01
Navigate to a PBS video page
Open any episode, documentary, or clip page on pbs.org and let the video player fully initialize.
PBS Downloader
Save PBS documentaries and series before they leave the free streaming window, keeping a permanent personal archive.
Browser extension
Current-page workflow
Browser downloads
40,000+ SERP Apps users
PBS Downloader is an independent product not affiliated with or endorsed by PBS, Public Broadcasting Service or any subsidiaries or affiliates. All trademarks are property of their respective owners and use of them does not imply affiliation or endorsement.
Try it free — 3 downloads, no credit card
Your downloads never touch our servers
No ads, no tracking, no analytics
One-time payment, lifetime updates
Works on Windows, Mac, and Linux
Email support, answered by the people who built it
About PBS Downloader
PBS regularly rotates content in and out of its free streaming window, which means your favorite documentaries and series can disappear without warning. PBS Downloader helps you preserve that access by saving videos directly to your computer. Once downloaded, they remain yours to revisit on your own schedule.
Simply open any episode, documentary, or clip page on pbs.org and click the extension icon. It detects the video player and presents all available quality tiers, complete with resolution labels and file size estimates. Choose your preferred option, and the extension stitches HLS adaptive streams into a clean MP4 file.
Your downloads are automatically named with the show title and episode, making it easy to maintain a private educational library. The process includes a progress window with transfer speed, ETA, and pause controls. All processing happens locally, and the only external call is a licence check—no analytics or tracking.
Trusted at scale
Trusted by 40k+ SERP Apps users.
Private & local
Private downloads. No ads or tracking.
One connected library
Part of the SERP Apps Extensions Library.
How It Works
Download in 3 clear steps
Open the page, let the extension detect what is available, and save the file to your computer.
02
Open the extension
Click the PBS Downloader icon in your browser toolbar. The extension reads the player metadata and lists quality options.
03
Choose quality and format
Select from available resolution tiers. HLS streams are converted to MP4 automatically during download.
Happy Users
Recent customer feedback
Short, practical feedback from people using PBS Downloader in real workflows.
A big help for educators
I use NOVA episodes in my classroom and streaming is unreliable on our school network. Having local MP4s changed my lesson planning completely.
Caroline Whitfield
2025-01-28
Frontline on the go
Downloaded several Frontline documentaries before a long flight. Quality was excellent and each file was named cleanly.
Tomás Aguilar
2025-02-14
Works great with PBS Passport
PBS Passport content downloaded without extra fuss. The progress tracker is straightforward and I appreciated the pause option on longer episodes.
Shonda Hewitt
2025-03-05
These comments and ratings were collected during our July 2026 customer survey and reviewed against support records before publication.
Features
Everything it does
Core capabilities included in PBS Downloader.
It locates media players across pbs.org episode pages, clips, and specials.
Resolution labels and file size estimates accompany every listed quality tier.
HLS streams are reassembled into one MP4 file right on your computer.
A right-click context menu lets you trigger downloads without opening the popup.
The progress window shows transfer speed, ETA, and pause/cancel actions.
Full documentaries and multi-segment specials are processed reliably.
Show title and episode are embedded in the filename for tidy local libraries.
Only a licence check goes outside—no analytics or tracking is performed.
Browse to a PBS video page and wait for the player to finish initializing.
Click the toolbar icon to have the extension pull player metadata and present quality choices.
Pick a resolution tier; HLS streams are transformed into MP4 during the download.
You get a desktop notification when the file, named with show and episode, finishes saving.
Compare
PBS Downloader Extension vs Online Downloader Website
The PBS Downloader is designed to work directly on the video page, unlike online tools that need a separate page.
PBS Downloader (coming soon)
Online downloader website
PBS Downloader (coming soon)
Will be accessible from the browser toolbar on the PBS page.
Online downloader website
Copy the PBS page address and go to another site.
PBS Downloader (coming soon)
Is intended to detect the loaded PBS video player.
Online downloader website
A pasted link may lose important player context.
PBS Downloader (coming soon)
Aims to show quality choices without leaving PBS.
Online downloader website
You move to a different interface to see options.
