Release - YouTube Plug-in Thread

Welcome to the Youtube Plugin Support Thread



Latest version of the Youtube plugin is version: 5.3.12

--> Download for 5.3.12 <--

--> Directory of Archives <--

--> Repository <--

--> Unofficial <--


As always when installing or upgrading...

1. Back up your stuff. Just incase it fails or goes horrible wrong, you can roll back easily.
2. If you have legitimate failues please do a debug log (wiki).

[Changes]
** 5.3.11 **
[fix/upd] replace custom simple_requests with script.module.requests to resolve ssl and cross-platform issues
[add] 'Reset access manager' added to Maintenance section, sign out process(available when logged out) to clean up tokens in settings.xml
[upd] set default for SSL certificate verification to 'true'
Updated Translation [Etharr,bubuleur]
** 5.3.10 **
Updated Dash to work better with SPMC. [guidosarducci]
Updated minimum version to Helix, but added a few frodo changes for [lulol] If you need Frodo you will have to update the addon.xml.
Updates Trnaslations [Etharr,roliverosc,Sjord]

Regarding dash in the latest youtube version..

Kodi 17 and inputstream.adaptive Add-on are required for 1080p and above to work
inputstream.adaptive may be included with your installation of Kodi 17, and some installations will be require it to be enabled and/or installed.

- Ubuntu(other linux distros may be similar): sudo apt-get install kodi-inputstream-adaptive
- LibreELEC: "... you'll need to install the inputstream.adaptive add-on from the LibreELEC Add-ons repository"
- Windows: Checkbox during installation under "Inputstream Add-ons" (may be disabled by default)
- OSMC: Nightlies have this included (may be disabled by default)
- Android: may be disabled by default
- OSX/macOS: this is disabled by default. Same Setup as the rest.

Where to find inputstream.adaptive if installed:
Add-ons - Add-on Browser - My Add-ons - VideoPlayer InputStream

See here for an explanation of how inputstream.adaptive handles bandwidth/resolution.

Also worth noting that not all videos will have dash playback at the moment, vevo content for example does not.


Email: ytplugin [at] datanet [dot] ws

Jeffrey Frasure (jdf76) (Admin/Website/Repo and GitHub Maintainer)
anxdpanic (Main Contributor)
jmh2002 (forum helper)

Youtube Community of Volunteer of additions and help.

Thank you all!

jmh2002 Wrote:YOUTUBE PERSONAL API KEY INSTRUCTIONS by jmh2002

* Information collated from previous posts in both the old and the new YouTube threads.
* Thank you to everyone who contributed (credits to WHCTHBD, jdf76, activoice, anxdpanic and many others)

NB: These instructions are meant for existing users with a working, signed in, and activated YouTube addon.
They are not meant to help you install, setup, sign in, or activate the YouTube addon itself if you are a first time user.

Please install, setup, sign in, activate and test the YouTube addon first, before creating your own Personal API Keys.

* Step 1:

- Click HERE - https://console.cloud.google.com/
- Select your email preference (Yes or No - it does not matter)
- Select Yes to agree to the Terms of Service (for reference: https://console.cloud.google.com/terms)
- Click Agree and Continue

NB: Please ignore any offers to "Sign up for a free trial..." and/or "Try Google Cloud Platform for free". It is not required.

- Select Project > Create Project > Enter Project Name (the name does not matter) > Create
- WAIT until the next page loads with the the New Project that you just created.







* Step 2:

- Click HERE - https://console.developers.google.com/apis/library
- Go to YouTube APIs > Select YouTube Data API > Enable





* Step 3:

- Click HERE - https://console.cloud.google.com/apis/credentials
- Select Create Credentials > API Key
- Copy and Save the API key. You will need this later. DO NOT POST THIS PUBLICALLY.
- Click Close





* Step 4:

- On the same page, Select Create Credentials > OAuth Client ID
- Then Select > Configure Consent Screen





* Step 5:

- Enter a Name in "Product name shown to users" (the name does not matter)
- Click Save and WAIT for the next page to load with the OAuth Client ID screen
- Then Select Other > Create
- Copy and Save the Client ID and the Client Secret. You will need these later. DO NOT POST THESE PUBLICALLY.
- Click OK.





