Video players completely broken

LUNAM1DN1GHT · August 18, 2026, 10:59pm

No matter what world im in, no matter what i use (youtube url or youtube search) since this new update, as a quest 2 player, nothing will load, please help, it wasnt like this before the update!

WubTheCaptain · August 19, 2026, 6:13am

Hi, I have a deep understanding of the underlying issues so I can provide input. I’m not going to file any bug reports about this against VRChat (there’s already too many), because there’s generally nothing that can be done at the moment.

TL;DR: YouTube made changes and it’s likely going to be more challenging than usual for the community to continue supporting YouTube playback in VRChat now or in the future (plausibly without significant re-engineering efforts in the VRChat client), while VRChat compatible legacy playback formats are becoming gradually unavailable from YouTube.

Video players in Unity/VRChat are generally working, but your issue is with YouTube (and yt-dlp) and not with VRChat. It’s not just you, it affects all yt-dlp users in general, mpv video player software, anything that hooks into yt-dlp for remote video playback (including VRChat).

When you input a URL into a video player, VRChat calls a customized %LocalAppdata%Low\VRChat\VRChat\Tools\yt-dlp.exe (a VRChat modified yt-dlp 2026.07.04) to download and stream the video for you. The requirements for successful playback are:

The URL is online/available to access for download.
yt-dlp supports the service (e.g. YouTube) or it’s a generic URL.
It’s one of the common formats with audio+video in the same stream for VRChat video players to support it. (Individual audio only/video only formats are not supported in VRChat generally.)

Behind the scenes it looks similar to this picture:

yt-dlp fetches the YouTube web page, lists available video/audio formats from the android_vr extractor, and then VRChat picks the only compatible format 18 (360p video with low quality audio) for playback.

See the last part from the screenshot where I attempt to redownload the same video? It says ERROR: unable to download video data: HTTP Error 403: Forbidden. That’s an intermittent error from YouTube, specific to the android_vr extractor. In VRChat, you would see this as a generic video error or “Failed to load video” message on video players. The upstream issue is linked below.

github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp

[Youtube] ERROR: unable to download video data: HTTP Error 403: Forbidden (with `android_vr`)

