Quality & Format Options

Choosing the right quality and format can make a real difference — whether you're archiving videos for posterity or just saving something to watch on a plane. This guide helps you pick the right settings for your needs.

Quick Recommendations

Not sure what to choose? Here's what works for most people:

• Everyday viewing: Up to 1080p is the sweet spot — great quality, reasonable file size
• 4K display or TV: Go with Up to 4K or Best Available
• Phone or tablet: Up to 720p looks great and saves storage
• Just the audio: Choose Audio only for music, podcasts, or lectures

Quality Presets

Fetchii offers 11 quality presets, from the best the site offers down to 360p:

Tip: Every preset is a ceiling — Fetchii picks the best format at or below that resolution. The 60fps presets also never go above 60fps. High frame rates are worth it for sports, gaming content, or anything with fast motion; for most other videos, 30fps looks just fine.

Want just the sound? That's not a quality preset — choose Audio only next to Download in the New Download sheet (see below).

Setting Your Quality

You can choose quality each time you download, or set a default for all future downloads.

Per-Download Selection

Open the New Download sheet with File > New Download… (Cmd + N) or the options button at the right end of the link field. Pick a preset from the Quality menu, choose Video + Audio or Audio only, and click Download.

Links you paste into the link field and start with Return — or send from the browser extension — use your defaults.

Setting a Default

If you find yourself always picking the same quality, save time by setting a default:

1. Open Settings > Downloads > Quality & Format
2. Choose your preferred quality from the Preferred quality menu (Best Available by default)
3. All new downloads will use this setting automatically

Default download type in the same group decides whether new downloads start as Video or Audio only. You can still override both for individual downloads whenever you need to.

Video Formats Explained

Fetchii handles all the format details automatically, but here's what's happening behind the scenes if you're curious.

Container Formats

The container is the "wrapper" that holds your video and audio together:

MP4 is the most compatible — it'll play on virtually any device or player. It's the default in Settings > Downloads > Quality & Format > Container format; you can also pick a container for one download under Advanced Options in the New Download sheet.

Video Codecs

These determine how the video is compressed:

• H.264 (AVC): The universal standard. Works on everything.
• H.265 (HEVC): Better compression, great for Apple devices and newer hardware.
• VP9: What YouTube uses. Good quality, widely supported.
• AV1: The newest and most efficient, though not all devices support it yet.

Audio Formats

In Video Files

Your downloaded videos include audio in one of these formats:

• AAC: The standard — works everywhere
• Opus: Better quality at smaller sizes, supported by modern players
• MP3: For older compatibility needs

Audio-Only Downloads

When you choose Audio only, Fetchii saves the format set in Settings > Downloads > Audio > Audio format (M4A by default):

Audio quality in the same group goes from Best down to High (256 kbps), Medium (192 kbps) and Low (128 kbps).

When Your Quality Isn't Available

Not every video is available in every quality. The original uploader decides what resolutions to provide, and some platforms impose their own limits.

If the quality you selected isn't available, Fetchii automatically downloads the next best option. So if you ask for Up to 4K but only 1080p exists, you'll get 1080p.

Want to know what's available before downloading? In the New Download sheet, open Advanced Options and click Browse Formats to see every format the video offers — and pick one exactly if you like.

File Naming

By default, Fetchii names files after the video title and resolution ({title}_{resolution}), for example How to Build a PC_1080p.mp4.

For more control, change the Download naming pattern in Settings > Downloads > File Names & Folders using variables:

For example, {uploader} - {title} [{resolution}] produces filenames like:

TechChannel - How to Build a PC [1080p].mp4

Check out the Custom Filenaming guide for more patterns and options.