We are getting reports of YouTube rolling out an experiment to some accounts where normal videos only have DRM formats available on the tv (TVHTML5) Innertube client.

This is not limited to yt-dlp. Tests have been run with the same account on various official YouTube TV clients (PS3, web browser, apple tv) and they are also only getting DRM formats for videos.

We live in hell-world.

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[–] Majestic@lemmy.ml 54 points 1 week ago (5 children)

Of course. The YT-DLP team by refusing to support DRM videos gave Google a huge neon sign that said this is the one thing that will shut them down, the line they won’t cross. Google has targeted the big front end instances with rate limits and blocks and this is the next step.

Our only hope really is that the current YT-DLP team hands the reins over to people in countries that don’t give a shit about copyright and they put back in the ability to download and decrypt DRM protected video.

[–] noxypaws@pawb.social 38 points 1 week ago

From yt-dlp's software license:

Anyone is free to copy, modify, publish, use, compile, sell, or distribute this software, either in source code form or as a compiled binary, for any purpose, commercial or non-commercial, and by any means.

[–] ReversalHatchery@beehaw.org 20 points 1 week ago (1 children)

they have a plugin system. afaik drm breaking features could ve kept in a plugin they dont have to touch

[–] mr_right@lemmy.dbzer0.com 13 points 1 week ago (1 children)

if that's true that was a smart move, they seen this coming and made precautions

[–] ReversalHatchery@beehaw.org 6 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I can't find the plugin I first discovered this with, but this basically demonstrates it: https://github.com/notjosh/yt-dlp-GlobalCyclingNetworkPlusDRMWorkaround

wiki article on plugins: https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki/Plugins

[–] mr_right@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

i didn't ask for proof but thanks

[–] bjoern_tantau@swg-empire.de 15 points 1 week ago

I mean, that's basically how yt-dlp came to be. They took over when yt-download couldn't keep up anymore. I hate this time, it will take a while until the best successor is found.

[–] RiQuY@lemm.ee 13 points 1 week ago (1 children)

My only hope is that Google goes bankrupt and people migrate to other places, but sadly that's not feasible atm.

[–] 0range@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Google going bankrupt would almost certainly mean YouTube disappears. Which can happen, but it's not a good thing

[–] Fitzsimmons@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 1 week ago

In the good timeline, multiple governments and international organizations launch peertube servers.

Probably not this timeline though.

[–] GnuLinuxDude@lemmy.ml 12 points 1 week ago

The YT-DLP team by refusing to support DRM videos

If they did this they could be sued for the exact same reason Yuzu got sued: circumvention of DRM. That's a crime in the USA. Apparently.