5 ms·

This script would be good for my kids. Would you be willing to share? I want an easy way for them to watch their favorite channels, without seeing the suggesti

This script would be good for my kids. Would you be willing to share? I want an easy way for them to watch their favorite channels, without seeing the suggestions from youtube. It often suggests similar content, but not child appropriate. Specifically, Minecraft content. I think a local cache of videos served to a HTPC client would work well.

asdff 5y ago
you can get an rss feed from youtube channels then just open the links with mpv if you didn't want to bother caching locally too
- staindk 5y ago
  This is a good idea too. Pretty sure VLC can do the same.
prometheus76 5y ago
Some notes on the batch file below. This is saved as a .bat file and runs in the middle of the night using task scheduler. I didn't include the error checking portion because it adds a bunch of complexity and dependencies. The batch file below can be copied and pasted in the same batch file for every channel you want to download. Just copy the block below and paste it below and modify it for the next channel. I also keep a copy of yt-dlp.exe in every folder I'm downloading to, and in the batch file, it runs an update of that file to make sure I always have the latest version before downloading. I also download the subtitles in English and I download the thumbnail for the video, so that it shows up nicely in Plex. The first time it runs, it will download all of the videos from the channel, and it will record the urls into a text file for all of the videos. The next time it runs, it will check the videos available from the channel against the list it recorded and only download new content. If you need help, consult the docs on yt-dlp github page. I don't really have time to help with tech support. I should also add that you'll need to replace the http string below with the url of your favorite youtube channel. ECHO Checking Your Favorite Channel... cd "\path\goes\between\the\quotes" .\yt-dlp.exe -U .\yt-dlp.exe --download-archive ./playlist.txt -iw -o "%%(title)s-%%(release_date)s.%%(ext)s" -o "thumbnail:%%(title)s\%%(title)s.%%(ext)s" -v https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpil30eNi37bPLwKp4g4kUA cd \ ECHO Your Favorite Channel updated
- spikej 5y ago
  I have this set up for specific playlists that download to specific folders (tech,kids, etc) and when I or family member come across videos we want to watch later we just add to playlist and it's available for watching later on the HTPC. I use a script to clean out the playlists occasionally.
a99wang 5y ago
An alternative is to just block YouTube recommendations on the client. You can use the 'My Filters' feature of uBlock. See https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/wiki/Static-filter-syntax https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/wiki/Static-filter-syntax for details. Personally, I get along just fine with something like the following: youtube.com##ytd-watch-next-secondary-results-renderer youtube.com##ytd-comments youtube.com##ytd-two-column-browse-results-renderer
DrBoring 5y ago
Thanks for the great tips everyone. I like my idea for a local cache with HTPC client because there are plenty of clients to choose from for Fire TV, and my kids are more comfortable with a 10ft interface.

asdff 5y ago

you can get an rss feed from youtube channels then just open the links with mpv if you didn't want to bother caching locally too

staindk 5y ago
This is a good idea too. Pretty sure VLC can do the same.

prometheus76 5y ago

Some notes on the batch file below. This is saved as a .bat file and runs in the middle of the night using task scheduler. I didn't include the error checking portion because it adds a bunch of complexity and dependencies. The batch file below can be copied and pasted in the same batch file for every channel you want to download. Just copy the block below and paste it below and modify it for the next channel. I also keep a copy of yt-dlp.exe in every folder I'm downloading to, and in the batch file, it runs an update of that file to make sure I always have the latest version before downloading. I also download the subtitles in English and I download the thumbnail for the video, so that it shows up nicely in Plex. The first time it runs, it will download all of the videos from the channel, and it will record the urls into a text file for all of the videos. The next time it runs, it will check the videos available from the channel against the list it recorded and only download new content. If you need help, consult the docs on yt-dlp github page. I don't really have time to help with tech support. I should also add that you'll need to replace the http string below with the url of your favorite youtube channel. ECHO Checking Your Favorite Channel... cd "\path\goes\between\the\quotes" .\yt-dlp.exe -U .\yt-dlp.exe --download-archive ./playlist.txt -iw -o "%%(title)s-%%(release_date)s.%%(ext)s" -o "thumbnail:%%(title)s\%%(title)s.%%(ext)s" -v https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpil30eNi37bPLwKp4g4kUA cd \ ECHO Your Favorite Channel updated

spikej 5y ago
I have this set up for specific playlists that download to specific folders (tech,kids, etc) and when I or family member come across videos we want to watch later we just add to playlist and it's available for watching later on the HTPC. I use a script to clean out the playlists occasionally.

a99wang 5y ago

An alternative is to just block YouTube recommendations on the client. You can use the 'My Filters' feature of uBlock. See https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/wiki/Static-filter-syntax https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/wiki/Static-filter-syntax for details. Personally, I get along just fine with something like the following: youtube.com##ytd-watch-next-secondary-results-renderer youtube.com##ytd-comments youtube.com##ytd-two-column-browse-results-renderer

DrBoring 5y ago

Thanks for the great tips everyone. I like my idea for a local cache with HTPC client because there are plenty of clients to choose from for Fire TV, and my kids are more comfortable with a 10ft interface.