$ youtube-dl -F https://www.youtube.com/watch\?v\=lYePxF7CJ6I
[youtube] lYePxF7CJ6I: Downloading webpage
[youtube] lYePxF7CJ6I: Extracting video information
[youtube] lYePxF7CJ6I: Downloading DASH manifest
[info] Available formats for lYePxF7CJ6I:
format code extension resolution note
171 webm audio only DASH audio 126k , audio@128k (44100Hz), 5.42MiB
140 m4a audio only DASH audio 129k , m4a_dash container, aac @128k (44100Hz), 6.14MiB
141 m4a audio only DASH audio 255k , m4a_dash container, aac @256k (44100Hz), 12.19MiB
160 mp4 256x144 DASH video 120k , 15fps, video only, 4.61MiB
278 webm 256x144 DASH video 134k , webm container, VP9, 15fps, video only, 3.03MiB
133 mp4 426x240 DASH video 274k , 30fps, video only, 9.92MiB
242 webm 426x240 DASH video 289k , 30fps, video only, 5.67MiB
243 webm 640x360 DASH video 485k , 30fps, video only, 10.02MiB
134 mp4 640x360 DASH video 603k , 30fps, video only, 11.21MiB
244 webm 854x480 DASH video 851k , 30fps, video only, 16.15MiB
135 mp4 854x480 DASH video 1109k , 30fps, video only, 20.30MiB
302 webm 1280x720 DASH video 2678k , VP9, 60fps, video only, 41.82MiB
298 mp4 1280x720 DASH video 3310k , h264, 60fps, video only, 61.45MiB
303 webm 1920x1080 DASH video 4966k , VP9, 60fps, video only, 79.56MiB
299 mp4 1920x1080 DASH video 5523k , h264, 60fps, video only, 107.74MiB
17 3gp 176x144
36 3gp 320x240
5 flv 400x240
43 webm 640x360
18 mp4 640x360
22 mp4 1280x720 (best)
$ youtube-dl --max-quality 99 https://www.youtube.com/watch\?v\=lYePxF7CJ6I
[youtube] lYePxF7CJ6I: Downloading webpage
[youtube] lYePxF7CJ6I: Extracting video information
[youtube] lYePxF7CJ6I: Downloading DASH manifest
[download] Destination: LGR - Operation Frog - C64 Game Review-lYePxF7CJ6I.f299.mp4
[download] 100% of 107.74MiB in 01:15
[download] Destination: LGR - Operation Frog - C64 Game Review-lYePxF7CJ6I.f141.m4a
[download] 100% of 12.19MiB in 00:11
[ffmpeg] Merging formats into "LGR - Operation Frog - C64 Game Review-lYePxF7CJ6I.mp4"
Despite asking for a max-quality of 99 (ie everything that isn't DASH), I still get the 299 and 141 qualities.
This is regardless of the video or the argument passed to --max-quality:
$ youtube-dl --max-quality 199 https://www.youtube.com/watch\?v\=g1zerc7crGM
[youtube] g1zerc7crGM: Downloading webpage
[youtube] g1zerc7crGM: Extracting video information
[youtube] g1zerc7crGM: Downloading DASH manifest
[download] Destination: LGR - SimCity BuildIt Review-g1zerc7crGM.f299.mp4
[download] 100% of 155.75MiB in 01:51
[download] Destination: LGR - SimCity BuildIt Review-g1zerc7crGM.f141.m4a
[download] 100% of 11.06MiB in 00:15
[ffmpeg] Merging formats into "LGR - SimCity BuildIt Review-g1zerc7crGM.mp4"
Deleting original file LGR - SimCity BuildIt Review-g1zerc7crGM.f299.mp4 (pass -k to keep)
Deleting original file LGR - SimCity BuildIt Review-g1zerc7crGM.f141.m4a (pass -k to keep)
Using -f best seems to make --max-quality actually be taken into account:
$ youtube-dl --max-quality 43 -f best https://www.youtube.com/watch\?v\=lYePxF7CJ6I
[youtube] lYePxF7CJ6I: Downloading webpage
[youtube] lYePxF7CJ6I: Extracting video information
[youtube] lYePxF7CJ6I: Downloading DASH manifest
[download] Destination: LGR - Operation Frog - C64 Game Review-lYePxF7CJ6I.webm
All that being said, I realize that --max-quality is pretty much made obsolete by the new capabilities of -f. However, the option is still mentioned in the docs and help text, and simply gets ignored when used on its own, which is confusing.
The most simple way to solve this, I think, would be to simply remove the option, or mark it as deprecated. Maybe emit a warning or error when it's used, and ask the user to use -f instead.
Example:
Despite asking for a max-quality of 99 (ie everything that isn't DASH), I still get the 299 and 141 qualities.
This is regardless of the video or the argument passed to
--max-quality
:Using
-f best
seems to make--max-quality
actually be taken into account:All that being said, I realize that
--max-quality
is pretty much made obsolete by the new capabilities of-f
. However, the option is still mentioned in the docs and help text, and simply gets ignored when used on its own, which is confusing.The most simple way to solve this, I think, would be to simply remove the option, or mark it as deprecated. Maybe emit a warning or error when it's used, and ask the user to use
-f
instead.