Tearing my hair out trying to download various HLS video streams in 1080p

[Videoenthusiat]

Hi,

I am new to downloading video streams although I am pretty good with both computers (work in IT) and have done a lot of A/V in the past. I am trying to download several videos that I have come to understand are streamed via HLS. For 3 days I have played around with about 10 different streaming downloading apps, mostly as suggested on TechJunkie.com (and here). I have found 3 apps that work pretty good for me: VideoDownload Helper, XDM 2020, HLS Downloader, and Stream Analyser. So... I go to download my videos, and this site has about 5-8 resolutions for each video - all sorts of devices to connect/stream from. I am only interested in the highest one: 1920x1080p @ 30 fps.

What I am finding consistently, no matter what tool I use is that for 1 or 2 of videos, I can select among the available resolutions, and 1080p is always there. Then for others, I can sometimes coax my downloader tool to find and pick the 1080p stream, but many times it doesn't work. I stop and start the stream in the browser a few times, and wait until it is running a second or two, then try to pick the correct resolution. But for so many of the videos, the choices for the various resolutions are much lower, sometimes 1280x720p but most often it is 1056 x 594. Argghghgh. The worst part is that I am convinced that 1920x1080p is in one of the choices, I just cannot see it! I read that other guys thread here about how he had a similar problem - his site seemed to also have 1080p but wasn't displaying that it was available.. somehow that was hidden.

Another reason I believe that 1080p is because in the Android app for this site, I can set my resolution permanently to 1080p, and it seems to work. I set up an Android emulator on my PC, went in and saved my videos in 1080p in the Android version of the app, and then tried to find out where the heck it stores the saved video file (either .ts or .mp4) - and I just could not find it anyware. So I think I'll to back to the PC.

I am going to give up for tonight, but in the morning I think I'll retry by using Stream Analyzer to download the various .m3u8 files, figure out which one is the main manifest, and then pull out the (nasty long) URL for 1080p -if it exists. At least I'll be able to find out if it exists - unless this manifest itself is lying and 1080p is there somewhere but not listed. Any tips or tricks for "forcing the 1080p out of the cave it is hiding in" - are much appreciated. Or any better tools/apps than the above. In face in Video DownloadHelper it helped to detect 1080p WHEN IT WAS THERE - when I set the "video qualities" to H264 - but keeping this set did not prevent the site from also showing those lower resolutions as choices.

Also, using XDM 2020 which had the coolest interface and features, I was even able to download the complete stream as a .ts file, which seemed to be even higher quality than an .mp4 file (which is compressed) - is this correct? Also, I find it a lot easier to use a browser plugin + companion app, or an app that contains a browser, because copying and pasting that long (direct) link is very annoying, and also I have to login to the site as well (but looks like XDM 2020 even has a spot to save login credentials). Here's another question - in XDM sometimes I get an error message -saying "Choose the video resolution you want in the browser" - but for this site - I can't do that. Somewhere in the a popup /description window the site seems to be refering to player.domain.com - and I could supposedly choose my resolution there, but I don't know how to choose or force that. Instead, in the browser, I'll hit fullscreen figuring that may "invoke" or try to pull the 1080p file more directly- but it doesn't work. I am sooo frustrated, pulling my hair out.. I don't think I can live with 1056x594 .. I want my 1080p! Any pointers / tips appreciated - I did spend several days banging my head on this and reading the FAQ etc before deciding to join and post. Thanks in advance!

[Kamala]

could have helped if you had given the url links to the video you have problems with..
not all videos stream in HD ...
BBC UK is an good example of it...
some show streams simply dont have streams better than 480/540p, while some do have HD.

[Videoenthusiat]

Hi Kamala,

I messaged you the details of the links and which ones are coming through as 1080p vs those that are 594p. Thanks in advance!

[DB83]

The point of a help forum is that you give all the details in the forum and not correspond by private message.


The implication of the above is that you wish to hide something or flout the forum rules one of which concerns subscription/paid/rentals.

[Videoenthusiat]

Oh sorry, no I have nothing to hide. Here is what I sent to the other guy...

Thanks in advance for your help. Here is the link. Someone posted these workouts online as free resources during COVID. The blog article links to various sample workouts.

https://www.beachbodyondemand.com/blog/beachbody-free-workouts?fbclid=IwAR0b726SGhs4Gz...gi9w9ZCNCCRMCY

So click on these workouts:
1. Mes de Mas Sample Workout (Spanish) - seems to always give me 1920x1080p @ 30.0 (what I want)
2. LIIFT4 Sample Workout - Seems to give me 1080p most times, but otherwise 1056 x 594 (594p)
3. 10 Rounds Sample Workout - I cannot get 1080p no matter what I try just 1056 x 594 (594p)

For most of the others I also cannot get higher than 1056 x 594 (594p).