opened 02:26AM - 18 Aug 26 UTC

closed 06:46PM - 19 Aug 26 UTC

j3pic

site-bug site:youtube

### Checklist - [x] I've read the [**NO AI / NO LLM POLICY**](https://github.co…m/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md#no-ai--no-llm-policy) and understand I may be blocked from the repository if it is violated - [x] I'm reporting that yt-dlp is broken on a **supported** site - [x] I've verified that I have **updated yt-dlp to nightly or master** ([update instructions](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp#update-channels)) - [x] I've checked that all provided URLs are playable in a browser with the same IP and same login details - [x] I've checked that all URLs and arguments with special characters are [properly quoted or escaped](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki/FAQ#video-url-contains-an-ampersand--and-im-getting-some-strange-output-1-2839-or-v-is-not-recognized-as-an-internal-or-external-command) - [x] I've searched [known issues](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/issues/3766), [the FAQ](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki/FAQ), and the [bugtracker](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/issues?q=is%3Aissue%20-label%3Aspam%20%20) for similar issues **including closed ones**. DO NOT post duplicates - [x] I've read about [sharing account credentials](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md#are-you-willing-to-share-account-details-if-needed) and I'm willing to share it if required ### Region United States ### Provide a description that is worded well enough to be understood The latest stable version (stable@2027.07.04) does this: ``` $ yt-dlp "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93jxWV0PXRQ" [youtube] Extracting URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93jxWV0PXRQ [youtube] 93jxWV0PXRQ: Downloading webpage WARNING: [youtube] No supported JavaScript runtime could be found. Only deno is enabled by default; to use another runtime add --js-runtimes RUNTIME[:PATH] to your command/config. YouTube extraction without a JS runtime has been deprecated, and some formats may be missing. See https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki/EJS for details on installing one [youtube] 93jxWV0PXRQ: Downloading android vr player API JSON [info] 93jxWV0PXRQ: Downloading 1 format(s): 400+251 ERROR: unable to download video data: HTTP Error 403: Forbidden ``` I'm in the US. The video is accessible through a non-logged-in browser. ### Provide verbose output that clearly demonstrates the problem - [x] Run **your** yt-dlp command with **-vU** flag added (`yt-dlp -vU <your command line>`) - [x] If using API, add `'verbose': True` to `YoutubeDL` params instead - [x] Copy the WHOLE output (starting with `[debug] Command-line config`) and insert it below ### Complete Verbose Output ```shell [debug] Command-line config: ['-vU', 'https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93jxWV0PXRQ'] [debug] Encodings: locale utf-8, fs utf-8, pref utf-8, out utf-8 (No ANSI), error utf-8 (No ANSI), screen utf-8 (No ANSI) [debug] yt-dlp version stable@2026.07.04 from yt-dlp/yt-dlp [997fa1408] (zip) [debug] Python 3.11.2 (CPython x86_64 64bit) - Linux-6.1.0-40-amd64-x86_64-with-glibc2.36 (OpenSSL 3.0.17 1 Jul 2025, glibc 2.36) [debug] exe versions: ffmpeg 5.1.8-0 (setts), ffprobe 5.1.8-0, rtmpdump 2.4 [debug] Optional libraries: Cryptodome-3.11.0, brotli-1.0.9, certifi-2022.12.07, mutagen-1.46.0, pyxattr-0.8.1, requests-2.28.2, sqlite3-3.40.1, urllib3-1.26.15 (unsupported), websockets-10.4 (unsupported), yt_dlp_ejs-0.8.0 [debug] JS runtimes: none [debug] Proxy map: {} [debug] Request Handlers: urllib [debug] Plugin directories: none [debug] Loaded 1744 extractors [debug] Fetching release info: https://api.github.com/repos/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest Latest version: stable@2026.07.04 from yt-dlp/yt-dlp yt-dlp is up to date (stable@2026.07.04 from yt-dlp/yt-dlp) [debug] [youtube] [pot] PO Token Providers: none [debug] [youtube] [pot] PO Token Cache Providers: memory [debug] [youtube] [pot] PO Token Cache Spec Providers: webpo [debug] [youtube] [jsc] JS Challenge Providers: bun (unavailable), deno (unavailable), node (unavailable), quickjs (unavailable) [youtube] Extracting URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93jxWV0PXRQ [youtube] 93jxWV0PXRQ: Downloading webpage WARNING: [youtube] No supported JavaScript runtime could be found. Only deno is enabled by default; to use another runtime add --js-runtimes RUNTIME[:PATH] to your command/config. YouTube extraction without a JS runtime has been deprecated, and some formats may be missing. See https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki/EJS for details on installing one [debug] [youtube] Forcing "main" player JS variant for player c74cbcd6 original url = /s/player/c74cbcd6/player_es6.vflset/en_US/base.js [youtube] 93jxWV0PXRQ: Downloading android vr player API JSON [debug] Sort order given by extractor: quality, res, fps, hdr:12, source, vcodec, channels, acodec, lang, proto [debug] Formats sorted by: hasvid, ie_pref, quality, res, fps, hdr:12(7), source, vcodec, channels, acodec, lang, proto, size, br, asr, vext, aext, hasaud, id [debug] Default format spec: bestvideo*+bestaudio/best [info] 93jxWV0PXRQ: Downloading 1 format(s): 400+251 [debug] Invoking http downloader on "https://rr3---sn-jpocxaa-a03z.googlevideo.com/videoplayback?expire=1787041421&ei=LcKDar-qH8qDkucPpez1uAo&ip=72.49.35.78&id=o-AG0Ne0dBRzfOvqM7yQsDc4yCfcwsyV1IqG8kYVIkFuvT&itag=400&source=youtube&requiressl=yes&xpc=EgVo2aDSNQ%3D%3D&met=1787019821%2C&mh=8t&mm=18%2C29&mn=sn-jpocxaa-a03z%2Csn-2o5ua5-5g&ms=aub%2Crdu&mv=m&mvi=3&pl=24&rms=aub%2Caub&initcwndbps=4458750&bui=AR3QkAkkXimDvWTwVGjceLoXNE34yUPqEOsA1mUfdIWGOHW5SXad5Sv2UzMd5__ejTGVOfVbtiRZYsCm&spc=KBGBcvhzP97MQKMJspFmMuXOGU-kyP__zrHdZCMirQ&vprv=1&svpuc=1&mime=video%2Fmp4&rqh=1&gir=yes&clen=172422605&dur=1271.269&lmt=1786984897540288&mt=1787018922&fvip=4&keepalive=yes&fexp=51565115%2C51946838&c=ANDROID_VR&txp=5309224&sparams=expire%2Cei%2Cip%2Cid%2Citag%2Csource%2Crequiressl%2Cxpc%2Cbui%2Cspc%2Cvprv%2Csvpuc%2Cmime%2Crqh%2Cgir%2Cclen%2Cdur%2Clmt&sig=AE0s2JYwRgIhAJ3id28yJKqp2SXdG0Jnqzl7tvjeoGbz587bXSfVgWqwAiEAi9yNbKjSz9aDyq-vnT7OmPFav4KgfhrZU85FrOLRU9M%3D&lsparams=met%2Cmh%2Cmm%2Cmn%2Cms%2Cmv%2Cmvi%2Cpl%2Crms%2Cinitcwndbps&lsig=APaTxxMwRAIgRyJfuCj0QAQ0GgwZ2LvitMdctqCD-9xQwhiau_mbvIkCIGIET2eosWF7p1Fbm5dy0DfIa_vSpTGA49n5seydbI89" ERROR: unable to download video data: HTTP Error 403: Forbidden Traceback (most recent call last): File "/usr/local/src/yt-dlp/./yt-dlp/yt_dlp/networking/_urllib.py", line 419, in _send res = opener.open(urllib_req, timeout=self._calculate_timeout(request)) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ File "/usr/lib/python3.11/urllib/request.py", line 525, in open response = meth(req, response) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ File "/usr/lib/python3.11/urllib/request.py", line 634, in http_response response = self.parent.error( ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ File "/usr/lib/python3.11/urllib/request.py", line 563, in error return self._call_chain(*args) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ File "/usr/lib/python3.11/urllib/request.py", line 496, in _call_chain result = func(*args) ^^^^^^^^^^^ File "/usr/lib/python3.11/urllib/request.py", line 643, in http_error_default raise HTTPError(req.full_url, code, msg, hdrs, fp) urllib.error.HTTPError: HTTP Error 403: Forbidden The above exception was the direct cause of the following exception: Traceback (most recent call last): File "/usr/local/src/yt-dlp/./yt-dlp/yt_dlp/YoutubeDL.py", line 3571, in process_info partial_success, real_download = self.dl(fname, new_info) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ File "/usr/local/src/yt-dlp/./yt-dlp/yt_dlp/YoutubeDL.py", line 3324, in dl return fd.download(name, new_info, subtitle) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ File "/usr/local/src/yt-dlp/./yt-dlp/yt_dlp/downloader/common.py", line 480, in download ret = self.real_download(filename, info_dict) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ File "/usr/local/src/yt-dlp/./yt-dlp/yt_dlp/downloader/http.py", line 362, in real_download establish_connection() File "/usr/local/src/yt-dlp/./yt-dlp/yt_dlp/downloader/http.py", line 119, in establish_connection ctx.data = self.ydl.urlopen(request) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ File "/usr/local/src/yt-dlp/./yt-dlp/yt_dlp/YoutubeDL.py", line 4305, in urlopen return self._request_director.send(req) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ File "/usr/local/src/yt-dlp/./yt-dlp/yt_dlp/networking/common.py", line 117, in send response = handler.send(request) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ File "/usr/local/src/yt-dlp/./yt-dlp/yt_dlp/networking/_helper.py", line 194, in wrapper return func(self, *args, **kwargs) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ File "/usr/local/src/yt-dlp/./yt-dlp/yt_dlp/networking/common.py", line 359, in send return self._send(request) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ File "/usr/local/src/yt-dlp/./yt-dlp/yt_dlp/networking/_urllib.py", line 424, in _send raise HTTPError(UrllibResponseAdapter(e.fp), redirect_loop='redirect error' in str(e)) from e yt_dlp.networking.exceptions.HTTPError: HTTP Error 403: Forbidden ```

