Not showing MP4 download options for YouTube

[Stephen McGrath]

Hi,

I've just started using VDH and all the downloads from YouTube seem to be offered ADP/WBEM . As an example if I use the link https://youtu.be/vuRGHWB-G3k and analyse it with the free 3D YouTube Downloader I get the following options and I can select MP4 format as shown:

So its seems there are MP4 formats available for download.

However in VDH, all I see is a single WEBM format:

Am I missing a setting I need to show the MP4 options?

Thanks,

Steve

[mig]

It's a good question and the answer is not related to a technical issue.

Some YouTube streams are protected with a simple but existing signature mechanism in the URL. Although this is technically easy to bypass, we considered doing so a legal risk for our product so we made the choice to only consider the streams that we see directly on the network.

It's like if we were able to decrypt DRM-protected videos (we're not !), we would not do so.

[digideth]

Youtube made a change this week to protect all their videos because none of the videos I try to download offer a mp4 version.

VDH is worthless for youtube now is what your telling me.

[jc vdh]

if you need a mp4 you can download and convert to mp4.

jerome

[Wild Willy]

[digideth]

JC... kinda hard to do that when it only offers ADP 320x240 with the correct video time.

Not sure what changed over the weekend but I was able to download 640x360 MP4's without issue.

Wild Willy... I tried all your suggestions and no change.

See attached screenshot.

[Maximillium]

Don't know if this is helpful or not, but thought I'd throw this into the mix.  A day or so ago I saw this below a YouTube vid I downloaded:
[Quote:]
Youtube switched to separate audio/video streaming technology for higher quality formats and no longer provides direct 720p (Since 24 September 2018)/1080p/mp3 streams. Converting these streams to downloadable formats for you needs powerful server infrastructure, therefore 1080p/mp3 downloading has been limited to PRO users. Read more at - https://videodroid.org/pro_upgrade.html. FREE users can download all formats in CACHE where some PRO users fetched the video/audio in past 24 hours, to test the feature you can try downloading popular videos.
[Unquote]
Not being a "PRO user", or however they consider it, I downloaded at 640, which is fine at my resolution anyway,  Bigger files just fill up my drives faster and I can't tell the difference visually.
I'm not using VDH anyway - can't get past the glibc-2.27 requirement.  I live with hopes for the future.

[Wild Willy]

This is too weird.  We're not seeing the same results.  I'm running Windows 7 64-bit, Firefox 78.0.2 64-bit, VDH 7.4.0a1 beta, CoApp 1.5.0.  I downloaded the variant that is highlighted in my attached image.  I changed the resolution of the video to 720p using the gear in the YouTube playback window.  I don't know what to tell you.  I think YouTube is on a mission to use the most proprietary data structures possible in an attempt to make it impossible to use unless you buy one of their subscription services.  I think the day is coming when first of all, Michel is simply not going to be able to hack their protocols & VDH really will stop working altogether on YouTube.  And second of all, I think YouTube is going to make their service strictly for pay, no more free videos.  For now, I can't imagine why you & I are not seeing the same list of variants on the VDH menu.  If you've got the latest Firefox, VDH, & CoApp, I don't know why we're not seeing the same results.  The operating system should be irrelevant.  But if I'm seeing it with the now obsolescent version of Windows, surely you should see it with a more current operating system.  If you're backlevel on any of the other stuff, you ought to get current & see if that makes a difference.  Maybe Jerome or Michel can explain this.

[jc vdh]

sorry, I don't know.

jerome

[digideth]

Here is what I am using

This is from VDH settings page:

Video DownloadHelper

Version 7.3.9

Browser locale: en-US

Production build

Built on Wed Mar 25 2020 18:22:46 GMT+0100 (Central European Standard Time)

Build options: browser=firefox

Platform

Platform Win x86-64

Browser Mozilla Firefox 79.0

Companion App installed

Found companion app: VdhCoApp 1.5.0

Companion app binary: C:\Program Files\net.downloadhelper.coapp\bin\net.downloadhelper.coapp-win-64.exe

I am running Windows 10 Home version 1903

Maybe I can try a portable edition of firefox with a new profile or run firefox dev which gives me new profile as well.

I am out of ideas as to what is causing this... VDH is the only extension installed.

[Wild Willy]

I suggested above VDH 7.4.0a1 beta.  If I recall correctly, there are some fixes in that related to YouTube.  You can find the beta among the links at the top of the home page of this Google Group.  I've been using it since Michel posted it so don't be put off by the "beta" label.    It's general availability quality.