I believe you need create a login to access, but these workouts are completely free to everyone- and you don't give any credit card info. It's also possible that inside the .m3u8 manifest one can go to that link directly (it may be public), just not sure. BTW I did Shaun T's two free workouts- he basically shows the moves from various other programs - so in one sense they can offer these 100% free because it's sort of a commercial itself within the workout...

[DB83]

There might well be free content there - a link lower down the screen. But.....


This is a subscription site and as I stated there are rules to be adhered to. If you doubt this then just click the 'Get Started' button and you will read the following "Save with an annual membership or select another option below"


BTW 594P is not a typical video resolution. I suspect some sly cropping is going on to hide the original source.

[Videoenthusiat]

OK sorry, I just joined I'll read the new user FAQ. I am going to inspect the streams inside the .m3u8 files and try to determine more about what resolutions are offered, and/or if any of the links are truly free. I believe the kids workout ones don't even require a signup...

However, that is exactly what I need help with. If you have any guides/pointers/FAQs for how to decipher .m3u8 files let me know. thanks.

[Videoenthusiat]

OK I remembered a friend from Always Forward Fitness has pinged me a few weeks ago. Here is how you can acccess the above videos completely free/ publicly, no login required.

1. Go to https://alwaysforwardfitness.com/free-workouts-1

2. Click the blue button called "Click here for Sample Workouts"

3. Click on any of the free workouts, I'll use 10 Rounds as an example.

4. Under the "10 Rounds" with picture of the boxer - click on the "Play Workout" button.

5. On the next page, at the top of the page, in the middle of the black bar at the top, click the blue button that says "Play Sample Workout." This is very important.

6. On the Exercise safety warning screen that pops up, move the elevator bar on the right to the very bottom, check the checkbox, and click on "Accept."

7. Now using your extension/tool of choice for saving HLS streams. See if you can record this Sample workout in 1920x1080p @ 30 fps.

I can only get 1056x594 (594p) I have tried HLS Downloader with Chrome, XDM 2020 with the Firefox extension, and DownloadVideoHelper with the Firefox extension. and I cannot get 1080p.

8. Repeat for the other sample workouts..

I'm still at work but in a couple hours I will do some more testing myself and keep this post up-dated as I have more information.

Note: I'll be trying to save these in the .ts fileformat instead of .mp4 because I believe it is closer to the original / less compressed..

[DB83]

Well the above site acts as a commercial for the other one and I think you could get that workout direct from there - I saw that 'play' page.


But I set my stream downloader to work and the only stream that would download was 1056*594. I also received a warning that another stream was copy-protected and would not download.


So you have had more assistance than I would normally give.

[Kamala]

get the page info with video download helper add-on ....
get the master m3u8 lists ...

then you can download whatever resolution is available...
(according to the master manifest, 1080p is available on all of the mentioned videos...)

10 Rounds Sample workout master m3u8:
https://content.uplynk.com/ext/682389d3b3e244a5bd4b9853036d1eff/10RDS0004.m3u8

LIIFT4 Sample Workout master m3u8:
https://content.uplynk.com/ext/682389d3b3e244a5bd4b9853036d1eff/LI4B1000.m3u8

Mes de mas Sample Workout master m3u8:
https://content.uplynk.com/ext/682389d3b3e244a5bd4b9853036d1eff/MDM10000.m3u8

check pyIDM downloader on this forum, it will fetch the videos for you..

[Videoenthusiat]

Thank you kindly. Will test this tonight after work!

[blimey]

What Kamala posted will not work.

[Kamala]

What Kamala posted will not work.

it won't if you're not registered and signed in to get the hashes too. ;P

[blimey]

What Kamala posted will not work.

it won't if you're not registered and signed in to get the hashes too. ;P

Well, you didn't list "hashes" in the m3u8 urls that you posted.

Are you saying that you verified 1080p download for 10RDS0004.m3u8???

Using the "hashes", of course.

[DB83]

And surely when you are registered and logged in, even if the content is free, we are in the realms of subscription content of which discussion is not allowed in the forum rules.

[blimey]

I didn't do any logging in stuff so I will have to defer to Kamala to relate that experience.

I just played the free videos directly without any registration or login of any sort.