The solution from the upstream yt-dlp project to download YouTube videos has been to remove android_vr from the default list of clients, and use the new visionos extractor client in yt-dlp nightly. The issue is visionos does not have any compatible legacy formats (audio+video in the same format) for VRChat. This leaves VRChat with no remaining compatible extractors for YouTube playback for the foreseeable future.

This started in July 2026 with YouTube killing off the web_safari client, which formerly provided 1080p videos without login and PO tokens for YouTube playback in VRChat. You may not have noticed it being gone, because android_vr was available as a fallback for 360p video playback in VRChat.

github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp

Intermittent missing hlsManifestUrl (m3u8 formats) in YouTube webpage for 'web_safari' client

opened 06:03AM - 05 Jul 26 UTC

closed 11:36PM - 20 Jul 26 UTC

kmudov

site:youtube

### Checklist - [x] I've read the [**NO AI / NO LLM POLICY**](https://github.co…m/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md#no-ai--no-llm-policy) and understand I may be blocked from the repository if it is violated - [x] I'm reporting that yt-dlp is broken on a **supported** site - [x] I've verified that I have **updated yt-dlp to nightly or master** ([update instructions](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp#update-channels)) - [x] I've checked that all provided URLs are playable in a browser with the same IP and same login details - [x] I've checked that all URLs and arguments with special characters are [properly quoted or escaped](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki/FAQ#video-url-contains-an-ampersand--and-im-getting-some-strange-output-1-2839-or-v-is-not-recognized-as-an-internal-or-external-command) - [x] I've searched [known issues](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/issues/3766), [the FAQ](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki/FAQ), and the [bugtracker](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/issues?q=is%3Aissue%20-label%3Aspam%20%20) for similar issues **including closed ones**. DO NOT post duplicates - [x] I've read about [sharing account credentials](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md#are-you-willing-to-share-account-details-if-needed) and I'm willing to share it if required ### Region Philippines ### Provide a description that is worded well enough to be understood While investigating intermittent failures with the 'web_safari' client, I noticed that YouTube sometimes returns different HTML for the exact same video and request. When the issue occurs, the downloaded webpage does not contain `hlsManifestUrl`. As a consequence, yt-dlp logs: WARNING: Only images are available for download. ERROR: Requested format is not available. Repeating exactly the same request a few seconds later often returns a webpage containing `hlsManifestUrl`, after which yt-dlp extracts formats normally. The attached verbose log corresponds to one of the failing cases. ### Provide verbose output that clearly demonstrates the problem - [x] Run **your** yt-dlp command with **-vU** flag added (`yt-dlp -vU <your command line>`) - [x] If using API, add `'verbose': True` to `YoutubeDL` params instead - [x] Copy the WHOLE output (starting with `[debug] Command-line config`) and insert it below ### Complete Verbose Output ```shell [debug] Encodings: locale utf-8, fs utf-8, pref utf-8, out utf-8, error utf-8, screen utf-8 [debug] yt-dlp version stable@2026.07.04 from yt-dlp/yt-dlp [997fa1408] (pip) API [debug] params: {'quiet': False, 'verbose': True, 'skip_download': True, 'nocheckcertificate': True, 'extract_flat': True, 'writesubtitles': False, 'writeautomaticsub': False, 'remote_components': {'ejs:github'}, 'extractor_args': {'youtube': {'player_client': ['web_safari']}}, 'js_runtimes': {'deno': {}}, 'compat_opts': set(), 'http_headers': {'User-Agent': 'Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/148.0.0.0 Safari/537.36', 'Accept': 'text/html,application/xhtml+xml,application/xml;q=0.9,*/*;q=0.8', 'Accept-Language': 'en-us,en;q=0.5', 'Sec-Fetch-Mode': 'navigate'}} [debug] Python 3.12.3 (CPython x86_64 64bit) - Linux-6.12.76-linuxkit-x86_64-with-glibc2.39 (OpenSSL 3.0.13 30 Jan 2024, glibc 2.39) [debug] exe versions: ffmpeg 6.1.1 (setts), ffprobe 6.1.1 [debug] Optional libraries: Cryptodome-3.23.0, brotli-1.2.0, certifi-2026.06.17, mutagen-1.48.1, requests-2.34.2, sqlite3-3.45.1, urllib3-2.7.0, websockets-16.0, yt_dlp_ejs-0.8.0 [debug] JS runtimes: deno-2.9.1 [debug] Proxy map: {} [debug] Request Handlers: urllib, requests, websockets [debug] Plugin directories: none [debug] Loaded 1744 extractors [debug] [youtube] [pot] PO Token Providers: none [debug] [youtube] [pot] PO Token Cache Providers: memory [debug] [youtube] [pot] PO Token Cache Spec Providers: webpo [debug] [youtube] [jsc] JS Challenge Providers: bun (unavailable), deno, node (unavailable), quickjs (unavailable) [youtube] Extracting URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkFqg5wAuFk [youtube] AkFqg5wAuFk: Downloading webpage [debug] [youtube] Forcing "main" player JS variant for player 0053e6c9 original url = /s/player/0053e6c9/player_es6.vflset/en_US/base.js [debug] [youtube] AkFqg5wAuFk: Detected experiment to bind GVS PO Token to video ID for web_safari client [debug] [youtube] AkFqg5wAuFk: Some web_safari client https formats have been skipped as they are missing a URL. YouTube is forcing SABR streaming for this client. See https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/issues/12482 for more details [debug] [youtube] AkFqg5wAuFk: Some web_safari client subtitles require a PO Token which was not provided. They will be discarded since they are not downloadable as-is. You can manually pass a Subtitles PO Token for this client with --extractor-args "youtube:po_token=web_safari.subs+XXX" . For more information, refer to https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki/PO-Token-Guide [debug] [youtube] AkFqg5wAuFk: There are missing subtitles languages because a PO token was not provided. Subtitles for these languages are missing: es, pt, en. Automatic captions for 1 languages are missing. WARNING: Only images are available for download. use --list-formats to see them [debug] Sort order given by extractor: quality, res, fps, hdr:12, source, vcodec, channels, acodec, lang, proto [debug] Formats sorted by: hasvid, ie_pref, quality, res, fps, hdr:12(7), source, vcodec, channels, acodec, lang, proto, size, br, asr, vext, aext, hasaud, id [debug] Default format spec: bestvideo*+bestaudio/best ERROR: [youtube] AkFqg5wAuFk: Requested format is not available. Use --list-formats for a list of available formats Traceback (most recent call last): File "/opt/venv/lib/python3.12/site-packages/yt_dlp/YoutubeDL.py", line 1732, in wrapper return func(self, *args, **kwargs) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ File "/opt/venv/lib/python3.12/site-packages/yt_dlp/YoutubeDL.py", line 1888, in __extract_info return self.process_ie_result(ie_result, download, extra_info) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ File "/opt/venv/lib/python3.12/site-packages/yt_dlp/YoutubeDL.py", line 1947, in process_ie_result ie_result = self.process_video_result(ie_result, download=download) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ File "/opt/venv/lib/python3.12/site-packages/yt_dlp/YoutubeDL.py", line 3097, in process_video_result raise ExtractorError( yt_dlp.utils.ExtractorError: [youtube] AkFqg5wAuFk: Requested format is not available. Use --list-formats for a list of available formats ```

