[1vuio0pswjnm7]

yt-dlp is not even necessary. If just downloading videos from YouTube this can be done with much less code and complexity. I use a tiny C program to do it. Tiny shell scripts work just as well.

What no one is discussing is that yt-dlp can no longer download itag 22 and itag 18 is now throttled.^1 This means yt-dlp has to download an audio file and a video file and use ffmpeg to merge the two.

YouTube ad revenue just missed consensus estimates. Perhaps the accessibility of videos on YouTube is going to get even worse.

1. One will not likely notice this unless one is in the habit of specifically choosing format. For example, some folks have used itag 18 and 22 exclusively for many years.

[account42]

> yt-dlp is not even necessary. If just downloading videos from YouTube this can be done with much less code and complexity. I use a tiny C program to do it. Tiny shell scripts work just as well.

yt-dlp is not necessary ... if you write a replacement? Ok.

Besides I doubt simple shell scripts will be able to download all videos that yt-dlp can. YouTube does not use the same protections for all videos.

[1vuio0pswjnm7]

"Besides I doubt simple shell scripts will be able to download all videos that yt-dlp can."

You are free to doubt but the the truth is yes they can.

The only ones that are complicated are commercial videos.

Give me a list of videos you are downloading with yt-dlp and I will show you how to dowload the same videos without yt-dlp. I have been doing so for many years. Unless you are only downloading commercial videos, e.g., VEVO crap. Personally I am not interested in those videos.

I am actually liking this YouTube change getting rid of or throttling video with pre-muxed audio. Now I download only the audio. If I like it, then I download the video and mux. For many videos, there is no meaningful video; it is just slideshows of images or animations. For me, audio-only is faster and more space-efficient. I am avoiding downloading many videos because in many cases the audio is enough.

[dspillett]

> yt-dlp can no longer download itag 22 and itag 18 is now throttled. This means yt-dlp has to download an audio file and a video file and use ffmpeg to merge the two.

I found yt-dlp did that more often than not anyway, if left to its own devices on choosing which formats to pick. Though I had noticed it doing that pretty much always recently.

> Perhaps the accessibility of videos on YouTube is going to get even worse.

I think that has started to happen. I've had a few occurrences recently where it tries to get a particular format and fails, so I've had to manually request something else.

They also seem to have started screening non-residential/office/similar connections more aggressively too, two external hosts of mine now get a message to the effect "login to prove you aren't a bot" when yt-dlp tries to pick something up, and I've seen people note that they have trouble with YouTube proper (without logging in) over some VPN services.

[_0ffh]

>I found yt-dlp did that more often than not anyway

Yes, the default setting is to d/l and mux the highest available quality video and audio.

[justsomehnguy]

> This means yt-dlp has to download an audio file and a video file and use ffmpeg to merge the two.

IMO this is not a prob^W thing even worth bothering about. Does it bother you in any way?

Just curious.

[1vuio0pswjnm7]

This has been the case for a while now. It may be temporary. Time will tell. Not being a video codec nerd, I do not find that itag 136 is any better than itag 22. Files are about the same size. But 136 needs separate audio file which creates need for ffmpeg and, generally, more temporary storage space.

[siddheshgunjal]

I also realised the same thing yesterday. I tried using a specific tag quality, for a playlist and many of the videos failed to download. So, I just set it to download the best available quality for video and audio.

[1vuio0pswjnm7]

Now seeing that itag 136 is being throttled as well, at leas in some cases.