Stream Detection

SaveMate’s core feature is universal stream detection. As you browse the web, SaveMate monitors network activity for video streams and notifies you when one is found.

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How it works

1. Passive monitoring — SaveMate listens for HTTP responses that match known video stream patterns via the browser’s network APIs
2. Stream identification — When a match is found, SaveMate parses the stream metadata (title, quality, duration, file size)
3. Visual notification — The extension icon lights up with a blue indicator
4. User action — Click the icon to view stream details and choose what to do (download, cast, save)

All detection happens locally in your browser. No data is sent to external servers.

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Supported stream types

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Adaptive streaming

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Progressive video

SaveMate detects direct video files served over HTTP in 16 formats:

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Audio formats

SaveMate can also detect standalone audio streams: .mp3, .aac, .m4a, .flac, .wav

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Platform-specific detection

SaveMate includes enhanced detection for specific platforms:

• Vimeo — Intercepts player config API to extract both progressive MP4 files and HLS playlists with accurate file sizes

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Detection indicator

The SaveMate extension icon provides real-time feedback:

• Default state — No streams detected on the current page
• Active (blue) — One or more video streams have been detected

Click the icon when it’s active to see all detected streams, grouped by quality variant.

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Stream metadata

When a stream is detected, SaveMate extracts and displays:

• Title — The video title from the page or stream metadata
• Thumbnail — A preview image extracted from the page
• Quality — Available quality levels (480p, 720p, 1080p, 4K, 8K, etc.)
• File size — Estimated or exact file size (from Content-Length headers or bandwidth calculations)
• Duration — Video length when available (sampled from manifest variants)
• Source URL — The originating page

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Quality tiers

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Detection settings

You can customize stream detection from the extension’s options page:

• Format filtering — Enable or disable detection for specific video and audio formats
• Minimum file size — Filter out small files (presets: 10KB, 100KB, 1MB, 2MB, or custom)
• Blocked sites — Exclude specific domains from detection using domain patterns

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Supported sites

SaveMate works with any website that delivers video using HLS, DASH, MP4, WebM, or any of the other supported formats. This covers the vast majority of video hosting and streaming platforms on the web.