* Step 6:

- Go to the YouTube addon > Settings > API Settings > Click Enable Personal API Keys > Enter all 3 Keys > Click OK
- Then > Sign Out > and after Sign In again (with the normal 2 x web activation)

After a successful Sign In to the YouTube addon you should now be using the Personal API Keys that you created.



* OR
- With Kodi shut down, Paste all 3 Keys into: Kodi / userdata / addon_data / plugin.video.youtube / settings.xml
in the following lines of code:

<setting id="youtube.api.enable" value="true" />
<setting id="youtube.api.id" value="Client ID" />
<setting id="youtube.api.key" value="API Key" />
<setting id="youtube.api.secret" value="Client Secret" />

- Then > Start Kodi > Open the YouTube addon > Sign Out > and after Sign In again (with the normal 2 x web activation)

After a successful Sign In to the YouTube addon you should now be using the Personal API Keys that you created.


Enjoy, jmh2002


PLEASE SEE THE FAQ BELOW FOR THE FOLLOWING:

* HOW TO TEST IF YOUR PERSONAL API KEYS ARE WORKING
* HOW TO VIEW YOUR PERSONAL API QUOTA DAILY USAGE HISTORY

These instructions were created by jmh2002, please thank him on his FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS post below.

THANKS jdf76, happy to be here in the new thread. I couldn't imagine my Kodi setup without the YouTube addon

* * *

jmh2002 Wrote:FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS & USEFUL INFORMATION

* PERSONAL API KEYS - EXTRA INFO

* Why do I get "Daily Limit Quota Exceeded" Errors when I try to use the YouTube addon?

The YouTube addon uses the Google API to access YouTube.
There are "API Keys" for this, but these keys have a fixed daily quota, and these keys are shared between all the users.
The addon contains some magic to help with this, however the addon is very popular so the quota is still sometimes reached.

The best solution is to make your own set of Personal API Keys.

* Please use my Instructions in Post #2 above to create your own YouTube Personal API Keys.

This will totally fix any "Daily Limit Quota Exceeded" errors, and it will also reduce the load on the shared keys for other users.

* HOW TO TEST IF YOUR PERSONAL API KEYS ARE WORKING:

- Restart Kodi, go to YouTube > My Subscriptions
- Click HERE - https://console.cloud.google.com/home/dashboard
- You should see a 'spike' on the API Requests graph with the date and time that you retrieved My Subscriptions
NB: sometimes there is a delay and you might need to wait for the Dashboard page to update. But normally it's instant.



* HOW TO VIEW YOUR PERSONAL API QUOTA DAILY USAGE HISTORY:

- Click HERE - https://console.cloud.google.com/apis/api/youtube/usage





* WHY DO I NEED TO ACTIVATE THE YOUTUBE ADDON TWICE?

This is necessary because you are activating different parts of YouTube:
- One is for My Subscriptions
- The Other is for the rest of YouTube

* RECOMMENDATIONS, RECOMMENDED, and RECOMMENDED FOR YOU

Recommendations is not the same as Recommended or Recommended for You, currently Recommendations is the only one working that I know of - anxdpanic (http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=...pid2455455)

* HOW TO USE THE CUSTOM WATCH LATER and CUSTOM HISTORY FEATURE

* The YouTube API no longer supports the full use of Watch Later and History preventing correct syncing and editing.
But the YouTube addon has a work around to enable you to use Playlists that you create instead.
NB:
With this method both Watch Later and History will be totally separate between Kodi and YouTube on the web.
But, both are standard Playlists so you can of course still view these via YouTube on the web (or your mobile device)
To use Watch Later, manually add videos. For History, your videos will be automatically added. Editing works per normal.

* To use this feature do the following:
- Click HERE: https://www.youtube.com > Library > New Playlist (The name does not matter, eg: My Watch Later)
- Copy and Save the Playlist ID. You will need this later.
(the Playlist ID is the alphanumeric code that you will now see in the address bar of your browser after: playlist?list=)

- Repeat the procedure to create another New Playlist (The name does not matter, eg: My History)
- Copy and Save the Playlist ID. You will need this later.