[Videoenthusiat]

Update: Sorry, my instructions above to get to the publicly available content were overly complex. There are 28 free workouts that have been keeping me and my family fit indoors during this Global Pandemic. Anyone with access to the internet can simply go to the link they like below and click play:

01 10 Rounds (Boxing) with Joel Freeman
https://www.beachbodyondemand.com/programs/10-rounds/workouts & just click Play Sample Workout

02 LIIFT4 (Heavy Lifting and HIIT) with Joel Freeman
https://www.beachbodyondemand.com/programs/liift4/workouts & click Try Workout

03 Twenty One Day Fix Real-Time (HIIT and up to medium resistance) with Autumn Calabrese
https://www.beachbodyondemand.com/programs/21-day-fix-real-time/workouts & click Play Sample Workout

04 Twenty One Day Fix Extreme Real-Time (HIIT and up to medium resistance) with Autumn Calabrese
https://www.beachbodyondemand.com/programs/21-day-fix-extreme-real-time/workouts & click Play Sample Workout

05 The Prep (Functional Training) with Amoila Cesar
https://www.beachbodyondemand.com/programs/4-weeks-of-the-prep/workouts & click Play Sample Workout

06 The Work (Functional Training) with Amoila Cesar
https://www.beachbodyondemand.com/programs/6-weeks-of-the-work/workouts & click Play Sample Workout

07 Clean Week: Core Function with Megan Davies
https://www.beachbodyondemand.com/programs/clean-week/workouts & Click Day 1: Core Function

08 Clean Week: Cardio with Megan Davies
https://www.beachbodyondemand.com/programs/clean-week/workouts & Click Day 2: Cardio

09 Clean Week: Strength with Megan Davies
https://www.beachbodyondemand.com/programs/clean-week/workouts & Click Day 3: Strength

10 Clean Week: Active Flex with Megan Davies
https://www.beachbodyondemand.com/programs/clean-week/workouts & Click Day 4: Active Flex

11 Transform :20 (HIIT) with Shaun T
https://www.beachbodyondemand.com/programs/transform-20/workouts & click Try Workout

12 Shift Shop (Total body strength and Cardio) with Chris Downing
https://www.beachbodyondemand.com/programs/shift-shop/workouts & click Try Workout

13 Barre Blend (Barre variations)with Elise Joan
https://www.beachbodyondemand.com/programs/barre-blend/workouts & click Play Sample Workout

14 Morning Meltdown (HIIT and up to medium Resistance) with Jericho McMatthews
https://www.beachbodyondemand.com/programs/morning-meltdown-100/workouts & click Play Sample Workout

An additional 14 more free Kids workouts are available at this link by Shaun T, Tony Horton, and others
https://vimeo.com/showcase/6880106 -> select your workout and click play.
Note: I have no idea why they chose to release these ones via Vimeo, many of them are pulled out of the programs above and below.

An easy link to ALL of the above is here: http://www.beachbodyondemand.com/blog/beachbody-free-workouts

In addition, there are also many more free/publicly available informational videos (trailers) for every other workout program ever offered in the last 30 years. Just go to http://www.beachbodyondemand.com/programs, click on any program, & click Watch Trailer. For example:

Eighty Day Obsession (HIIT + Resistance) Autumn Calabrese)
http://www.beachbodyondemand.com/programs/80-day-obsession/overview & click Watch Trailer

Piyo (Combination of Pilates and Yoga) with Chalene Johnson
http://www.beachbodyondemand.com/programs/piyo/overview & click Watch Trailer

Core De Force (MMA) with Joel Freeman & Jericho McMatthews
http://www.beachbodyondemand.com/programs/core-de-force/overview & click Watch Trailer

T25 (HIIT) with Shaun T
http://www.beachbodyondemand.com/programs/focus-t25/overview & click Watch Trailer

Three week Yoga Retreat (Yoga) with Vytas Baskauskas, Faith Hunter, Elise Joan, and Ted McDonald
http://www.beachbodyondemand.com/programs/3-week-yoga-retreat/overview & click Watch Trailer

P90X3 (Heavy Lifting + HIIT + Resistance) with Tony Horton
http://www.beachbodyondemand.com/programs/p90x3/overview & click Watch Trailer

Mes de Mas (HIIT) with Idalis Velazquez
http://www.beachbodyondemand.com/programs/mes-de-mas/overview & click Rutina de Muestra

Body Beast (Heavy Lifting) with Sagi Kalev
http://www.beachbodyondemand.com/programs/body-beast/overview & click Watch Trailer

(and more, I can't even count all the programs, there are so many...)

