The VideoLAN Forums

OS: Windows 10 Professional x64 Build 1903



VLC 3.0.8 x64 Will _only_ stream up to 1280x720p from youtube
Manually selecting '1080p' in my browser on the YouTube on a video, then copy and pasting the URL into VLC Player
still results in VLC only streaming up to 1280x720p resolution

Note that originally had VLC 3.0.7.1 installed (had same problem)
I used revo installer to uninstall the old VLC version, making sure to remove any residual leftovers
I then used CCleaner and cleaned the registry out to guarantee any miscellanious leftovers from the previous version were gone before installing VLC 3.0.8 x64

I read the Changelog:

https://www.videolan.org/developers/vlc-branch/NEWS

"Misc:
* Update Youtube script"

I understand that the youtube.lua script file has to be updated for youtube streaming to operate with VLC
I also understand that Google who run, own and operate YouTube have deliberately changed their methodology of operations so that apps can only stream in 1080p should such individuals
decide to "Pay" for the ability to stream in 1080p

Hi there,

Not an answer to above, but essentially same question & another question on Google/Youtube location/quality sourcing to VLC in general.

1. Is it not possible to watch HD youtube videos via VLC?
2. Since youtube doesn't allow quality modification via URL anymore, is there a way for VLC to choose highest quality available source it has access to?

Example vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0fk5L1ifbo
When using VLC to reveal via Codec Information the location source the following url is presented: Is there a way from these location sources to extrapolate where 1080p source is saved on Google Video?

Note this video outputs as 360p in VLC (even though 480p, 720p and 1080p are available). Is this a setting within VLC that can be modified or does Google not allow higher quality streaming to VLC?
Is anyone familiar with a method of extracting the highest quality (e.g. Source not converted or re-encoded other than by Google) video from a youtube URL?

Many thanks for the help.

For info:
OS: Windows 10 Professional x64
VLC 3.0.8 x64

AFAIK this is still valid:
https://forum.videolan.org/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=127921

Part 1 of 2 by rfrazier.

Hello, my name is Ron. I'm a newbie to the forum but am a long time user of VLC on multiple platforms including Windows, Linux, and now Raspbian (Raspberry Pi.) What I'm about to describe was done on my Raspberry Pi but I think it's applicable to other OS's. At the bottom, I have some questions I need help with as well. This turned out to be long, but bear with me.

I've set up a new Raspberry Pi 4 to serve as a driver for a video projector so I don't have to lug my laptop around. I learned that VLC could play youtube videos, possibly better than the browser, but have also learned that it usually pulls up a low res video instead of the higher quality.

I've been virtually pulling my hair out trying to find a solution. Well, after hours and hours of searching, I've found one, although it's a bit kludgy.

Maybe some of you developers can figure out how this works under the covers and incorporate it into VLC. Or, maybe some of you can write a script to do this.

I've tried this on VLC 3.0.8 on Raspbian 10 (buster). Procedures should be similar on other systems. I'm using the Chromium 74.0 browser but I doubt that matters.

The following article was quite helpful in putting me onto this procedure.

How to Watch YouTube (above 720p DASH streams) in VLC
https://www.reddit.com/r/youtube/comments/3ijei1/how_to_watch_youtube_above_720p_dash_streams_in/

which mentions this article

YouTube Audio Quality Bitrate Used For 360p, 480p, 720p, 1080p, 1440p, 2160p
(old 2015)
https://www.h3xed.com/web-and-internet/youtube-audio-quality-bitrate-240p-360p-480p-720p-1080p

which mentions a website we'll use below.

The main problem seems to be that many of youtube's videos split the audio and video apart and don't give you a high res audio video link from the basic url.

Well, it turns out that it IS possible to stream hi res video and audio separately and simultaneously in VLC and merge them on playback. You just have to go to some trouble. This is actually harder to type and read than it is to do once you get used to it.

The best way to explain is to show you the procedure. I'm doing this without being signed into youtube, but even so, your results could be different. Also, this uses an external website to analyze youtube videos. This works today but who knows how long it will.

Let's say I go to youtube and search for ragtime piano. Then I filter by HD. This is the url for the list that appears:

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ragtime+piano&sp=EgIgAQ%253D%253D

As an example, I chose the first video to appear as I'm writing this:

ALAN THOMPSON JR. RAGTIME PIANO PERFORMANCE AT DISNEYLAND

and its url is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOJb2qx1QAU

01) Copy the url from the address bar of your browser for whatever youtube video you choose after opening the individual page for the video.

02) Now go to this website:

YouTube Info Tool
http://www.h3xed.com/blogmedia/youtube-info.php

I'm not running javascript for most sites, so I might not see everything on this site, but it still works. You'll see a blank that says paste youtube url or video id here.

03) Paste the url of the video you selected in the blank and hit enter. In my case, it's what I showed above:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOJb2qx1QAU

continued in part 2.

Part 2 of 2 by rfrazier.

This then takes you to a (usually) large table with the specs on all the different video files for this url that you put in.

At the bottom is a list of complete video files with audio. In my example, there is only one of medium quality, so it doesn't help me since I want HD. But, look at the top of the table for more useful info.

In my example, the top line of the table says the file is 1920x1080 and file type video/mp4.

04) Look for a line that says 1920x1080 in the table you're on (or whatever resolution you want) and file type mp4.

