Some (and only some) Youtube videos will not play

[Uplander]

I am using 3.0.11 Vetinari on Windows 10 64 bit and mostly I find that Youtube videos will play without problem (I only ever play single videos). However, every now and then the odd one won't play (perhaps 1:20). I get a window with a load of screed starting "Your input can't be opened: VLC is unable to open the MRL 'https ..." but long and short is that it won't play (screed below).

I have no idea whether this is caused by the lua(c) issues mentioned on other threads. Indeed I posted on one of those threads but got no response. Meanwhile, being a bit of a technophobe I don't want to start changing files if it could be something else. So ... given that it is just the occasional video could anyone take a stab at whether I should do the lua / luac thing? Or could there be some other answer.

Sorry for all the edits - I had trouble getting the info to post!

Many thanks in advance.

Screed:

VLC is unable to open the MRL ' h t t p s://r8---sn-u5a3u5a3-cgnz.googlevideo.com/videoplayback?expire=1603498480&ei=kB2TX4zSEeismLAP6PuPwAw&ip=78.151.61.108&id=o-AJ9jvAPvYTj7a_8mAZsvy3ZHjXaMe6kra0j7hOIvV_x6&itag=18&source=youtube&requiressl=yes&mh=D_&mm=31%2C29&mn=sn-u5a3u5a3-cgnz%2Csn-aigl6nl7&ms=au%2Crdu&mv=m&mvi=8&pl=20&initcwndbps=1578750&vprv=1&mime=video%2Fmp4&gir=yes&clen=83092712&ratebypass=yes&dur=3743.149&lmt=1594385364260811&mt=1603476758&fvip=3&fexp=23915654&c=WEB&txp=6216222&sparams=expire%2Cei%2Cip%2Cid%2Citag%2Csource%2Crequiressl%2Cvprv%2Cmime%2Cgir%2Cclen%2Cratebypass%2Cdur%2Clmt&lsparams=mh%2Cmm%2Cmn%2Cms%2Cmv%2Cmvi%2Cpl%2Cinitcwndbps&lsig=AG3C_xAwRAIgcgMf260LR8_vfx-s3ynGMV70nVZZBLDF6wo8MRo05HECIBCUR-iyPubOse1YDKhPJ1h0tvsGSpR1DHa1YNa2vxJy&sig=r%3Dr%3DQUL3srv49-sxg6kZgzM47Jle6lVi%3DYKtJVuyX0ggd03CQICghn-UtuVnrX_JRjMJGCYCEI-gHuEkX8v9z4EwPggRkHgIQRw8JQ0qOA'. Check the log for details.

[Hitchhiker]

Logs

To help you, we need messages, to completely understand what your problems is.
To fix this, please be sure before you start the playback to:

1. Open: Tools -> Messages.
2. Set Verbosity to 2
3. Start playback to reproduce your issue
4. Save text in a file or copy into clipboard
5. Then paste the full resulting log here between [​code]and[​/code] (or use Pastebin.com if it's too long)

Also don't forget to name your Operating System and provide the VLC media player version.

[Uplander]

Thanks for responding and apologies if I am not doing the right thing.

I have set verbosity to "2".

If I run a video that is causing problems (on the "media" page using network stream) it produces a window reading:

Your input can't be opened:
VLC is unable to open the MRL 'h t t p s://r3---sn-u5a3u5a3-cgnz.googlevideo.com/videoplayback?expire=1603570316&ei=LDaUX9nFG8ub1gaLjaPQBA&ip=78.151.61.108&id=o-AObWbTX0FmYrFfEfROyekq4Y_zlRz_qvWDWuakUodIUb&itag=18&source=youtube&requiressl=yes&mh=St&mm=31%2C29&mn=sn-u5a3u5a3-cgnz%2Csn-aigzrn7k&ms=au%2Crdu&mv=m&mvi=3&pcm2cms=yes&pl=20&initcwndbps=1390000&vprv=1&mime=video%2Fmp4&gir=yes&clen=80573563&ratebypass=yes&dur=2610.131&lmt=1594487765576843&mt=1603548527&fvip=3&c=WEB&txp=5531432&sparams=expire%2Cei%2Cip%2Cid%2Citag%2Csource%2Crequiressl%2Cvprv%2Cmime%2Cgir%2Cclen%2Cratebypass%2Cdur%2Clmt&lsparams=mh%2Cmm%2Cmn%2Cms%2Cmv%2Cmvi%2Cpcm2cms%2Cpl%2Cinitcwndbps&lsig=AG3C_xAwRQIgP6nJCgxkBWGDtO_b0LVFNCHmVj6mdpl3dTrTyL0A_WcCIQCBU50s4W1TQySgKgxFT5IWT-dNPH-larmdZYIsjRr_Hw%3D%3D&sig=b%3Db%3DgbWA1h8Uww1sjjw2imOdtpyEwg2o%3DzToRw0fUsDBDuyCQICEJEaSQWQ1phvn02DCmzP_RJrALkZ2dN9frBApJEgslYgIQRw8JQ0qOA'. Check the log for details.