There’s a long list of issues previously worked around with YouTube playback in yt-dlp and VRChat. I’ve tried to keep most of the current and previous issues documented in the comments on VRChat Feedback:

The problem now becomes that VRChat cannot generally “just update yt-dlp” to make playback work again with YouTube URLs when a new stable release of yt-dlp becomes available.

In the future, for YouTube playback to become available with the current methods, this is going to require SABR support in yt-dlp (unavailable/unimplemented in general, experimental in a separate branch) in addition to support in VRChat video players to play separate audio & video streams (merging video formats).

WubTheCaptain · August 19, 2026, 6:44am

Okay, looks like the upstream yt-dlp project is going to use the web_embedded client as a fallback for the legacy format 18, which is compatible with VRChat.

github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp

[ie/youtube] Add `web_embedded` client fallbacks (#17462)

master ← bashonly:fix/yt-web-embedded-fallbacks

opened 11:56AM - 18 Aug 26 UTC

bashonly

+4 -3

<details open><summary>Template</summary> ### Before submitting a *pull re…quest* you must attest to the following: - [x] This pull request complies with yt-dlp's [**NO AI / NO LLM POLICY**](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md#no-ai--no-llm-policy) - [x] I have skimmed through [contributing guidelines](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md#developer-instructions) including [yt-dlp coding conventions](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md#yt-dlp-coding-conventions) - [x] I have [searched](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/search?q=is%3Apr&type=Issues) the tracker for similar pull requests ### In order to be accepted and merged into yt-dlp each piece of code must be in public domain or released under [Unlicense](http://unlicense.org/). Check those that apply and remove the others: - [x] I am the original author of the code in this PR, and I am willing to release it under [Unlicense](http://unlicense.org/) ### What is the purpose of your *pull request*? Check those that apply and remove the others: - [x] Fix or improvement to an extractor (Make sure to add/update tests) </details>

I’m now waiting for a new stable yt-dlp release, before I submit a new feature request to VRChat Feedback to update yt-dlp so you can enjoy 360p YouTube videos for a little while longer (maybe).

I have to emphasize and echo bashonly from the yt-dlp project that these legacy formats “were always expected to be sunset eventually”.

LUNAM1DN1GHT · August 19, 2026, 4:05pm

How long would that take?

WubTheCaptain · August 19, 2026, 4:43pm

It’s anyone’s best guess when yt-dlp releases a new stable version. It could be days or weeks.

After that, it’s been historically around 1-14 days for VRChat to update after making a feature request to update.

WubTheCaptain · August 19, 2026, 7:29pm

The android extractor will also be usable in VRChat for YouTube for format 18 only, but it’s not default in the current yt-dlp 2026.07.04 and also not in the list of default clients in yt-dlp nightly. This would require VRChat to make changes to include it for fallback in their fork of yt-dlp, if web_embedded will break.

WubTheCaptain · August 20, 2026, 6:42am

yt-dlp released 2026.08.19, so I’ve made the feature request to update yt-dlp in VRChat which will fix this YouTube playback issue in VRChat.

