How to download troublesome embedded, private, Vimeo videos (Win 64)

Discussion in 'Lounge' started by curiousdude, 16 Apr 2024.

  1. curiousdude

    curiousdude Gold Nova

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    Hey all,

    I recently ran into an issue where I was having a hell of a time snagging private Vimeo videos that are embedded onto a webpage that was behind a paywall. Vimeo is often used by creators trying to protect their content and it works well for that because of the unique way that Vimeo streams the audio and video separately in tiny chunks and keeps reauthorizing the session.

    That said, here's how I was able to get around that using yt-dlp. yt-dlp is able to bypass the browser restrictions (providing you're able to log into the site, of course), snag all the little pieces, and then recompile them (using ffmpeg) into a video download that's playable. I'll include an installation guide for yt-dlp since it can be really confusing to install. Normally, this extra effort isn't required for most stuff because IDM (Internet Download Manager) can handle most things. The only things I've seen it struggle with recently is Vimeo and videos played using hotmart (think Teachable, for instance). That said, I wanted to document this for folks so that there would be a guide if you ran into issues.

    How To Download & Install yt-dlp on Windows


    1. Download yt-dlp for windows: https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp.exe << This link always downloads the latest yt-dlp.
    2. For our purposes, to make this simple, we're just going to stick yt-dlp right on the C: drive in this example, but you can stick it where you'd like. Create a directory called c:\ytdl and put yt-dlp.exe in that directory. Just put it there. There is no installation. The EXE that you downloaded in the previous step is the program itself.
    3. Download yt-dlp's custom ffmpeg build here: https://github.com/yt-dlp/FFmpeg-Builds/wiki/Latest << Download the win64-gpl variant
    4. Download 7Zip (a free, open source, and frankly much better alternative to Winzip and Winrar): https://www.7-zip.org/download.html << Download the most recent stable (i.e. not beta) x64 version
    5. Install 7Zip (double click the file you downloaded & follow the on-screen instructions)
    6. Once 7Zip is installed, unpack the ffmpeg file you downloaded earlier
    7. Copy ffmpeg.exe and paste it in c:\ytdl right next to the yt-dlp.exe file The other files in the ZIP are not needed. qrSwZZa.png
    8. Click your START button > type envir > Click Edit the system environment variables U3aB4tU.png
    9. Click ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES (button at bottom right) ErrFf9Q.png
    10. Double click PATH in the top white section
    11. In the window that opens up, add this line: c:\ytdl 0MxuCzO.png
    12. Click OK on all 3 windows

    How to grab the Vimeo Video ID using a chromium-based browser (like Chrome or Edge, for instance)

    1. Log into the site you're trying to download the video from and navigate to the page where the video is embedded.
    2. Copy the page URL and paste it in a temporary doc - I'll refer to this as "page URL" for our purposes below
    3. Right click on the video player and click inspect to bring up the developer tools
    4. Hit CTRL+F and type embedurl into the search box which should direct you to a line that reads something like
      Code:
      "embedUrl":"https://player.vimeo.com/video/xxxxxxxxx?h=xxxxxxxxxx"
      fNh45FM.png
    5. Copy the vimeo player URL and paste that in your temporary doc - I'll refer to this as "video URL" - now you're ready for yt-dlp

    How To Run yt-dlp from the command line to download the Vimeo videos


    Note that there are a million variables to tweak how yt-dlp operates, and I'm not going to get into that here. I'm going for simple and to the point ;)

    1. Click START> type CMD > Click on Command Prompt Note: do NOT open as admin
    2. Type cd \ytdl
    3. Type
      Code:
      yt-dlp --referer "pageURL" "videoURL" 
      (make sure to include the quotes but replace the page and video url with yours)
    4. Sit back and let yt-dlp do the work. It will download to the active directory and you can move the file to your preferred location once it's done.

    Hope this helps!
     
    Last edited: 13 Aug 2024
    Nikon4life, jmgcg1, mr.c and 3 others like this.
  2. Jupiter

    Jupiter Gold

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  3. curiousdude

    curiousdude Gold Nova

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    No, when the video is private, it's not like other services where the video can still be accessed via the web. Even if you navigate to Vimeo directly, the site won't play the video. MD5TFrF.png

    Basically, the embeded player in the browser of the page where the video is posted functions as a temporary authorization to view that video. Otherwise, the URL can't even be accessed. This is why your NPN requests are taking so long ;)
     
  4. jbgood47

    jbgood47 Legendary

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    Thank you for this tutorial, always good to have several options available when trying to download videos.
     
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  5. mr.c

    mr.c Master

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    Agree info like this is always helpful!!
     
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  6. lkngood

    lkngood Global Elite

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    uffda...my eyes crossed reading that.

    I just use screenhunter to grab those picky little buggahs.
     
  7. curiousdude

    curiousdude Gold Nova

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    Edit: As of August 2024, this method no longer works. The original method still works fine.

     
    Last edited: 25 Aug 2024
  8. h1ghm1nd

    h1ghm1nd p-v.club founder

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    Direct screen recording is always the last resort and should be avoided.
     
