Acquisition
Cascera
Universal Downloader
Where material enters the library, in the format the work calls for
In development
- Status
- In development
- Discipline
- Universal Downloader
- Editions
- Announced at release
Acquire video and audio from supported sources, choose the exact streams you need and repeat your conversion workflow.
Cascera downloads video, extracts audio and converts both, with a queue for the work that comes in batches. It is built on two respected open-source tools, yt-dlp and FFmpeg, keeps both current by itself, and gives them a considered Windows interface, synchronized settings and a processing pipeline.
You choose the resolution, the format and the codec. Where a source does not offer the quality you asked for, Cascera takes the highest that it does. Cascera does not circumvent DRM or other access protection.
- Highest resolution
- 4320p
- Video formats
- 7
- Audio formats
- 8
- Video codecs
- 6
- Queued downloads
- 50
- GPU encoder families
- 3
Acquisition
Paste an address, choose video or audio, and Cascera validates the source before it begins. Progress is reported stage by stage, in the application and in the Windows taskbar.
- Video
- Nine resolutions from 144p to 4320p. Basic downloads up to 1440p; Premium extends to 4K and 8K.
- Audio
- Lossy formats to 320 kbps, FLAC at compression levels 0 to 8, WAV at 44.1, 48 or 96 kHz.
- Clip and trim
- Download a chosen time range, filled in from the detected duration and validated as you type.
- Subtitles
- Extraction in a chosen language, or all available languages.
- Metadata
- Title, artist and thumbnail embedded in the file, with the thumbnail optionally saved beside it.
Queue, Playlists and Automation
Work that arrives in quantity is queued, edited and processed in order, with as many as five items active at once. Work that repeats can be scheduled.
- Capacity
- Up to 5 queued downloads in Basic and up to 50 in Premium.
- Concurrency
- From one to five active downloads, and from 1 to 16 concurrent fragments each.
- Playlists
- The first 10 items of a playlist or mix in Basic, and every item in Premium.
- Automation
- Schedules, subscriptions and watch folders, started by hand in Basic and run automatically in Premium.
- Profiles and rules
- One saved download profile in Basic. Premium keeps any number and adds intake rules that choose a profile for each source.
- SponsorBlock
- Community-reported segments marked or removed where the source supports it, in both editions.
Encoding
Conversion is as configurable as the download. Encoding runs on the graphics processor where one is available, which matters most at high resolutions.
- Codecs
- H.264 in Basic. Premium adds H.265, VP8, VP9, AV1 and MPEG-4.
- Quality
- Encoder presets from ultrafast to very slow, constant-rate quality, and two-pass encoding in Premium.
- Hardware
- NVIDIA NVENC, AMD AMF and Intel Quick Sync, selected automatically or by hand, with a processor fallback.
- Picture and sound
- Deinterlacing, audio normalization in five modes and a choice of audio codec for video.
- Stream loop
- Repeat audio or video two, three, five or ten times in a single pass.
- Audio processing
- In Premium: pitch and speed from 0.25× to 2×, enhancement, remastering, and reverb, echo, bass boost, 8D audio and vaporwave.
Settings, History and Privacy
Cascera works without an account. Sign in, and your settings, profiles and history follow you to the computers you use.
- Guest mode
- Settings, history and statistics kept locally, with no account required.
- Synchronization
- Settings, statistics and history across your computers when signed in.
- History
- A record of completed downloads, which you can switch off entirely.
Who uses Cascera, and for what
- Your own material
- Retrieve your own published work in the resolution and format you need.
- A personal library
- Keep media you are allowed to download in one consistent format and quality.
- Conversion
- Bring a batch of files to one codec and container with hardware-accelerated encoding.
What Cascera needs
- Operating system
- Windows 10 or Windows 11, 64-bit
- Runtime
- Included with the installer; Cascera installs and updates yt-dlp and FFmpeg itself
- Internet
- Required to download. Conversion runs on your computer.
Installs for your Windows user account, so no administrator rights are needed. Updates are taken only from the application's official releases and checked against the SHA-256 digest recorded for them.
Use Cascera only for content you are authorized to download, in accordance with the terms of the source and applicable law.
Which sources does Cascera support?
Cascera uses yt-dlp for retrieval, so it supports the sources that tool supports. Availability, resolution and formats depend on each source and can change.
What am I permitted to download?
Only content you have the legal right to access, in accordance with the terms of the source and the law that applies to you. You are responsible for your use of Cascera. Both editions are licensed for personal, non-commercial use.
What does the Basic edition include?
Video up to 1440p in every video and audio format, the first 10 items of a playlist, up to five queued downloads, SponsorBlock, hardware-accelerated conversion, and schedules, subscriptions and watch folders that you start yourself.
Is Premium a subscription?
No. Premium is bought once and licensed perpetually. Updates within the current major version are included.
On how many computers can I use my license?
A Premium license is for one person and works on up to three computers at the same time. Premium keeps working offline for 30 days at a time. The computers are listed in Studio Hub, where you can release one to use the license on another.
Can I try Premium first?
Yes. Signed in, you can use Premium for 14 days on one computer, without payment details. A trial can be started once per product, account and computer.