MondoCat · August 23, 2026, 1:42pm

We’ve been having this issue with our Karaoke events.

There is an issue right now where any video that is geoblocked in ANY country is blocked from EVERY country in vrchat MOST of the time. There’s nothing we can do to fix it as normal users.

Try it and you should see the difference:

Blocked in Russia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LN4ftqNtd1I (Shouldnt work)
Blocked Nowhere: https://youtu.be/_L61loT_snA (Should work)

WubTheCaptain · August 23, 2026, 7:31pm

This behavior is not specific to VRChat, and the statement is inaccurate.

Your test URL, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LN4ftqNtd1I, is whitelisted only in the following regions: CA, CU, IR, KP, SY, US. Blocked elsewhere. You will get an error message in both the browser and yt-dlp outside of these regions regardless of the yt-dlp youtube player extractor, based on your network’s determined geolocation.

PS C:\Users\linda.LINDALAP\AppData\Local\Temp\yt-dlp_upstream_2026.08.19> .\yt-dlp.exe -F https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LN4ftqNtd1I
[youtube] Extracting URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LN4ftqNtd1I
[youtube] LN4ftqNtd1I: Downloading webpage
[youtube] LN4ftqNtd1I: Downloading visionos player API JSON
ERROR: [youtube] LN4ftqNtd1I: Video unavailable. It was blocked due to the claimed content by WMG.

The second test URL you’ve given is not region blocked anywhere, that is true.

You can play a test URL such as https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAsBta25OGQ, which is only blacklisted in the following regions: FM, KR. Outside of those two regions (Federated States of Micronesia, South Korea), you can play the video with upstream yt-dlp (and in VRChat once the implementation in VRChat doesn’t rely on a broken android_vr extractor).

MondoCat · August 23, 2026, 10:01pm

We’ve chatted with karaoke in sync owner about this issue.

I feel like that is too much of a technical breakdown to be helpful for the average user. The practical result for the video players players, such as, during karaoke, is still that these videos are failing to load when the video is blocked in 1 or more countries.

I feel knowing what types of links arnt working will help the average user understand that it’s not just “Youtube is broken” or “Video players are broken” but “Videos that are Geoblocked in 1+ countries are broken”

Hopefully, that broken extractor you mentioned gets patched soon so things go back to normal, but in the meantime, loading videos with no geoblocking the closest workaround for the average user.

WubTheCaptain · August 23, 2026, 10:36pm

I have an issue with this statement, or I disagree with it.

As long as the video player owner can load the video, it will sync - even the https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAsBta25OGQ test URL above, which is geoblocked in two countries. I tested this with both direct YouTube URLs and the Karaoke in Sync URL redirector.