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  9. Nikon4life

    Nikon4life Legendary Master

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    Thanks for the info - this addresses an old post I had requested about private Vimeo (or embeded within a frame - so it was sorta behind a hard-stop code - so to speak). I was able to do it via viewing source code and going through the script(s) but man that is laborious - but you have the options of choosing file size [usually there are several within the container - I'd imagine to provide optimal streaming to the end-users' chosen device].

    I'll definitely give this a go at some future point and I'm sure it's a lot easier! Thanks again . . . :)
     
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  10. DesertFox

    DesertFox Gold Nova

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    Hey guys, I'm having a hell of a time trying to download a movie file from MEGA. To make this story shorter, it always gives me the Transfer Quota Exceeded. I've cleared all the data from my browser (history, cookies, cache) numerous times. Tried different browsers, opened different accounts, tired as non-member, a variety of free VPNs, but nothing helps. The movie I'm trying to get is the "NUDE" which has been posted by both @Nikon4life and @Coraline:

    https://p-v.club/threads/nude-the-movie-by-david-bellemere.4359/#post-283464

    Most things that take this much time and trouble to figure out, in the end usually aren't worth it. But, if I'm having problems with this, surely others have had or will have them too. So any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
     
  11. Coraline

    Coraline Legendary

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    @DesertFox
    You can try MegaDownloader software to download it.
    (After the bandwidth runs out, use the VPN to continue downloading.)
    If your problem is not solved, I can upload it for you in small parts.

    MegaDownloader 1.8 Portable

    Hidden Content:
    **Hidden Content: You must click 'Like' before you can see the hidden data contained here.**
     
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  12. mr.c

    mr.c Master

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    I use JDownloader and VPN. When there is an issue and traffic exceeded I switch the VPN server and resume. Usually works quite smothly
     
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  13. DesertFox

    DesertFox Gold Nova

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    It says it's downloading, but doesn't give me a progress report. It's been downloading for a long time. But, I don't want you to go to and trouble. So please do not break it up for me. However, your offer to do so is much appreciated. Maybe I will try what @mr.c proposed if this doesn't work. I'll let it run until it either quits or gets it. :)
     
  14. Coraline

    Coraline Legendary

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    When it does not progress, it means that your bandwidth is exhausted. Now enable VPN or change IP.
     
  15. mr.c

    mr.c Master

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    Apart from using VPN (which might be useful for this site anyways), like Coraline mentions, if your ISP provides you with a dynamic IP address doing a reconnect would be also an option (if VPN is not available).
     
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  16. Nikon4life

    Nikon4life Legendary Master

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    I use Mega 4.13.0 (I believe the most recent?) for the Mega-shares and it doesn't always hit the limit - and I'm not really sure why that is. But specific to the question - when it does exceed the quota - I'll also switch IP via VPN but also exit the Mega-downloader and then restart it - [and this is only of recent for whatever reason] - then it'll resume . . .

    But if interested in a smaller version of the title you are referencing - I'm currently UL-ing a HD 720 MKV version - allow a little time and it'll be available via alternative link for both threads . . . it's about 1.5 GB in size of somewhat comparable quality . . .
     
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  17. curiousdude

    curiousdude Gold Nova

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    This combo what I use 99% of the time, too. jDownloader2 (their version without adware) and NordVPN, specifically.
     
  18. curiousdude

    curiousdude Gold Nova

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    Also, subscribing to a debrid service (Alldebrid.com and real-debrid.com are my favorites) when you need to get around caps quickly can be useful, too. You can add your accounts right to jDownloader2.
     
  19. DesertFox

    DesertFox Gold Nova

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    In all my years, I can't remember having to face such problems. Does that make me naive, hardly! I've always just used Internet Download Manager for 95%, and on the sites I visited, contributed to, and worked on, that was enough. Now knowing that these problems can and do exist with MEGA, I would strongly suggest that contributors (such as myself) make themselves aware of these restrictions and upload to sites where these kinds of problems will not occur for members.

    Going forward, I will do my best not to use MEGA for anything other than small files for my uploads. No one has ever complained to me that this Transfer Quota Exceeded was a problem for them. And all of the members here (and elsewhere) wouldn't have been as wise as some of you.

    I'm quite sure @george is sick of me offering him suggestions, but if any of you think the following would be a good idea, I wish you would start a conversation with him.

    We need a Forum entitled, "How To Do It" (or something to that effect). Those with knowledge on how to overcome problems can (and should) share that knowledge with members. The reason it needs to be a forum is so that it could be easily or certainly easier to find. What do you think?
     
  20. mr.c

    mr.c Master

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    Agree having a section with best practices/how to will be helpful, so everyone does not need to re-invent the wheel.
    I only recently changed to Mega as storage should last longer is my understanding and for multi-rar bundles I saw harsh criticism by some when Workupload was used.
    I understand the trick on Mega is to keep it at max 3GB.
    But definitely this came up on my mind as well whether how to section might be useful, but then I kept still as I am still a newbie when it comes to joining this forum.
     
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