Google is reportedly experimenting with forced DRM on all YouTube videos
Google is reportedly experimenting with forced DRM on all YouTube videos
youtube’s been testing various ways of limiting access, both for downloaders and real users with adblockers most fucked up experiment being forced DRM for ALL videos, even those that are licensed as CC: https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/issues/12563 feels like it will only get worse from now on 🫠
If rolled out widely, this would make web browsers and third-party YouTube clients without a DRM license unusable for YouTube playback, download, etc. This would include almost all open-source web browsers and almost all third-party YouTube clients. Archive link to reddit post about this
More than ever, people need to start using alternatives. I recommend Odysee. It has a couple issues that they're apparently working on but it's easily the best overall alternative.
Youtube Alternatives are only going to start taking off is that alternative is willing to pay content creators enough for them at least a liveable wage. And it needs to be stable Odysee's payment system relies on other people and tips are unstable at the best of times. A youtube alternative has got to have a better payment system than relying on strangers to tip the creator.
Considering how minimal income on YouTube actually is, I don't know if that's actually the main obstacle. There's a reason why even some big content creators have Patreon/Locals.
I've been thinking about using Nebula. Does anyone has any experience with it?
Its got some great creators, Ive been on there a couple of years. Only downside which some might be glad to be rid of is a lack of comments, and feedback. Without any interaction you're just watching videos; doesn't feel like a community or conversation.
Seems a shame because there are creators who appear to value the voice of the community on a platform where their audience has no voice.
There's a thread from five years ago where a founder Dave Wiskus said they had plans for a thread-like comments section. So it's weird; must not align with whatever else it is they're doing.
I'd say the same thing about dropout TV. How can we get in the comments without a comments section!?
Dropout really needs some way to interact, even if it's just a shared fanmail address. I don't think my view counts make it clear how much I appreciate some of their content and talent.
I tried to contact Grant O'Brien through Twitter (made an account specifically for that), but it didn't look like he was very active at all, probably got more interesting stuff going on. But no artist is too busy to read fanmail, right?
I think they don't want to own moderation of it. Which I get, but ultimately feel the same way you do. I'm happy I'm on there, few years as well, but do wish they had a comment section.
For the comments, I use grayjay with nebula's plug-in so there's the polycentric comments, but there's very little of them.
No comments? You might have just sold me on it.
Wonderful service. Nice, educative sometimes, and entertaining videos. Mixes well with grayjay/my other subscriptions on youtube/odysee.
Been on Nebula (with curiosity stream) for 4 years. They're great. Good price, many of my favorite YT creators are also on Nebula, and their Nebula content either drops first, or has extended cuts and no ads ever.
They definitely have less channels and stuff overall, but a much larger percentage of their content is geared towards my interests. Also, I would say their minimum quality and production values are significantly higher than YT.
I’m sitting here reading this as my spouse watches the stock YouTube client with ads on a TV that also has SmartTubeNext installed. Evidently, the ads are preferable over a less refined UX when you’re less neurodivergent and don’t jolt out of your seat whenever a stupid, loud ad comes on. As much as I’d like to say DRM will kill YouTube, objectively speaking, it probably won’t. What it may do instead is kill YouTube clients with better accessibility for neurodivergent folks like SmartTubeNext.
Its a shame that content creators don't truly own the content on YouTube and can simply opt out of DRM on their videos.
Also weird timing considering boycotting is a common topic right now.
This is fine. I actually encourage this. Let the market decide whether it likes this.
The issue is that hosting costs for videos are insane. There's nowhere else to turn except for Youtube (unfortunately PeerTube is so far off being a reasonable alternative). I would love to see some more competition, but I don't see it happening in the close future. The sad state of things is that 90% of the population won't care if their favorite MrBeast video has DRM.
That's why I encourage YouTube taking ever more extreme steps to extract their user's worth. If they just take it far enough, there is a chance actual competition might show up.
Hosting costs are high yeah but they are much more reachable if you scope down to "host what you actually need to emit" rather than "try to be a cheap copy of youtube" - the latter is simply pre-setting yourself for failure.
