B-ROLL Features for Video Editors

What does B-ROLL do that a plain downloader does not?

B-ROLL prepares YouTube footage for a timeline, not just an MP4: it converts to ProRes or DNxHR, downloads only the range you mark, and writes a credits file. As of September 2026, an MP4 from YouTube often holds AV1 or VP9 video, which some editors play slowly or reject.

Ema Zamboni, a video editor who cuts in DaVinci Resolve Studio, built B-ROLL after 4K60 AV1 downloads proved heavy to play back and AV1 or VP9 files crashed Resolve at times. One page per feature:

Task	Feature page
Keep one moment of a long video	clip downloader with in and out points
Scrub smoothly in your NLE	YouTube to ProRes or DNxHR
Pull a playlist or channel	YouTube playlist and channel downloader
Queue a link list or bookmarks	batch downloads from a list or bookmarks
Caption a cut	subtitle downloader for SRT, ASS or VTT
Use only the audio	audio extraction for editing
Credit every creator	automatic credit files
Check a file’s real quality	real bitrate and resolution

Which sources can B-ROLL download from?

B-ROLL downloads from YouTube only: single videos, Shorts, playlists, channels, and results from its own search box. Other sites, m.youtube.com, YouTube Music, /live/ and /embed/ links are rejected: paste the regular watch link.

B-ROLL also reads a .txt file with one URL per line, or a Chrome, Edge or Brave bookmarks folder, and queues every YouTube link inside. Channel downloads stay off until you set Download channels to Ask or Yes in Advanced options.

Which formats can B-ROLL save?

B-ROLL saves video as MP4, MKV, WEBM, ProRes or DNxHR, audio as MP3, M4A, WAV, FLAC or OPUS, and subtitles embedded or as SRT, ASS or VTT.

MP4, MKV and WEBM keep YouTube’s own streams. ProRes and DNxHR (menu label DNx) are a second step: ffmpeg converts the download into a .mov, one file at a time on every CPU core. B-ROLL picks the lightest tier that preserves the source and keeps resolution and frame rate, but conversion takes time and makes large files. The codecs are explained in codecs and formats for editing YouTube footage.

How does B-ROLL keep track of credits?

B-ROLL writes a .credits.txt file next to every download and appends the same block to a running credits.txt in the folder. Each block lists the title, creator, channel link, video URL, upload date, license and a copy-paste credit line.

Credits files are on by default, skipped only when the metadata lookup fails. The License line shows what yt-dlp reports, else “Standard YouTube License”, so check the license on the video page. Download only footage you have the right to use: your own uploads, Creative Commons, licensed or permitted material. The rules live in credits, licenses and fair use for YouTube clips.

Where are B-ROLL’s options?

B-ROLL splits its options between Advanced options (the ⋯ button next to Subtitles) and Settings (the gear button). B-ROLL remembers every choice between sessions.

Advanced options hold clip mode, exact frame cuts, playlist and channel downloads and credits files; Settings hold login options, the media player and the cookies file. The B-ROLL settings and advanced options reference lists every default.

What does B-ROLL run on and what does it cost?

B-ROLL runs on 64-bit Windows 10 and 11; macOS and Linux versions are planned. B-ROLL is free, with no account, no ads and an optional donation.

B-ROLL needs internet access and fetches yt-dlp, ffmpeg and Deno on first launch. The preview and trim player needs VLC media player installed; without VLC you type start and end times. B-ROLL is not code-signed, so Windows may warn before the first run.