IDM free alternatives

Discussion in 'Helpdesk' started by cherry, Jun 10, 2021.

  1. cherry

    cherry Active Member Collector

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    I know a lot of people still use IDM but I thought I'd share some alternatives that I use that work just as well.
    (I am not affiliated with any of these apps, I just want to help people out)
    Free Download Manager
    I use this for browser downloads. It has browser integration and also works with torrents. You can pause downloads and resume anytime, which is useful for bigger files.
    Note: Once you install FDM, it will automatically catch every download in browser. If you don't want it to download smaller files like pictures, you'll have to go to Preferences > General and modify the settings:
    [​IMG]
    Xtreme Download Manager
    I use this one for streaming videos, especially Tidal. It also has browser integration and the ability to pause downloads.
    I also did a comparison with IDM and XDM downloaded a video in bigger size, which lead me to believe that IDM compresses videos.
    Here's a comparison of the file sizes, both 1080p.

    [​IMG] [​IMG]

    And here is a bitrate comparison.

    [​IMG] [​IMG]

    As you can see, the XDM file has a higher bitrate, which usually means better quality.
    Again, these are just suggestions, if you like IDM you don't have to switch. This is just an alternative for people who don't wanna mess with cracks, trial extenders etc.
     
    Last edited: Jun 10, 2021
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  3. acciojay

    acciojay Well-Known Member Uploader Donor

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    Thanks for this tip! I didn't even know about these programs. And just to help add two other alternatives to this if your suggestions aren't enough for some folks:

    Method 1 - You can use JDownloader to download videos from Tidal using VideoDownloadHelper to grab the hls stream (it even tells yo the resolution and the mbps the stream)

    [​IMG]

    Once you copy the stream, JDownloader usually automatically loads the clipboard and will have it in the linkgrabber list (otherwise just paste it in if it isn't there) and you just download.

    Method 2 - You can also use VDH with FFMPEG to get an MP4 or TS file, get the hls stream the same way and use this command

    Code:
    ffmpeg -i "hls stream url" -c copy "output.mp4"
    
    They both get the same bitrate (TS sometimes higher as it is the raw stream) as they comes from the same stream and are high quality.

    [​IMG]

    Again, thanks for the alternative you've shown and I hope my suggestions help someone as well!
     
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  4. marco25

    marco25 Well-Known Member Uploader

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    Thanks
     
  5. cherry

    cherry Active Member Collector

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    Thank you, these are very useful tips as well!!
     
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  6. ahhnewname

    ahhnewname Member

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    Do you know if this also work with apple music by any chance?
     
  7. Mizz

    Mizz Well-Known Member

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    apple music uses widevine to protect its content so that won't work.