NewPipe VS SmartTube

FWIW Apple users could write a workaround if they were allowed to sideload, like Android users did: https://newpipe.net/

Many organizations post the APK file on their web page or link to it from a QR code. You can also have it download newer versions of itself, as they are released. Here's an example: https://newpipe.net/#download

NewPipe [1] and its derivatives like Tubular that include SponsorBlock (and dislikes, but I don't use this feature) are also great.

They let you follow channels and build playlists without a Google account play in background.

You can find those apps on F-Droid by adding the relevant repositories.

[1] https://newpipe.net/

[2] https://github.com/polymorphicshade/Tubular

In your comment you said "the first video taken down from LTT", which is not true.

Yes, this might be the first video removed for _one specific reason_. This also might be the first video where he broke external links policy[1]

> Links to websites, apps, or other sources that give unauthorized access to audio content, audiovisual content, video games, software, or streaming services that normally require payment

as he left a sequence of links to "alternative YouTube UI"[2]

> YouTube Alternative Frontends - FreeTube - https://freetubeapp.io/ - LibreTube - https://libretube.dev/ - Yattee - https://github.com/yattee/yattee - Invidious - https://invidious.io/ - GrayJay - https://grayjay.app/ - Newpipe - https://newpipe.net/

[1] https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/9054257?hl=en&ref_...

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHwP6S_jf7g

They're apparently going hard this time, no known way to play anything anymore.

Playing on the website without an account still works.

https://github.com/TeamNewPipe/NewPipe/issues/11254

https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/issues/10397

https://github.com/yuliskov/SmartTube/issues/3606

If you have a FireTV stick or something Android based for your TV, I can recommend SmartTubenext for browsing/watching YouTube.

I still use AppleTV for pretty much everything else, but got a firetv stick just to use that. https://github.com/yuliskov/SmartTube

Presumably this for now has only been seen for a specific tv client API that yt-dlp use and not all youtube videos (well, https://github.com/yuliskov/SmartTube/issues/4444 also saw it for "members-only" videos but again not all videos).

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Also I suppose you make a reference to software DRM like Widevine L3 vs L1 (same thing for PlayReady SL2000 vs SL3000) which is not exactly Firefox vs Chrome. Firefox has even be known to work on the availability of hardware DRM on windows right now, (through the Media Foundation API I think?).

In the worst scenarios seen right now for example seen on services like Netflix, would be to only have lower qualities (e.g. 480p max) on browsers with only Software DRM available (like firefox) and encrypt better qualities with keys only available when there is hardware DRM available.

For anyone considering whether watching YouTube on TV might be better or worse than on the phone, I'd like to point out SmartTube: https://github.com/yuliskov/smarttube

Ad blocking, integrated sponsorblock, and other desirable features.

and SmartTube (https://github.com/yuliskov/SmartTube) if you have an Android TV.

https://github.com/yuliskov/SmartTube Is great for chromecasts and other google tv boxes. Basically newpipe, but in a tv format.

They're apparently going hard this time, no known way to play anything anymore.

Playing on the website without an account still works.

https://github.com/TeamNewPipe/NewPipe/issues/11254

https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/issues/10397

https://github.com/yuliskov/SmartTube/issues/3606

The Brave browser and/or SmartTube seem to work for me. Now we just need a smooth way to transition from when clicking on a youtube link - to have an option to open one of those two (for desktop and mobile). Does anyone have any better options?

https://brave.com/

https://github.com/yuliskov/SmartTube

Can't recommend SmartTube enough: https://github.com/yuliskov/SmartTube

Includes crowdsourced sponsor block as well. The day YouTube goes the Twitch route and starts embedding ads is the day I stop using it. Literally unwatchable at this point without adblocking.