[mjs]

I get empty mp4 options as well as webm variants no matter what resolution is selected.This for the example video digideth showed in the image.
But I also have a way to get mp4 variants when none are available and it works for just about every video.

In the youtube link backspace watch?v= and replace that with embed/ then press enter.

[jc vdh]

for the last beta, it's here : http://www.downloadhelper.net/firefox/betas

jerome

[digideth]

Wild Will & jc vdh,

No change after installing beta... getting the exact same available download list as the stable version.

Befuddled as to why we are seeing different options.

mjs,

Thank you, Thank you, Thank You!

Changing the url to use embed brought back every download possible!

It takes me 1 more step now but I can get my 480x360 mp4 now.

Thank you!

[jc vdh]

great, thanks mjs for this tip.

jerome

[mjs]

Just an update on the video tested above.I decided to revisit it to see if I was seeing the same results and this time all the download options were there without changing the url.In this video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4dUiUpVmdw

I don't know if Youtube was doing something or this just an intermittent issue but what I did was change the resolution to 720p then refresh the page once.

About a week or so ago mp4 options were not showing on lots of videos,now it looks to be back to normal.So what I suggest for anyone else is change the video resolution then refresh the page one or more times.If after this and still no mp4 downloads available then try the embed/ url method I mentioned already.

I said the embed method works on just every video but after some more testing on Youtube there are exceptions where the it doesn't work.

The video to the top of this discussion doesn't work with it and on music videos.

[digideth]

mjs,

I agree something changed again a few days ago. 

Most of the videos I download are now back to showing mp4 versions as well as everything else with out having to change the video quality or use embed url. The couple that don't work like normal the embed url always does the trick. 

I will have to try that link because I haven't seen a video yet where I couldn't get the mp4 options with the embed url.

[digideth]

mjs,

I am seeing the same thing as you on the daddy yankee video in the first post.

Pretty sure the owner for that video turned off the embedding option.

I am guessing record labels have done the same thing with all their music videos.

[digideth]

mjs,

Well scratch what I said earlier, I jinxed myself by talking about it.

Damn you Google!

Tonight youtube changed back and I am back to using the embed url to get my mp4 download.

The previous 4 days or so I didn't need to use the embed url.

[digideth]

Well google/youtube must be watching this group/thread.

The embed url has been crippled.

I give up.

[mjs]

I have just been seeing the same thing,it doesn't seem to work now.This is just ridiculous and outrageous.Google doesn't want anyone to download off Youtube it seems.Everyone should block their adds in protest.

[fiero...@gmail.com]

Adding to this mystery.  I have VDH 7.3.9 on my MacOS X.13 High Sierra MacPros.  One at home.  One at work. Darn near twin machines.  For many many many months, perhaps even over years, I have noticed that anything I view on YouTube at home only presents .webm as a a download option with VDH.  Sometimes there will be a nameless .mp4 under it.  It rarely works to download.

I can remote access my work machine, go to the same video in my History and play it, there I never see the .webm offered.  I ALWAYS get a .mp4 as the option in the VDH menu.  Until the pandemic, most of my YouTube use was at work, so it did not matter.  I would just save the link and download it next time I was at work.  Now that I am home...I really want to find out why my Firefox with VDH at home is always .webm for the download option.

I do know, my work machine has had VDH for YEARS vs the machine at home.  Perhaps it is some legacy artifact of the old software.  I wish I could find the magic setting which tells my browser on YouTube to never show .webm  Fully licensed VDH with companion app installed.

T

[fiero...@gmail.com]

JUST FIXED IT!  WEBM is VANQUISHED!

I remember from years back in Firefox making changes in about:config for other stuff so on a lark, I just went into about:config in Firefox, searched for webm, changed it from TRUE to FALSE.  Quit and relaunched Firefox and now when on YouTube...NO FRICKIN .webm in my VDH download menu.  

HUZZAH!

[digideth]

You can't post replys by email now? Kind of annoying.

So...

Did what you suggested and still no mp4 versions. All I see are adp downloads now. 

I have uninstalled vdh. 

If you need mp4 downloads there is a better extension you can get. So far the new extension works flawlessly. When it does fail me I have an application that will allow me to download any video quality. The application is a slower process but it to works flawlessly.

I will still try any new suggestions for getting back mp4 downloads.

Thanks

[fiero...@gmail.com]

Correct...ADP MP4.  I have not seen a straight-up MP4 on YouTube in ages.  Not since they started forcing .webm as their default at the very least. It says ADP at the far left and MP4 at the far right.

ADP MP4 works for me.  Lets me get a hi-res file and it is a file which will play in the MacOS Finder without opening another App.  webm is a polished turd of a format on a local hard drive.

T.