3 ms·

Someone should create an "analog loophole" version of yt-dlp for Premium subscribers who want to be able to download DRM-free video. Launch Youtube in an offscr

by dheera 2y ago

Someone should create an "analog loophole" version of yt-dlp for Premium subscribers who want to be able to download DRM-free video. Launch Youtube in an offscreen browser with the Premium account and record the HTML element as it plays. (I'm a Premium user and even though I'm already ad-free, I do have legitimate uses for downloading DRM-free videos for my own personal use.)

pcwalton 2y ago
The browsers are open-source, so you could just make a custom build of the browser with a patch that saves the stream, which wouldn't require the analog hole.
- peterhadlaw 2y ago
  Wouldn't the sites just not allow the content to play on a non-DRM approved browser?
  - pcwalton 2y ago
    There's no good way to verify that the browser hasn't been tampered with at the moment. Web Environment Integrity was an attempt, but that was withdrawn after outcry.
  - dheera 2y ago
    If they start doing that I would just run the DRM-approved browser in a virtual machine and capture its screen.
    - miki123211 2y ago
      With true web DRM (like the one for Netflix but not the one for YT), that doesn't work, at least not at higher resolutions and in the most secure modes. The video is decrypted such that your OS is prevented from ever seeing its contents, it goes straight to the GPU. If that isn't possible, the video won't play at all (or it's going to play in a less secure mode and hence at a lower resolution). The best you can hope for is playing the video and capturing it with a physical HDMI capture card, though that loophole is eventually also going to go away as newer HDMI standards are released and better DRM gets enforced.
      - xigoi 2y ago
        It’s sad that instead of developing new technologies to fight global problems like poverty and climate change, the best engineers in the world are working on preventing people from using their own devices however they want.
        dheera 2y ago
        I don't work in DRM, but they are probably having their hands tied with effectively "work on this or you may not be able to stay in the US", greencard application still in the pipeline, threat of being pipped. The poverty/climate change places also don't pay enough to even live a mediocre life. Hence, the best engineers just obey orders and work on shitty things that pay the bills.
      - dheera 2y ago
        > newer HDMI standards are released and better DRM gets enforced In that case the true analog loophole will still be possible with a camera pointed at a monitor inside a light-proof box. If it comes to that, I will build such a device. AI can probably fix degraded video quality pretty nicely anyway.
        miki123211 2y ago
        Until most people switch to VR / AR and devices refuse to play any content unless they successfully do a retinal scan. This definitely won't happen in the next 5 years, but the next 30? I wouldn't be so sure.
        amiga386 2y ago
        Please drink verification can to continue
ofcrpls 2y ago
It would be great if you could possibly expand on the AI re-rendering usecases, that you mentioned before the edit. Genuinely interested on what the possibilities are.
amelius 2y ago
What if the Premium user's username is watermarked in the videos?

by dheera 2y ago

pcwalton 2y ago

The browsers are open-source, so you could just make a custom build of the browser with a patch that saves the stream, which wouldn't require the analog hole.

peterhadlaw 2y ago
Wouldn't the sites just not allow the content to play on a non-DRM approved browser?
- pcwalton 2y ago
  There's no good way to verify that the browser hasn't been tampered with at the moment. Web Environment Integrity was an attempt, but that was withdrawn after outcry.
- dheera 2y ago
  If they start doing that I would just run the DRM-approved browser in a virtual machine and capture its screen.
  - miki123211 2y ago
    With true web DRM (like the one for Netflix but not the one for YT), that doesn't work, at least not at higher resolutions and in the most secure modes. The video is decrypted such that your OS is prevented from ever seeing its contents, it goes straight to the GPU. If that isn't possible, the video won't play at all (or it's going to play in a less secure mode and hence at a lower resolution). The best you can hope for is playing the video and capturing it with a physical HDMI capture card, though that loophole is eventually also going to go away as newer HDMI standards are released and better DRM gets enforced.
    - xigoi 2y ago
      It’s sad that instead of developing new technologies to fight global problems like poverty and climate change, the best engineers in the world are working on preventing people from using their own devices however they want.
      - dheera 2y ago
        I don't work in DRM, but they are probably having their hands tied with effectively "work on this or you may not be able to stay in the US", greencard application still in the pipeline, threat of being pipped. The poverty/climate change places also don't pay enough to even live a mediocre life. Hence, the best engineers just obey orders and work on shitty things that pay the bills.
    - dheera 2y ago
      > newer HDMI standards are released and better DRM gets enforced In that case the true analog loophole will still be possible with a camera pointed at a monitor inside a light-proof box. If it comes to that, I will build such a device. AI can probably fix degraded video quality pretty nicely anyway.
      - miki123211 2y ago
        Until most people switch to VR / AR and devices refuse to play any content unless they successfully do a retinal scan. This definitely won't happen in the next 5 years, but the next 30? I wouldn't be so sure.
        amiga386 2y ago
        Please drink verification can to continue

ofcrpls 2y ago

It would be great if you could possibly expand on the AI re-rendering usecases, that you mentioned before the edit. Genuinely interested on what the possibilities are.

amelius 2y ago

What if the Premium user's username is watermarked in the videos?