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Yt-dlp: External JavaScript runtime now required for full YouTube support

(github.com)
810 points bertman | 7 comments | 12 Nov 25 10:12 UTC | HN request time: 0.746s | source | bottom
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Tabular-Iceberg ◴[12 Nov 25 13:36 UTC] No.45899963[source]▶
I remember when QuickTime came out in 1991 and it was obvious to everyone that video should be copied, pasted and saved like any arbitrary data.

It's absolutely insane to me how bad the user experience is with video nowadays, even video that's not encumbered by DRM or complex JavaScript clients.

replies(13): >>45900417 #>>45900487 #>>45900707 #>>45900818 #>>45900981 #>>45901051 #>>45901059 #>>45901071 #>>45901279 #>>45902069 #>>45902135 #>>45903125 #>>45903505 #
dev0p ◴[12 Nov 25 16:29 UTC] No.45902135[source]▶
YouTube should have been a distributed p2p system with local storage of your favorite videos. A man can dream...
replies(1): >>45902266 #
1. amelius ◴[12 Nov 25 16:39 UTC] No.45902266[source]▶
Didn't work because asymmetric upload/download speeds (which now are a thing of the past; however, it gave youtube an early advantage).
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2. gbin ◴[12 Nov 25 17:41 UTC] No.45903130[source]▶
Guess why it was asymmetrical in the first place ... Telcos wanted to sell the upload bandwidth to streaming companies. Another double dipping Telco monopoly squeeze and customer boxing / enshitification from very early on.
replies(1): >>45903691 #
3. Tabular-Iceberg ◴[12 Nov 25 18:17 UTC] No.45903691[source]▶
I thought it was just trading more download for less upload when last mile bandwidth was limited by re-using old POTS copper.

Wasn't dialup largely asymmetric too? I don't think p2p streaming was even on the radar back then.

4. dev0p ◴[12 Nov 25 18:55 UTC] No.45904314[source]▶
Now largely more feasible. We should try again.
replies(1): >>45904990 #
5. dsamarin ◴[12 Nov 25 19:27 UTC] No.45904990[source]▶
Would you like to work with me to create OurTube?
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6. dcreater ◴[12 Nov 25 20:43 UTC] No.45906361{3}[source]▶
Yes!
7. dev0p ◴[12 Nov 25 21:09 UTC] No.45906738{3}[source]▶
I mean, PeerTube is already halfway there. The problem is that it's a pain in the ass to host, last time I tried. Which sums up the whole problem as to why we have YouTube in the first place.