summary
it may be usefull for games where you need to download everything or the game won't work,
you cannot select what you want to download, the download list cannot be edited
