FYI I use Open Broadcaster Software https://obsproject.com/ . I record my own screen while playing the YouTube content.
This is sucks though. You end up wasting space to have a worse quality recording.
How journalists use youtube-dl
171–180 of 348 posts
Re: How journalists use youtube-dl
#172Re: How journalists use youtube-dl
#173I used ffmpeg and audacity with youtube-dl to download and do file and spectrograph analysis on a faked political video. That analysis showing how the audio was spliced together may have killed the story before it got legs. In an era of fakes and deepfakes, we need tools like youtube-dl more than ever.
This is probably one of the coolest and most underrated comments in this topic!
Could you tell us more about this process?
Re: How journalists use youtube-dl
#174Earlier quoted context omitted.
My main use on youtube-dl is downloading videos to watch them in places with slow / unreliable DSL. Watching a youtube video on a slow (1k) DSL has become entirely impossible because a few years back youtube (seemingly) stopped buffering the entire video, so you can't start the video, pause, go do something else and watch it once it's loaded. Not only that, but it really does not handle either temporary disconnection…
I've had similar issues on a recent camping trip since the switch from google play music to youtube music... when I lose connectivity, there's no buffer, and seems to be no songs kept to be able to play anything , and it was a really crappy experience. May have to go back to spotify or offline mp3 files, I don't miss having to manage my own playlists tbh.
Google's engineering is not about providing a good user experience, but about using metrics to squeeze out the last 1% of inefficiency. This inevitably makes the system fragile and leaves some people out in the cold, but you're the product, not the customer.
Some people would argue that optimising YouTube for the bottom 1% of Internet connections makes no financial sense, but I have gigabit fibre and YouTube stutters. It automatically upgrades to 4K videos (of course), but its buffering algorithm is pared so close to the bone that it can't handle high bandwidths as well.
Re: How journalists use youtube-dl
#175Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't think it's any more complicated than that it's because they can't roll ads on videos that are downloaded. youtube-dl et al are niche enough that it doesn't put a real dent in their ad business, but making it more convenient with a Download button might.
They could certainly bake ads into their videos if they wanted to.
Last time I was messing around with youtube-dl I was surprised by the huge size and variety of formats for just one video. I can’t think of an easy way to constantly embed new ads into all those video files. And can they charge for an impression without knowing if the video was ever watched? Maybe its just too much trouble.
Re: How journalists use youtube-dl
#176Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't think it's any more complicated than that it's because they can't roll ads on videos that are downloaded. youtube-dl et al are niche enough that it doesn't put a real dent in their ad business, but making it more convenient with a Download button might.
> I don't think it's any more complicated than that it's because they can't roll ads on videos that are downloaded. That's certainly something they can do; they just don't do it. Compare movies on VHS tapes, which all roll ads before actually playing the movie.
Sure, Google could do but there's more than enough problems vs reward to make it unattractive:
- When you fast forward VHS tapes you still see the adverts. When you time seek a digital video file you don't.
- It's harder to do targeted advertising (since you no longer know if the downloader is also the viewer)
- Adverts baked into a video file can't be changed out later for newer adverts after the user has downloaded the file
- There's no way of having users "click" those adverts, let alone report back to Google that they've engaged with it
- Some of those aforementioned points might also have a knock on effect with how advertising is charged, which would mean Google would need another pricing model
...and all of this is before you even address the technical issues of video files having multiple different bitrates and formats. You could probably generate a new file on the fly but that would be extremely computationally expensive. So they'd rack up more costs hosting the service as well as lose money on advertising.
Honestly, I can't blame Google for not supporting a download option.
Re: How journalists use youtube-dl
#177Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't think it's any more complicated than that it's because they can't roll ads on videos that are downloaded. youtube-dl et al are niche enough that it doesn't put a real dent in their ad business, but making it more convenient with a Download button might.
> I don't think it's any more complicated than that it's because they can't roll ads on videos that are downloaded. That's certainly something they can do; they just don't do it. Compare movies on VHS tapes, which all roll ads before actually playing the movie.
But you cannot bill per view or click.
Re: How journalists use youtube-dl
#178Earlier quoted context omitted.
Law enforcement already has an anti-circ exemption under 17 USC 1201(e), though a finding against youtube-dl would limit it's (or similar tools') availability and/or functionality. https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/1201
Nit: I presume you mean 17 USC 1201 (e) " Law Enforcement, Intelligence, and Other Government Activities."
Good catch, fixed, thanks.
Re: How journalists use youtube-dl
#179Earlier quoted context omitted.
Fair use does not override the TOS which YouTube-DP violates
Please quote relevant TOS.
B. Content is provided to you AS IS. You may access Content for your information and personal use solely as intended through the provided functionality of the Service and as permitted under these Terms of Service. You shall not download any Content unless you see a “download” or similar link displayed by YouTube on the Service for that Content. You shall not copy, reproduce, distribute, transmit, broadcast, display, sell, license, or otherwise exploit any Content for any other purposes without the prior written consent of YouTube or the respective licensors of the Content. YouTube and its licensors reserve all rights not expressly granted in and to the Service and the Content.