... and there are more informational videos about 4-5 different nutrition/diet programs, e.g.
http://www.beachbodyondemand.com/nutrition/ultimate-portion-fix

... Beachbody blog also contains freely available videos as part of their articles. For example:

https://www.beachbodyondemand.com/blog/6-weeks-of-the-work-toughest-workout
-> click on Amelio Cesar's Toughest workout
https://youtu.be/rImInsMiGCQ

Note: I am not affiliated with the Beachbody company in any way, shape or form - I am not even a current customer. I just bought their DVDs once and I revisited them again recently during COVID, because I have found that their production quality is the highest, even if some of the trainers are quirky (Leandro), have bad jokes (Tony), or talk about themselves in third person (Sagi).

I think I just sub-consciously delayed my entire workout by writing this! That's a problem- a week ago I was trying to find and join every last ZOOM workout on the planet -- to force me to actually DO workout instead of giving up after 10 minutes, or worse -- just sitting there watching it - possibly while eating a snack .

However, then I discovered that a really good workout video is actually better than a bad ZOOM workout. For a good independent (and often funny) review of many of these workouts, please see http://dysfunctionalparrot.com

[Kamala]

What Kamala posted will not work.

it won't if you're not registered and signed in to get the hashes too. ;P

Well, you didn't list "hashes" in the m3u8 urls that you posted.

Are you saying that you verified 1080p download for 10RDS0004.m3u8???

Using the "hashes", of course.

I can not verify 1080p download, but i am pretty sure since the manifest lists it, they have it, but i think
it exists only for a *PAYING* customer,not for a freebie user...
if you can view 1080p HD on that site, then you can also download it.
as for my own tests, i was not even able to choose the resolution for the videos while viewing.. go figure.
(btw, you do not have to verify your account,if you create one for the free videos..you can use any bogus name/email..)
as someone said briefly in here,or on another topic...
yeah... since usually such hashes are per customer based, you do need it to download on commercial sites... (hence the need to login prior to streaming for session keys..)
anyone can download the master m3u8 links i gave, even without an account...
and as for how it works with commercial sites, i think we are not getting into that debate as this is not any pirate warez forum, and the rules do not allow such.

example:

Token expired 256 seconds ago

if you really know what you're doing and want to hack on the streams on that site, take a look on hls javascript it refers to, prior to streaming..
;-P

you might like this one also..

https://www.beachbodyondemand.com/programs/10-rounds/workouts

https://player.beachbodyondemand.com/js/scripts/initialize.js

you can see and get everything you need with the developer tools in your browser,but..
anyways, i'm done with this discussion.

[Videoenthusiat]

Thanks, that's all pretty complicated stuff (and for good reason). So first, after revising my instructions on the simplest was to get to the 28 free publicly available workouts, I realized I did not have to try to save these videos - I can just hook up a computer to my TV using an HDMI cable, choose one of the links above, and click play! Doing some comparisons, at least on my TV, even 1056 x 594 looks pretty good/clean because it is already progressive. It's been a good learning experience trying, but I realized I was getting a little too hungup on the technology itself and not focusing on the workouts. You almost DON'T want to see some people's persperation in 1080p LOL! Thanks guys.

[gambito]

I'm tearing my hair out with the same issue.

Youtube-dl -F gives me this:
[info] Available formats for d5f89c15d8924c6b9d5b7fe97cd5311b:
format code extension resolution note
aac-French mp4 audio only [fr]
aac-Spanish mp4 audio only [es]
131 mp4 192x108 131k , avc1.42000b, 15.0fps, mp4a.40.5
241 mp4 288x162 241k , avc1.42000c, 15.0fps, mp4a.40.5
444 mp4 448x252 444k , avc1.420015, 30.0fps, mp4a.40.5
749 mp4 768x432 749k , avc1.4d001e, 30.0fps, mp4a.40.5
1193 mp4 992x558 1193k , avc1.4d001f, 30.0fps, mp4a.40.5
1670 mp4 1056x594 1670k , avc1.4d001f, 30.0fps, mp4a.40.5
2070 mp4 1088x612 2070k , avc1.4d001f, 30.0fps, mp4a.40.5
2575 mp4 1152x648 2575k , avc1.4d001f, 30.0fps, mp4a.40.5
3570 mp4 1280x720 3570k , avc1.64001f, 30.0fps, mp4a.40.5
5174 mp4 1920x1080 5174k , avc1.640028, 30.0fps, mp4a.40.5 (best)


However the youtube-dl command won't dl it.

[Anonymous84]

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