Right next to that information is a link that says url.

05) Right click on that url link and click copy link address.

06) Now paste that address somewhere in notepad or a text editor where you can get to it again. You may wish to label it as "video file" or something.

video file

https://r1---sn-nx57ynld.googlevideo.com/videoplayback?expire=1573289667&ei=YyrGXan9GsyTkwaLia7IDw&ip=104.198.12.18&id=o-AIV9u8qS4Y33eIdKKrZMAJyu1gJ9luZMOUvSRcLLifhZ&itag=137&aitags=133%2C134%2C135%2C136%2C137%2C160%2C242%2C243%2C244%2C247%2C248%2C278&source=youtube&requiressl=yes&mm=31%2C26&mn=sn-nx57ynld%2Csn-n4v7sne7&ms=au%2Conr&mv=u&mvi=0&pl=20&mime=video%2Fmp4&gir=yes&clen=1122249220&dur=2785.682&lmt=1472981147877352&mt=1573267542&fvip=1&keepalive=yes&fexp=23842630&c=WEB&sparams=expire%2Cei%2Cip%2Cid%2Caitags%2Csource%2Crequiressl%2Cmime%2Cgir%2Cclen%2Cdur%2Clmt&sig=ALgxI2wwRAIgWhI7hQZ6z2ZDDVfopdLayUydQ-eSYTVRV55r2Fgf7E8CIHsozZWfGiJ9O4T7sEycsj0YBAq6MSbRmXAQgAi02EoF&lsparams=mm%2Cmn%2Cms%2Cmv%2Cmvi%2Cpl&lsig=AHylml4wRgIhAO3dcjV3DcIyIgkfWkzo_jGYDcYFkSfGy1El1zNr6JabAiEA7JLZvTCI-nPDrXWMdLFbEKy878zCkzMvTGESjsi0zjw%3D

07) Now go back to the table on the website and look near the bottom for a line with file type audio/mp4. In my case, it's the 4th from the bottom. Copy that link and also paste it somewhere you can get to it. You may wish to label it as "audio file" or something.

audio file

https://r1---sn-nx57ynld.googlevideo.com/videoplayback?expire=1573289667&ei=YyrGXan9GsyTkwaLia7IDw&ip=104.198.12.18&id=o-AIV9u8qS4Y33eIdKKrZMAJyu1gJ9luZMOUvSRcLLifhZ&itag=140&source=youtube&requiressl=yes&mm=31%2C26&mn=sn-nx57ynld%2Csn-n4v7sne7&ms=au%2Conr&mv=u&mvi=0&pl=20&mime=audio%2Fmp4&gir=yes&clen=44244982&dur=2785.744&lmt=1472981291697276&mt=1573267542&fvip=1&keepalive=yes&fexp=23842630&c=WEB&sparams=expire%2Cei%2Cip%2Cid%2Citag%2Csource%2Crequiressl%2Cmime%2Cgir%2Cclen%2Cdur%2Clmt&sig=ALgxI2wwRQIgCaQvBKErqGIcxn0NkEPQMoAdqYRY2sMb_CUrxglHwcYCIQDZo0a8CZd9WKEuZ31zZYsI2kobD7TOg60EShhmiIcAPQ%3D%3D&lsparams=mm%2Cmn%2Cms%2Cmv%2Cmvi%2Cpl&lsig=AHylml4wRgIhAO3dcjV3DcIyIgkfWkzo_jGYDcYFkSfGy1El1zNr6JabAiEA7JLZvTCI-nPDrXWMdLFbEKy878zCkzMvTGESjsi0zjw%3D

Now, the fun part, we get to go get VLC to play these simultaneously, hi res video and audio.

08) Go to your text file and copy the video link into your clipboard. Be careful not to copy any extra carriage returns in this very long text string. You may wish to do the highlighting with the keyboard instead of your mouse by pressing shift-down several times then back up one character with shift-left, etc.

09) Go to VLC. Click Media, open network stream, and the network tab if it's not already selected.

10) Click the show more options check box, and the play another media synchronously checkbox.

11) Click in the top blank where it says please enter a network url. Paste your video file link there, even though it's 20 miles long.

12) Go back to your text editor and copy the link for your audio file.

13) Go back to VLC. Click in the blank where it says extra media. Paste the link for your audio file there.

14) That's it! If you've done everything right, you should be done. Click PLAY at the bottom and enjoy your high res youtube video!

WHEW! Documenting that turned out to be lots harder than I thought.

Now, for those of you that are still with me after all that. I need your help to take it to the next level with 4 questions.

A) Is there a way to script this so I can click a link on my desktop to kick off the video instantly once I've set it up?

B) Sometimes there is a delay between the video and the audio of up to about 1/2 second. Is there a way to manually compensate for that? The delay seems to be a bit variable, and was less the 2nd time I played my test video.

C) Is there a way to easily save the combined audio and video from VLC?

D) If you put these hideously long url's into Chromium, you will have an opportunity to download the files. How could you then merge them into one file?

I hope this helps and thank you very much for any help you can give me. This took a while to type so forgive any typos.

Ron

your video info link no longer works

Can some update this thread

YouTube Info Tool DOES NOT WORK now:
http://www.h3xed.com/blogmedia/youtube-info.php