* After Creating your New Playlists on youtube.com:
- Go to the YouTube Addon > Settings > Folders
- Enter the Playlist IDs where you see Custom Watch Later Playlist ID, and Custom History Playlist ID > Click OK
* OR
- With Kodi shut down, Paste both Playlist IDs into: Kodi / userdata / addon_data / plugin.video.youtube / settings.xml
in the following lines of code:

<setting id="youtube.folder.watch_later.playlist" value="Playlist ID" />
<setting id="youtube.folder.history.playlist" value="Playlist ID" />

* WHY CAN'T I CHOOSE THE VIEW IN THE ADDON SETTINGS ANYMORE?
* WHY DO I ONLY HAVE 'LIST', 'BIG LIST' & 'THUMBNAIL' VIEWS AVAILABLE NOW?
* HOW CAN I SET THE 'MEDIA INFO' VIEW AGAIN?

As part of ongoing improvements and corrections of hacks and work arounds Team Kodi is now enforcing a previously existing policy that Views should be set by Skins, not by Addons. YouTube v5.3.6 onwards was updated to comply with this policy.

^^^ This is why you can't set the view in the addon settings anymore.

NB: To set Views inside your Skin open the 'Side Blade' on the left hand side (stock Kodi Confluence Skin).

Team Kodi is now also enforcing a policy that videos from addons like YouTube are not TV Show type 'Episodes'.
YouTube and similar addons now need to Set Content Type as "Videos".

^^^ This is why only 'List', 'Big List', and 'Thumbnail' views are available now.

Changes have been pushed to github for the Confluence Skin by Team Kodi member @Hitcher (thanks Hitcher!) to allow the Media Info view to be available (again) to addons such as YouTube that will now need to Set Content Type as "Videos".

This official change should also now be adopted by Skin Developers to complete the policy changes and make everything work like before (except in line with this enforcement, views will be set by skins, and not by addons).

* How can I set the 'Media Info' View again?

Your Skin probably needs updating first. Please inform your Skin Developer about these changes and refer them to this FAQ.

NB:
As temporary work around users may install the 'Unofficial' YouTube version from Post #1 on Page 1 of this thread.
This will give you back the possibility to chose the view in the addon settings.

For technical reference (for Skin and Addon Developers) I will also put further links regarding this subject here:

- GitHub Discussion
- Summary Discussion in the YouTube thread
- Thread by @phil65: "Heads-up: How to deal with content types / media types"

* WHY DOESN'T THE MARK AS WATCHED / UNWATCHED 'TICK' WORK ANYMORE?

This is a consequence of the above changes that require the YouTube addon to Set Content Type as "Videos".
Due to a bug the 'Mark as Watched / UnWatched Tick' doesn't seem to be available to Content Type "Videos"
This should be solved when Skins are updated and/or any necessary background changes are made to Kodi.

NB: Some Skin Developers may have taken a 'non-official' approach to a fix, however this may cause unknown behaviour.

For reference, from the 'Summary Discussion in the YouTube thread' mentioned above:

(2016-12-07 11:03)jmh2002 Wrote:  In addition there seems to be further situation in relation to 'Mark as Watched/Hide Watched', detailed here:

(2016-12-05 19:13)anxdpanic Wrote:  I'm going to try to sum up the user side of this to hopefully help with some clarity on this.

Core/skins lack a default view per content type. (override view)
'Mark as Watched/Hide Watched' is not available to videos (wasn't aware of this until users presented it)

and here:

(2016-12-05 19:53)Martijn Wrote:  If there is indeed an issue now with watched/unwatched we'll have to fix that and not hack around the problem.

