VLC no longer able to play/stream youtube?

[pkoneil]

I have the latest VLC player installed on windows 10 (3.0.11). I have been trying to play ANY Youtube video but in every case, I get a very brief flash of the initial youtube video screen then an error window pops up and it fails. Happens too fast to be able to capture codec information.
Here's the error:
Your input can't be opened:
VLC is unable to open the MRL 'https://r4---sn-vgqsrnez.googlevideo.co ... %3Dg%3D%3D'. Check the log for details.

I have also tried following instruction on fixing/replacing youtube.lua (and luac) files but the result is the same. Nothing I've tried works. I have also tried disabling my firewall entirely. Same result. Is it no longer possible to access Youtube with VLC?

[pkoneil]

Possible correction/fix: I tried again but used "http:" instead of the default ACTUAL URL with "https:" and that worked. So it appears that is the problem. Is there a way to fix this in code instead of requiring manual editing of the address?

[SteveHarpo]

I am new to VLC today. Operating on up to date Windows 10. My first task was to convert YouTube to MP4 but got error messages and failed.
Error message I received is
"Your input can't be opened:
VLC is unable to open the MRL 'https://r2---sn-aigl6nl7.googlevideo.co ... %3Dw%3D%3D'. Check the log for details."

I cleared everything down and turned off and on which usually fixes Microsoft problems(!) but still persistently fails in spite of trying other options.
Below is the instructions I received form a trusted colleague. Is it correct?
1. Copy YouTube URL of target.
2. Open VLC then select Media.
3. Select Open Capture Device and select Network.
4. Paste the video URL into the network URL box. The video should appear in VLC.
5. Select Tools from the menu, then Codec information.
6. Save the contents of the Location box and paste it into a new browser tab. The video should appear in the browser in a slightly different format.
7. Right-click the video and select Save As.
8. Select MP4 as the format and a location to download the file onto your computer.

Please help!

[Hitchhiker]

I have the latest VLC player installed on windows 10 (3.0.11). I have been trying to play ANY Youtube video but in every case, I get a very brief flash of the initial youtube video screen then an error window pops up and it fails. Happens too fast to be able to capture codec information.

Create a full log file by clicking Tools ---> Messages. Set Verbosity at the bottom to "2". Leave it on the screen and then play the video. When it stops go to the Messages window and copy everything (hit CTRL + A to highlight) and then right click / copy.

Go to https://pastebin.com/ paste the content of the Messages window into the New Paste screen on that site and then copy / paste the URL to it here.

EDIT: Make sure you're copying the link to the video by using the SHARE button underneath it rather than the link to the webpage the video is located on.

[Hitchhiker]

I am new to VLC today. Operating on up to date Windows 10. My first task was to convert YouTube to MP4 but got error messages and failed.
Error message I received is
"Your input can't be opened:

First thing you need to do is to confirm (for yourself) that the video is still online and has not been taken down for whatever reason such as copyright infringement, or "deleted by user" or similar.

The URL to the video is located in the SHARE button below it. Copy that, hit CTRL+ N in vlc and paste it into the Network field and click Play (or just hit Enter)

If you still get the same error create a log file (same instructions as applies to the OP above this one).

[conternecticus]

I am new to VLC today. Operating on up to date Windows 10. My first task was to convert YouTube to MP4 but got error messages and failed.
Error message I received is
"Your input can't be opened:

First thing you need to do is to confirm (for yourself) that the video is still online and has not been taken down for whatever reason such as copyright infringement, or "deleted by user" or similar.

The URL to the video is located in the SHARE button below it. Copy that, hit CTRL+ N in vlc and paste it into the Network field and click Play (or just hit Enter)

If you still get the same error create a log file (same instructions as applies to the OP above this one).

Hello,
I have encountered the same problem, so I went ahead and do what you asked for. Here are the logs: https://pastebin.com/XHAWHXdL

Hope I can find a fix to this.

[Hitchhiker]

Hello,
I have encountered the same problem, so I went ahead and do what you asked for. Here are the logs: https://pastebin.com/XHAWHXdL

Hope I can find a fix to this.

There's no video online with the URL in your log. I checked with two different browsers without any results.

However, the video ID is visible in the log and appears to be this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4EshLT7S5c

It'll open in vlc without a problem.

[averagebot]

Hello tried what is said above, https://pastebin.com/1w2LugKw . Why is the access not youtube.com.

[Lotesdelere]

https://pastebin.com/1w2LugKw . Why is the access not youtube.com.

Code: Select all

http debug: incoming response: HTTP/1.1 403 Forbidden Last-Modified: Wed, 02 May 2007 10:26:10 GMT Content-Type: text/plain Content-Length: 0 Connection: close Vary: Origin Cross-Origin-Resource-Policy: cross-origin X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff Date: Fri, 29 Oct 2021 13:59:09 GMT Server: gvs 1.0 access error: HTTP 403 error

HTTP 403 error:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP_403

We don't know why some people are getting this error because it's playing fine for the most of us. I guess the Cross-Origin Resource Policy is blocking some requests to Youtube.
Are you using a proxy or a VPN ?

[jimmyjak]

I'm not on a VPN or proxy, but I get the same 403 with a good number of YouTube links. Most work, but some percent are like this and won't play. (Yes, using the latest .lua file)
Here's another example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8rgD5vdtXQ

[Hitchhiker]

I'm not on a VPN or proxy, but I get the same 403 with a good number of YouTube links. Most work, but some percent are like this and won't play. (Yes, using the latest .lua file)
Here's another example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8rgD5vdtXQ

Works for me.


(click to enlarge)

Although there's no interaction between vlc and browsers I've noticed that a buildup of youtube tracking might influence how vlc performs. If you use either Firefox or Waterfox to browse with do the following.

1. Type about:profiles in the URL bar of your browser and hit Enter.
2. In the Profile in use (if you have more than one profile) click Open Folder for the Root Directory.
3. Open the folder called storage and then open the default folder.
4. Delete all youtube folders and then close the tab.

1. As an additional privacy step type about:config in the URL bar and hit Enter.
2. Confirm "you'll be careful" if you see the warning.
3. In the Filter field at the top toggle: privacy.firstparty.isolate by double clicking them to read "true".
4. Close the tab.

Here's a screenshot of those settings on my own machine.


(click to enlarge)

1st Party Isolate prevents sites from using cookies to track you around the web by isolating them to a single use. Google / Youtube will still try to track you using the storage / default folder so make sure you regularly delete any reference to them in your browser profile.

[jimmyjak]

Yes, it works for you. But it doesn't work for everybody. That's the problem.
I'm also not trashing all my YouTube folders for a browser. That should have nothing to do with how VLC works. It also doesn't make it work.
Every browser that exists plays these YouTube videos just fine. VLC should also. Without jumping through crazy hoops (and again, it still doesn't work even if you do jump through hoops).
I didn't pay for anything, so I'm not demanding the devs fix this or anything, but a problem exists with the software and everyone should be aware of it.

[Rémi Denis-Courmont]

Every browser that exists plays these YouTube videos just fine. VLC should also.

No. VLC does not have a web engine, and if it had, playing YouTube video in VLC would be exactly like playing YouTube video in a browser.

Google would have to provide a stable interface to YouTube for VLC to be able to play YouTube video always. This is something that they stopped doing more than a decade ago when they folded GoogleVideo into YouTube. They will most definitely never do again.