Fast Video Download is a very popular Firefox add-on that allows you to download videos directly from your browser.

It works with .FLV files from a variety of websites and integrates into your browser very discreetly. One of Fast Video Download's strongest points is that it automatically detects when an .FLV video appears embedded on a website. When one is detected, the program icon changes color, letting you know a video is available.

This version of Fast Video Download also comes with SearchMenu, a search function that integrates into the context menu. If you click on the Fast Video Download icon in the upper right-hand corner of your browser, you'll see a settings menu. Here you'll be able to see comprehensive SearchMenu options and adequate configuration options for Fast Video Download.

As a video detector and download helper, Fast Video Download works well. It integrates perfectly with Firefox's standard download function and is able to "pick up" videos that are otherwise hard to get. It doesn’t integrate directly with download accelerators, but by starting the download normally and taking the URL from the standard manager, you should be able to make it work.

We did have one major gripe with Fast Video Download - when you click on the Fast Video Download window, you are presented with various options, including Video Conversion and Advanced Video Tools. These look like settings for Fast Video Download, when in fact they are separate programs that you must download from the developer's website. Once you realize this, there is no problem, but on principle, it is misleading and irritating.

If you regularly download .FLV from certain websites, Fast Video Download is a useful add-on.