Are a "creator" that focuses on music mostly, or on archiving old TV footage, or recordings of old videogames, or stick animations? You don't need to store everything or even most of everything in 4K 120fps in your peertube, you can just do 480p with 96k VBR (or heck, even 360p with 64k VBR in some cases) and it will be fine! Let the clients who want to upscale upscale on their end. For every minute of 4K video you can host like, almost half an hour of 360p. Similarly a creator who focuses on music dumps only needs the music tracks, not a video track of any kind (just ta video thumbnail will do).
They have been attacking adblocks for the last 10 years, unless they do what twitch does, they aren't stopping it.
The more unusable/unbearable they make YouTube, the sooner users will start looking into alternatives.
I quit twitch exclusively because of the ads
I yt-dlp'd a video off Twitch a couple of days ago with no problem - what am I missing?
This kills the YouTube. Maybe not quickly, but it will be a large nail in the coffin should they double down on it.
I pay for Premium and if they actually do this I'll stop my subscription. Web DRM is stupid and I hate that other Streaming Services already have it. Apart from being another resource sink in browsers, it'll stop third party clients which I use and it also turns off Nvidia Shadowplay which is annoying as it doesn't automatically turn back on once the DRM content is no longer loaded.
Google is also experimenting with my not using YouTube any more.
I use youtube for mediocre garbage content to fill airspace. I don't need it. I would be better off without it. Don't push me google, because I'll fucking jump.
I already jumped off of a number of their other services, what's one more?
The number one reason I use YouTube is for fitness routines I can do at home (going to a physical gym means I will not workout), and keeping up on finance news. I will gladly find other ways to get this information. I just use YouTube because it’s the easiest and has all of the people I like in one place.
I'll pay for deezer or apple music if I have to, lol
Y'all could just pay 🤷♂️
How's that boot taste?
I do pay and I use SmartTube. If it stops working, I'll stop paying.
The only legit complaint in this thread. I agree, that sucks ass. Shit like that makes stuff like f1tv(garbage app) bearable. I'd have quit without F1 multiviewer.
I used to when the price was fair for family plan, but now I'm on the high seas. It's a price issue, they are making billions , no need to fleece us.
I know you’re getting downvoted here but there is a valid question there. It’s the largest streaming site on the internet which takes up massive amounts of storage and bandwidth. How do people propose it’s paid for? You generally either have to have ads (which it seems everyone hates) or you pay for a subscription (which everyone hates). So what is the best model to offset that cost? It’s not a public service.
The problem isn't ads or subscription fees, the problem is ads and subscription fees in addition to the data scraping. Google, and by extension Youtube, harvest your data from all over the internet and use it to sell ads. The data and CAPTCHAs you see all over from Google are trackers (that's how clicking a box can determine you're human) that ars harvesting data and fingerprinting your device to make you easier to identify.
In 2025, do you really want a demonstrably evil company that supports the American kleptocracy to have access to your data?
In comes freetube and invidious: responses to the above problem. By acting proxy to youtube you avoid the ads (which contain spyware) and you avoid downloading site data from Google (which likely contains spyware).
It isn't a payment issue, and the pirates aren't upset about costs, it's just that in the age of glass walls online, we want our fucking privacy back.
You're acting like A) it's not part of a company pulling down billion dollar profits and B) any loss isn't being used to depress tax paid by other arms of said company
We already do, and this is what we get.
Part of the reason why I self-host is to avoid being tracked under my real identity that is required for payment. No way I’m paying a big corpo with a surveillance capitalist business model to spy on me to avoid their ads. Sounds akin to paying the mafia for protection.
Not when I can't even get a DRM-free MP3 from the payments. If I could, I'd reconsider that.
I know I know, that's how the world works. You as the buyer get to set the terms 🤣
If they do this my watching 2 hours a day with YouTube Premier is over. I will not subject myself to advertising.
Nice! C ya later then! 😂😂