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Media Extractor

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Media Extractor contains a pure JavaScript library to extract the ORIGINAL audio files from video files. It also converts audio and video files to MP3 audio using the open-source FFmpeg codec.

  • Integrates with the well-known FFmpeg command-line tool.

  • Includes with an easy-to-use conversion tool

  • Contains a pure JavaScript library to extract the original audio file embedded in video files

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Is there an easy-to-use media converter that I can use with this extension?

    If you want to do more than simple conversion to MP3, I recommend Media Converter and Muxer extension: Firefox, Chrome, and Opera. This tool uses the command-line FFmpeg converter tool. If you are interested in using this powerful tool, read The Ultimate Guide to Using FFmpeg for Converting Media Files blog post.

  • How can I easily download a media file?

    When you install MED, you’ll see an icon just beneath each player on every media page. Click on the icon and let the extension generate the list of all the available download formats. Just click on an item in the list to download the file. Once the download begins, you can leave the page; your download will continue and MED will notify you when it is done.Note that direct audio extraction is available only for FLV media types. To save audio as MP3, be sure to install the free FFmpeg package and configure it in MED's from the options page to use this command-line tool

  • Can I use MED to download files with an external download manager like FlashGot, Turbo Download Manager, or DownThemAll?

    Yes. Just click the MED icon below the media player to populate the list of download-able medias. Now click on the icon to the left of each item in the list that appears. you will see the list of supported download managers in the bottom of the panel.To hide the list, click the icon one more time.

  • Toolbar button suddenly disappeared from my Firefox browser and the extension doesn't work anymore. How can I fix this?

    If you cannot see the toolbar button anymore, most likely the extension has not been initiated properly due to a conflict with another extension or damage in your current Firefox profile. The easiest way to fix this is to install the extension on a clean profile as instructed here. Note that the new profile neither has your installed extension, nor your stored bookmarks, passwords, or any other personal settings. However, it is easy to migrate them into the new profile. Just follow the sync instruction here.

  • [Deprecated; XUL version only] How can I add or remove the extension's toolbar button from my Firefox browser?

    To add or remove the toolbar button, right click on a free space in the Firefox toolbar and select "Customize...". You can now drag and drop the button to preferred position. If you intend to remove the toolbar button, you need to also uncheck "Try to keep toolbar button visible" from addon's setting page.

  • [Deprecated; XUL version only] How can I get the information of the currently played track such as author, title, format, and description?

    To get these information, first open a media page in your Firefox browser, when the color of the toolbar button turned red, middle click on the toolbar button. A menu appears containing all the information available for this particular media file.

  • Can I use FFmpeg to change the audio volume of the downloaded media files?

    Yes, using FFmpeg's volume option. For example, to make a copy of an MP3 file that is half as loud as the original, open a command line in the folder containing your MP3 file, then enter:ffmpeg -i %input-file -af 'volume=0.5' %output-file

  • What is the meaning of audio muxing?

    Muxing means combining two or more signals into one. In the digital media world, this means combining a video track with one or more audio tracks, and possibly subtitle tracks. Read more here.

  • Why does MP3 conversion have a variable bitrate by default?

    Variable bitrate (VBR) is a term used in telecommunications and computing that relates to the bitrate (amount of data) used in sound or video encoding. Usually, the higher the bitrate, the higher the audio or video quality is. As opposed to constant bitrate (CBR), VBR files dynamically vary the amount of data so higher bitrates are used for segments with rapidly changing video/audio, and lower bitrates are used for slower-changing parts. The average of these rates can be calculated to produce an average bitrate for the file. You can change this behaviour using FFmpeg's settings. For a list of available options, see: Encoding VBR (Variable Bit Rate) mp3 audio.

  • Does MED capture the file without having to play the entire media, or does it capture while the media is playing?

    There is no need for playing the media on the player at all. Just select the preferred format from the list and leave the page. File will be downloaded in the background using Firefox download manager. You can cancel or resume download from there.

  • How can I convert a media file to MP3 format?

    It is recommend to use the Media Converter and Muxer project. Beside this, you have two other options:Either use the built-in media conversion tool located at "Tools" tab of the toolbar button, or use these free online services: online-convert, media.io, or online-audio-converter.

  • iTunes does not play extracted AAC formats. Is there any workaround?

    Here is an explanation why iTunes cannot play some of the extracted ACC files. You can either convert your audio files to MP3 format or use a more powerful audio player like VideoLAN.

  • Are there any recommended media players?

    We recommend these three players for all your media related tasks: VideoLan (VLC), Media Player Classic, or Foobar2000

  • [Deprecated] When I try to point the extension to use FFmpeg on Mac or Linux, the actual binary path is selected instead of the symlink. How can I fix this?

    This is a bug with Firefox open file module. There is no easy fix for it. However, you can follow the instruction on https://github.com/iaextractor/issues/36 to manually set the correct path for FFmpeg executable.

  • [Deprecated; XUL version only] Is it possible to change the temporary directory used by FFMpeg media converter?

    By default, the extension uses system's temporary directory for all FFMpeg manipulations. You can change this behavior by creating a new preference called "extensions.feca4b87-3be4-43da-a1b1-137c24220968@jetpack.tmp-dir". The value of this preference is the location of the temporary folder. For each conversion, the extension create a new directory within the provided location. After the conversion is done, this created folder and all its contents will be deleted.