* HOW TO DELETE THE YOUTUBE ADDON AND DO A CLEAN INSTALL

* Totally deleting YouTube may not be necessary. First try the following:

- Go to the YouTube Addon > Settings > Maintenance > Delete settings.xml > Click Ok (you will lose your settings)
- Execute Setup Wizard > Yes
- Go to Settings > Configure all your Settings > Ok
(don't forget to enter Personal API Keys again if you have them)
- Sign In again (with the normal 2 x web activation)

* If this does not work? The installation may be corrupted. You can do a Clean Install as follows:

- With Kodi shut down, Delete the following 2 folders:
- Kodi / addons / plugin.video.youtube
- Kodi / userdata / addon_data / plugin.video.youtube
- Download the latest version of the YouTube addon from Post #1 on Page 1
- Then > Start Kodi > Go to Kodi Settings > Addons > "Install from Zip File"
- Browse to the previously downloaded latest version zip file and install it
- Go to the YouTube Addon > Execute Setup Wizard > Yes
- Go to Settings > Configure all your Settings > Ok
(don't forget to enter Personal API Keys again if you have them)
- Sign In again (with the normal 2 x web activation)



More Frequently Asked Questions & Useful Information to follow in the future... (please post suggestions in the forum)

Deleted

(2016-04-02 19:54)jmh2002 Wrote:  THANKS jdf76, happy to be here in the new thread. I couldn't imagine my Kodi setup without the YouTube addon

+1

Will there be a repo? Does it self update?

The repo is the same, and it is not on the Kodi Official Repo till it meets their criteria, So no it wont self update. I think Kodi would want us to have a permanent github home before they accept the new location. Right now the official repo. The current location is still kolifanes until i note otherwise. Once it's moved i'll make a new repo but i want to have something to give to the community instead of the same stuff, once some of these issues are fixed i'll feel more better about setting up a new repo/location.

[EDIT] I forgot to mention the Location of the plugin will currently be in the first post and will always be correct and up to date!

I hope that works for you.

Thank you,
Jeff

Thanks for the new thread, jdf76!

I know there are more important issues at hand, but at some point it would be nice if there was an easier way to rate videos instead of having it buried several clicks away in the More menu.

I'll add it to the list, but it'll be after the existing issues have been dealt with.

Thanks
Jeff

(2016-04-02 22:25)Tarkus_ Wrote:  Thanks for the new thread, jdf76!

I know there are more important issues at hand, but at some point it would be nice if there was an easier way to rate videos instead of having it buried several clicks away in the More menu.

Subcribed to this newest thread........ thanks to ALL can continue to be alive this fantastic youtube add-ons

Great news and thank you very much jdf76 for taking lead role for this project.

I've added a link to this thread from the first post of the old one too, so hopefully having links at the start and end of that thread should guide people to this one.

Might I also suggest that you put a link to the general download page on Kolifanes repo (this one) as well as the specific one for the current version? That way there's always a failsafe backup plus people can access older versions if they need to for any reason (or the source code).

Anyway definite kudos for taking over this project, best of luck!

Thanx a lot for all this work!

Maybe the 'age restriction' has become not an issue but a procedure to make it work.

I don't know wether it can be improved via plugin to make it easier, but, at least for me, it's working right now.

I think efforts can be made in other more critical issues than this one. It can be improved or not, but I don't find it urgent

Thanx!

(2016-04-02 23:24)DarrenHill Wrote:  I've added a link to this thread from the first post of the old one too, so hopefully having links at the start and end of that thread should guide people to this one.

Might I also suggest that you put a link to the general download page on Kolifanes repo (this one) as well as the specific one for the current version? That way there's always a failsafe backup plus people can access older versions if they need to for any reason (or the source code).

Anyway definite kudos for taking over this project, best of luck!

Good Idea and implemented. Thought about doing it before but then was like maybe later, but now is best time as any

thx for the help and the luck from everyone

It's #2 in the list

jeff

(2016-04-02 23:57)Kaskade Wrote:  Thanx a lot for all this work!

Maybe the 'age restriction' has become not an issue but a procedure to make it work.

I don't know wether it can be improved via plugin to make it easier, but, at least for me, it's working right now.

I think efforts can be made in other more critical issues than this one. It can be improved or not, but I don't find it urgent

Thanx!