Logs

2026.08.23 22:13:36 Debug      -  [<color=#00A8FF>USharpVideoQueue</color>] Debug: RPC_InvokeUserPlay received by Player [playerId: 1, displayName: WubTheCaptain]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAsBta25OGQ
2026.08.23 22:13:36 Debug      -  [<color=#9C6994>USharpVideo</color>] Started video load for URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAsBta25OGQ, requested by WubTheCaptain
2026.08.23 22:13:36 Debug      -  [Video Playback] Attempting to resolve URL 'https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAsBta25OGQ'
2026.08.23 22:13:36 Debug      -  NativeProcess.Start: started process id [18036]: C:/Users/linda.LINDALAP/AppData/LocalLow/VRChat/VRChat\Tools/yt-dlp.exe (...)
2026.08.23 22:13:36 Debug      -  [<color=#00A8FF>USharpVideoQueue</color>] Debug: Received USharpVideoLoadStart! Is player Video Player owner? True
2026.08.23 22:13:36 Debug      -  [<color=#00A8FF>USharpVideoQueue</color>] Debug: 'RPC_OnVideoOwnerVideoLoadStart'-Request received from Player [playerId: 1, displayName: WubTheCaptain]
2026.08.23 22:13:36 Debug      -  [<color=#00A8FF>USharpVideoQueue</color>] Debug: Sending Serialized Data!
2026.08.23 22:13:39 Debug      -  NativeProcess.HasExited: process exited with code 0, took 3041 ms. Command line: C:/Users/linda.LINDALAP/AppData/LocalLow/VRChat/VRChat\Tools/yt-dlp.exe (...)
2026.08.23 22:13:39 Debug      -  [Video Playback] URL 'https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAsBta25OGQ' resolved to 'https://manifest.googlevideo.com/api/manifest/hls_playlist/expire/1787544818/ei/knCLatf4HuSu0u8Pt8-sqQY/ip/84.250.12.104/id/c00b01b5adb93864/itag/95/source/youtube/requiressl/yes/ratebypass/yes/pfa/1/sgoap/clen%3D3824466%3Bdur%3D236.263%3Bgir%3Dyes%3Bitag%3D140%3Blmt%3D1700930967271016/sgovp/clen%3D23786104%3Bdur%3D236.202%3Bgir%3Dyes%3Bitag%3D136%3Blmt%3D1700932058818468/rqh/1/hls_chunk_host/rr1---sn-uxap54poa5oq-ixal.googlevideo.com/xpc/EgVo2aDSNQ%3D%3D/cps/174/met/1787523218,/mh/IQ/mm/31,29/mn/sn-uxap54poa5oq-ixal,sn-ajixh5-55/ms/au,rdu/mv/m/mvi/1/pl/18/rms/au,au/gcr/fi/initcwndbps/2805000/bui/AR3QkAm3C0gR3j4QyUBD6stljo2A21bdrflMLX3khMMnxGfCZtux5QspHCZEw2Vguld96a8C9ZqOH93K/spc/KBGBcu7t2tkr2fLbHbPvQ2saQHHxJRvtT8TcFZAuD13v3d7L9MGboHsJMpMy3xboP3ilQ7kKAd4/vprv/1/ns/I3y7VLpbvEPLSRXoXdNIU1sX/playlist_type/CLEAN/dover/11/txp/4432434/mt/1787522685/fvip/4/keepalive/yes/fexp/51565115/n/gRS_l5iewNU5tQ/sparams/expire,ei,ip,id,itag,source,requiressl,ratebypass,pfa,sgoap,sgovp,rqh,xpc,gcr,bui,spc,vprv,ns,playlist_type/sig/AE0s2JYwRAIgC70uHzVdr-JQBsqzloQICXCLL4s9aXYN7GgB1A4FVb4CIAkO1sncSWJt5syvmbSv5yVuQiRWlmCRJFGHUMjU2MDB/lsparams/hls_chunk_host,cps,met,mh,mm,mn,ms,mv,mvi,pl,rms,initcwndbps/lsig/APaTxxMwRQIgc1sMNXBsIZicOUSyXghHyUE-_TZkxrM-iZ7quFPHNg0CIQCveimYbyM2pImQnsPgMQ22WLbgfxsd4cVd5_hrhXyumw%3D%3D/playlist/index.m3u8'
2026.08.23 22:13:39 Debug      -  [AVProVideo] Opening https://manifest.googlevideo.com/api/manifest/hls_playlist/expire/1787544818/ei/knCLatf4HuSu0u8Pt8-sqQY/ip/84.250.12.104/id/c00b01b5adb93864/itag/95/source/youtube/requiressl/yes/ratebypass/yes/pfa/1/sgoap/clen%3D3824466%3Bdur%3D236.263%3Bgir%3Dyes%3Bitag%3D140%3Blmt%3D1700930967271016/sgovp/clen%3D23786104%3Bdur%3D236.202%3Bgir%3Dyes%3Bitag%3D136%3Blmt%3D1700932058818468/rqh/1/hls_chunk_host/rr1---sn-uxap54poa5oq-ixal.googlevideo.com/xpc/EgVo2aDSNQ%3D%3D/cps/174/met/1787523218,/mh/IQ/mm/31,29/mn/sn-uxap54poa5oq-ixal,sn-ajixh5-55/ms/au,rdu/mv/m/mvi/1/pl/18/rms/au,au/gcr/fi/initcwndbps/2805000/bui/AR3QkAm3C0gR3j4QyUBD6stljo2A21bdrflMLX3khMMnxGfCZtux5QspHCZEw2Vguld96a8C9ZqOH93K/spc/KBGBcu7t2tkr2fLbHbPvQ2saQHHxJRvtT8TcFZAuD13v3d7L9MGboHsJMpMy3xboP3ilQ7kKAd4/vprv/1/ns/I3y7VLpbvEPLSRXoXdNIU1sX/playlist_type/CLEAN/dover/11/txp/4432434/mt/1787522685/fvip/4/keepalive/yes/fexp/51565115/n/gRS_l5iewNU5tQ/sparams/expire,ei,ip,id,itag,source,requiressl,ratebypass,pfa,sgoap,sgovp,rqh,xpc,gcr,bui,spc,vprv,ns,playlist_type/sig/AE0s2JYwRAIgC70uHzVdr-JQBsqzloQICXCLL4s9aXYN7GgB1A4FVb4CIAkO1sncSWJt5syvmbSv5yVuQiRWlmCRJFGHUMjU2MDB/lsparams/hls_chunk_host,cps,met,mh,mm,mn,ms,mv,mvi,pl,rms,initcwndbps/lsig/APaTxxMwRQIgc1sMNXBsIZicOUSyXghHyUE-_TZkxrM-iZ7quFPHNg0CIQCveimYbyM2pImQnsPgMQ22WLbgfxsd4cVd5_hrhXyumw%3D%3D/playlist/index.m3u8 (offset 0) with API MediaFoundation
2026.08.23 22:13:40 Debug      -  [AVProVideo] Using playback path: MF-MediaEngine-Hardware (1280x720@0.00)
2026.08.23 22:13:40 Debug      -  [<color=#9C6994>USharpVideo</color>] Started video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAsBta25OGQ