PBS Downloader (coming soon)
Would use the browser's download system.
Online downloader website
Download depends on the external site's progress page.
PBS Downloader (coming soon)
Planned to embed show and episode in filenames.
Online downloader website
Filenames can be generic or unpredictable.
PBS Downloader (coming soon)
Would keep you focused on the PBS video.
Online downloader website
Switching sites interrupts the viewing experience.
Compatibility
Works where you work
Available on major desktop browsers and operating systems used in day-to-day workflows.
Browsers
ChromeEdgeFirefoxBraveOpera
Operating Systems
WindowsmacOSLinux
Supported Content
PBS documentaries, series episodes, and clip pages on pbs.orgNOVA, Frontline, American Experience, PBS NewsHour, and morePBS Passport content accessible in-browser with an active membershipHLS adaptive streams and direct MP4 sources
Not Supported
Content requiring the PBS mobile or TV app exclusivelyClosed captions and transcript filesSafari and mobile browsersAutomatic batch downloading of full series
Downloads
Choose your browser
Pick the browser build you need. When a direct GitHub release is available, you can grab the ZIP there.
Chrome
Chrome support is in progress and will be enabled soon.
Coming soon
Firefox
Firefox support is in progress and will be enabled soon.
Coming soon
Edge
Edge support is in progress and will be enabled soon.
Coming soon
Opera
Opera support is in progress and will be enabled soon.
Coming soon
Brave
Brave support is in progress and will be enabled soon.
Coming soon
Whale
Whale support is in progress and will be enabled soon.
Coming soon
Yandex
Yandex support is in progress and will be enabled soon.
Coming soon
Install from GitHub releases or your user dashboard. ZIP builds include the full desktop extension.
Transparency
Extension permissions explained
Every requested permission and the job it performs inside the extension.
Saves completed video files to your downloads folder and updates the progress panel during transfer.
Retains your licence key and preferred quality setting between browser sessions.
Reads the current PBS page to locate the video player and present download options.
Parses PBS video player data to extract HLS manifest URLs and stream metadata.
Sends a desktop alert when a download finishes or encounters an error.
Assembles HLS segments into a single MP4 in a background context to avoid freezing the browser.
FAQ
Common questions
The extension is designed to recognize media players on episode pages, clips, and specials once the player finishes loading. It will then pull metadata to present available quality options.
Know Before You Buy
What it cannot do
Better to know the boundaries up front than find out after checkout.
One episode downloads at a time — no batch series export
Closed captions and transcripts must be obtained separately
Content exclusive to PBS mobile or TV apps cannot be captured
The browser tab must stay open during HLS stitching
Safari and mobile browsers are not supported
Helpful reading
Posts
m3u8
hls
video-downloader
How to Download M3U8 and HLS Videos as MP4
Download a compatible M3U8 or HLS video as MP4 by starting playback, confirming the detected stream, choosing a quality, and using Save As.
Devin Schumacher
coursera
yt-dlp
hls
How to Download Coursera Videos for FREE (yt-dlp tutorial)
Step-by-step guide to download Coursera videos using yt-dlp by extracting MP4 or HLS/DASH stream URLs from the Network tab in DevTools.
Devin Schumacher
How to Download Twitch Streams and VODs
Platform: Twitch.tv (Amazon) Primary Formats: HLS (M3U8), MP4 (VODs) Stream Types: Live streams, VODs, Clips Authentication: OAuth, subscriber-only...
Devin Schumacher
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23 categories are currently available.
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Immediate Access
Product access begins after a successful checkout
Setup Guidance
Installation steps are provided for the supported package
Billing Shown Upfront
Review the selected billing interval before checkout
PBS Downloader
Preserve access to documentaries and series before they rotate out of the free PBS window
Study long-form content offline at your own pace without streaming interruptions
Maintain a private educational video library on your own hardware
Avoid regional availability gaps when traveling
PBS Downloader is an independent product not affiliated with or endorsed by PBS, Public Broadcasting Service or any subsidiaries or affiliates. All trademarks are property of their respective owners and use of them does not imply affiliation or endorsement.