The above is an exact copy except that I have spaced "https" out so that it will appear in this post.

I am using 3.0.11 Vetinari on Windows 10 64 bit.

As I am not adding to the OP I figure I am thinking this is not what you need to help me? Do I need to access the log? If so please could you tell me how I do this?

Many thanks.

[Uplander]

I am being thick - I should be posting what appears on the message page - this is now on pastebin.com - h t t p s://pastebin.com/VNnmxbFy

[Hitchhiker]

A common mistake here. You copied the URL to the page the video is located on and tried to stream that to vlc whereas what you should have done is to click the SHARE button underneath the video and copied the link from there instead. The link should be https://youtu.be/WbSDMyxcpfk

The difference is the streaming link is youtu.be not youtube.com.

Here's a pix of your video playing.


(click to enlarge)

[Uplander]

Ok and thanks for that.

I did as you guide and used the different URL (as above) but it still will still not stream in VLC! ( In case it helps I have posted the output https://pastebin.com/gzcFZL7q )

I have also tried it with two other videos that will not stream in VLC, using the URL under "share" - these again will not stream in VLC.

Just to reiterate - 98% of the videos I try to stream in VLC are fine, it is just the odd one. I am hoping someone on the Videolan Forum might guide me on why this should be so?

Many thanks

[Hitchhiker]

Ok and thanks for that.

I did as you guide and used the different URL (as above) but it still will still not stream in VLC! ( In case it helps I have posted the output https://pastebin.com/gzcFZL7q )

I have also tried it with two other videos that will not stream in VLC, using the URL under "share" - these again will not stream in VLC.

Just to reiterate - 98% of the videos I try to stream in VLC are fine, it is just the odd one. I am hoping someone on the Videolan Forum might guide me on why this should be so?

Many thanks

Hit Windows key + R to open the Run command and copy/paste the following text and click OK: C:\Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC\lua\playlist

What is the date of the youtube.luac file? Change the layout to the Details view if you can't see it.

[Uplander]

Hi again

The Youtube luac is 4/6/20 (as in 4th June).

[Hitchhiker]

Hi again

The Youtube luac is 4/6/20 (as in 4th June).

Too old. Follow instructions in this post to create a new youtube.luac file. https://forum.videolan.org/viewtopic.ph ... 26#p483226

[Uplander]

Thanks Hitchhiker - I'll have a shot at this over the next day or so.

Appreciate your help.

[Hitchhiker]

Thanks Hitchhiker - I'll have a shot at this over the next day or so.

Appreciate your help.

I know, it looks a bit daunting when you see the code on the github site, but it's very easy when you know how!

So as per the first screenshot place the mouse cursor before the first dash as indicated by the red arrow and click once. Nothing will appear on screen but this is intended.


(click to enlarge)

Next, scroll down to the bottom of the page, hold down the SHIFT key and click once after the last "end". This will highlight everything in between.



Right click the highlighted text and click Copy.

Next, open Notepad, right click and click Paste.

When you click File ---> Save As in Notepad you'll see the same data as shown in the next screenshot.


(click to enlarge)

Replace "*.txt" with youtube.luac and change "Text Documents (*.txt)" to All Files via the dropdown menu as per the next screenie. I suggest as a precaution to save it to My Documents or another folder at this stage.


(click to enlarge)

You now have a new youtube.luac file. Check to make sure that it reads youtube.luac and NOT youtube.luac.txt. If it does have a luac.txt extension it means you chose Save and not Save As. This won't work.

Assuming you did everything correctly drag & drop the file to the same location where you checked the date of the existing file and confirm you want to overwrite it.

If at this final stage you get a warning from Windows that you don't have sufficient priviliges to overwrite files let me know and I'll explain what you have to do to add yourself to the Windows Administrators group.

[Uplander]

Well ... firstly a big "thank you" for taking the time and trouble - your instructions were 100% and I very-much appreciate the help.

Secondly - having replaced the luac file I tried a video that previously worked ... all good i.e. I hadn't corrupted VLC by trying to make this change.

Next I tried the first of three videos that would not play in VLC and it worked! So did the next one! So far, so good.

Sadly .. the third video https://youtu.be/9BD1y0TOk3o will still not play.

So ... there is presumably still an issue that affects some videos beyond updating the luac file. That said, I now know I can update my youtube.luac file thanks to your help!

[Hitchhiker]

I don't have a problem playing it.



But youtube is being a bit cranky lately and wants to be able to track users all the time. What you can try doing is to play a few seconds of the video on youtube without logging in and then close the browser and try playing it again on vlc.

If it doesn't work you can try adding the following code to your adblocker (assuming you use one). If you don't know how to do that let me know.

Code: Select all

www.youtube.com##.opened www.youtube.com###dialog youtube.com##ytd-consent-bump-lightbox.style-scope www.google.com###lb www.google.com##:root:style(overflow-y: visible !important;)

[Uplander]

Cool ... played it a few minutes without logging in, and then it played in VLC!

Hitchhiker ... you are a star for sticking with this and helping me out. I really appreciate it!

Thanks a million

Uplander