2026.08.23 22:27:51 Debug      -  [<color=#00A8FF>USharpVideoQueue</color>] Debug: RPC_InvokeUserPlay received by Player [playerId: 1, displayName: WubTheCaptain]: https://ksync.arcanescripts.com/custom/redir-url?videoUrl=%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20Paste%20the%20YouTube%20Link%20after%20the%20colon:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAsBta25OGQ
2026.08.23 22:27:51 Debug      -  [<color=#9C6994>USharpVideo</color>] Started video load for URL: https://ksync.arcanescripts.com/custom/redir-url?videoUrl=%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20Paste%20the%20YouTube%20Link%20after%20the%20colon:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAsBta25OGQ, requested by WubTheCaptain
2026.08.23 22:27:51 Debug      -  [Video Playback] Attempting to resolve URL 'https://ksync.arcanescripts.com/custom/redir-url?videoUrl=%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20Paste%20the%20YouTube%20Link%20after%20the%20colon:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAsBta25OGQ'
2026.08.23 22:27:51 Debug      -  NativeProcess.Start: started process id [31608]: C:/Users/linda.LINDALAP/AppData/LocalLow/VRChat/VRChat\Tools/yt-dlp.exe (...)
2026.08.23 22:27:51 Debug      -  [<color=#00A8FF>USharpVideoQueue</color>] Debug: Received USharpVideoLoadStart! Is player Video Player owner? True
2026.08.23 22:27:51 Debug      -  [<color=#00A8FF>USharpVideoQueue</color>] Debug: 'RPC_OnVideoOwnerVideoLoadStart'-Request received from Player [playerId: 1, displayName: WubTheCaptain]
2026.08.23 22:27:51 Debug      -  [<color=#00A8FF>USharpVideoQueue</color>] Debug: Sending Serialized Data!
2026.08.23 22:27:54 Debug      -  [Video Playback] URL 'https://ksync.arcanescripts.com/custom/redir-url?videoUrl=%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20Paste%20the%20YouTube%20Link%20after%20the%20colon:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAsBta25OGQ' resolved to 'https://manifest.googlevideo.com/api/manifest/hls_playlist/expire/1787545673/ei/6XOLauzdFLuF0u8P4pPPuQY/ip/84.250.12.104/id/c00b01b5adb93864/itag/95/source/youtube/requiressl/yes/ratebypass/yes/pfa/1/sgoap/clen%3D3824466%3Bdur%3D236.263%3Bgir%3Dyes%3Bitag%3D140%3Blmt%3D1700930967271016/sgovp/clen%3D23786104%3Bdur%3D236.202%3Bgir%3Dyes%3Bitag%3D136%3Blmt%3D1700932058818468/rqh/1/hls_chunk_host/rr1---sn-uxap54poa5oq-ixal.googlevideo.com/xpc/EgVo2aDSNQ%3D%3D/cps/212/met/1787524073,/mh/IQ/mm/31,29/mn/sn-uxap54poa5oq-ixal,sn-ixh7rn76/ms/au,rdu/mv/m/mvi/1/pl/18/rms/au,au/gcr/fi/initcwndbps/2640000/bui/AR3QkAlqjkETcxN9hrvDrYdxEBO2Yz0xg_nQ9n7XmgDNy6sHdAxIfnmCdRVMmCfNFUYX-Xp8QUWBJp7_/spc/KBGBcmfAl8KEytlF0CJH6uEB4_ZT2BCh4WVmBXIpBRUU3-pX18nIA1L0H1WJVQflsEViL7V79IE/vprv/1/ns/N0f6d6lX6SRPKXv9NlMOXBYX/playlist_type/CLEAN/dover/11/txp/4432434/mt/1787523671/fvip/1/keepalive/yes/fexp/51565116/n/P-eqV7xztTm3zg/sparams/expire,ei,ip,id,itag,source,requiressl,ratebypass,pfa,sgoap,sgovp,rqh,xpc,gcr,bui,spc,vprv,ns,playlist_type/sig/AE0s2JYwRQIhAJKZpKgikvUU8SKqUdKNGk5I_8WeuxRCAA_imgykY-AZAiAwyx3DpQBfmd_aCCIApbJujzN_7FKW6FbhMShwTWQ7Uw%3D%3D/lsparams/hls_chunk_host,cps,met,mh,mm,mn,ms,mv,mvi,pl,rms,initcwndbps/lsig/APaTxxMwRAIgC17yL3xzBmtW6wuZDr5u1UkucTx2eYYYtiGc5YvyF_MCIA05Ic-AoBj9DuLK8iywHuQB-0kZ3ytDi03YF181O4Wr/playlist/index.m3u8'
2026.08.23 22:27:54 Debug      -  [AVProVideo] Opening https://manifest.googlevideo.com/api/manifest/hls_playlist/expire/1787545673/ei/6XOLauzdFLuF0u8P4pPPuQY/ip/84.250.12.104/id/c00b01b5adb93864/itag/95/source/youtube/requiressl/yes/ratebypass/yes/pfa/1/sgoap/clen%3D3824466%3Bdur%3D236.263%3Bgir%3Dyes%3Bitag%3D140%3Blmt%3D1700930967271016/sgovp/clen%3D23786104%3Bdur%3D236.202%3Bgir%3Dyes%3Bitag%3D136%3Blmt%3D1700932058818468/rqh/1/hls_chunk_host/rr1---sn-uxap54poa5oq-ixal.googlevideo.com/xpc/EgVo2aDSNQ%3D%3D/cps/212/met/1787524073,/mh/IQ/mm/31,29/mn/sn-uxap54poa5oq-ixal,sn-ixh7rn76/ms/au,rdu/mv/m/mvi/1/pl/18/rms/au,au/gcr/fi/initcwndbps/2640000/bui/AR3QkAlqjkETcxN9hrvDrYdxEBO2Yz0xg_nQ9n7XmgDNy6sHdAxIfnmCdRVMmCfNFUYX-Xp8QUWBJp7_/spc/KBGBcmfAl8KEytlF0CJH6uEB4_ZT2BCh4WVmBXIpBRUU3-pX18nIA1L0H1WJVQflsEViL7V79IE/vprv/1/ns/N0f6d6lX6SRPKXv9NlMOXBYX/playlist_type/CLEAN/dover/11/txp/4432434/mt/1787523671/fvip/1/keepalive/yes/fexp/51565116/n/P-eqV7xztTm3zg/sparams/expire,ei,ip,id,itag,source,requiressl,ratebypass,pfa,sgoap,sgovp,rqh,xpc,gcr,bui,spc,vprv,ns,playlist_type/sig/AE0s2JYwRQIhAJKZpKgikvUU8SKqUdKNGk5I_8WeuxRCAA_imgykY-AZAiAwyx3DpQBfmd_aCCIApbJujzN_7FKW6FbhMShwTWQ7Uw%3D%3D/lsparams/hls_chunk_host,cps,met,mh,mm,mn,ms,mv,mvi,pl,rms,initcwndbps/lsig/APaTxxMwRAIgC17yL3xzBmtW6wuZDr5u1UkucTx2eYYYtiGc5YvyF_MCIA05Ic-AoBj9DuLK8iywHuQB-0kZ3ytDi03YF181O4Wr/playlist/index.m3u8 (offset 0) with API MediaFoundation
2026.08.23 22:27:55 Debug      -  [AVProVideo] Using playback path: MF-MediaEngine-Hardware (1920x1080@0.00)
2026.08.23 22:27:55 Debug      -  [<color=#9C6994>USharpVideo</color>] Started video: https://ksync.arcanescripts.com/custom/redir-url?videoUrl=%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20Paste%20the%20YouTube%20Link%20after%20the%20colon:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAsBta25OGQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LN4ftqNtd1I is not whitelisted in my country, so I can’t load it. I didn’t determine if someone from US would see it in this specific world while I was the video player owner, if the other person would not be hit by the HTTP 403 Forbidden error from android_vr.

Note the URL redirector from Karaoke in Sync (ksync.arcanescripts.com) is not needed. It’s unclear to me what purpose it serves for custom URLs, except for potential data mining with untrusted URLs enabled.

PS C:\Users\linda.LINDALAP> curl.exe -I "https://ksync.arcanescripts.com/custom/redir-url?videoUrl=%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20Paste%20the%20YouTube%20Link%20after%20the%20colon:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAsBta25OGQ"
HTTP/1.1 307 Temporary Redirect
Server: nginx/1.18.0 (Ubuntu)
Date: Sun, 23 Aug 2026 22:25:31 GMT
Content-Length: 0
Connection: keep-alive
location: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAsBta25OGQ
X-Varnish: 84008 640362
Age: 339
Via: 1.1 varnish (Varnish/6.0)

WubTheCaptain · August 23, 2026, 10:41pm

An obligatory clarification: The users themselves must also be able to download the video directly.

The video player owner provides sync data where the video is playing on the timeline, as far as I understand it.

CosKomh · August 24, 2026, 5:19am

I’m seeing a different issue, that VRChat is using the following args to resolve the video url

--no-check-certificate --no-cache-dir --rm-cache-dir -f “(mp4/best)[height<=?1080][height>=?64][width>=?64]” --get-url

The problem is that this often returns a vp9 url, and AVProVideo doesn’t seem to be able to play it. Simply upgrading to the latest yt-dlp won’t solve the problem. AVProVideo needs to filter out the vp9 links

WubTheCaptain · August 24, 2026, 9:53am

Correct, those are the command line args used to launch yt-dlp in VRChat. The requested video resolution may differ.

If there are no fMP4 formats available from the extracted URL, the second preference “best” will be selected. This can return the best available format, including VP9 WEBM formats when available. (-f "(mp4/best)")

There’s nothing inherently wrong about the -f "(mp4/best)" command line option used by VRChat and it can be kept as is, especially for YouTube playback. I argue it’s more important to choose the right YouTube playback extractor for VRChat with yt-dlp options.

VRChat has support for pre-muxed formats with audio+video in the same container or m3u8 playlist URL, for both video and audio to play simultaneously. Anything else would require downloading both formats separately and merging the formats locally with ffmpeg before playback, which is not supported in VRChat at this time.

For clarity, pre-muxed formats for VRChat are unavailable from visionos in the default yt-dlp 2026.08.19 configuration (a mix of MP4 and VP9/webm with separate audio streams), but available from android and web_embedded extractors (1080p format 96 for live YouTube videos, 360p format 18 for non-live YouTube videos).

The --extractor-args youtube:player_client=android,web_embedded,-visionos from the feature request will avoid this issue, and should be required to be included in VRChat’s patch of yt-dlp 2026.08.19.

I discourage replacing yt-dlp manually yourself for anything but experimental testing, due to security changes available in VRChat’s fork of yt-dlp.

@CosKomh What video URL are you experiencing issues with returning VP9 formats? Can you provide an URL? Were you testing on yt-dlp 2026.07.04 or yt-dlp 2026.08.19? What extractor were you using? I’m unable to reproduce your issue with YouTube livestreams and non-live videos on yt-dlp 2026.08.19.

CosKomh · August 24, 2026, 10:38am

@WubTheCaptain I’m seeing the issue on both 07.04 and 08.19 with most songs in Udon Saber, one example being https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VP9OH0O_V2Q
Didn’t try to add any extra arguments. Could be a regional thing if can’t repro

WubTheCaptain · August 24, 2026, 10:57am

I can reproduce this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VP9OH0O_V2Q is not geoblocked in any country.

According to your screenshot, you’re downloading a YouTube Premium format 616 (indicated by /itag/616/) (mp4/m3u8/vp9) using an upstream yt-dlp 2026.08.19 executable with the default visionos extractor, which is a video only format - this is not supported in VRChat, at least if you want audio with it.

Both android and web_embedded would return a playable 360p format 18 for the video URL, which is supported in VRChat for audio & video.

WubTheCaptain · August 24, 2026, 11:28am

After some experimentation, playback failures and retries with format 616, a VizVid video player in avtr․zip - Search ＆ Hangout world using AVProVideo for playback in VRChat eventually retried playing format 399 (mp4, https) with an upstream yt-dlp 2026.08.19 executable using https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VP9OH0O_V2Q as the URL.

Predictably there was no audio in VRChat, only 1080p video from format 399, using the visionos extractor.

yt-dlp returns the following warning for format 616 when downloaded from the command line, without FFmpeg installed on my system (this was deliberate):

WARNING: VP9OH0O_V2Q: Possible MPEG-TS in MP4 container or malformed AAC timestamps. Install ffmpeg to fix this automatically

This will result in a format 616 playback error in VRChat. This does not occur for format 399.

Either way I think the issue you’re describing with format 616 and visionos may be somewhat irrelevant at this time with the current VRChat limitations, because I assume most people would also want audio with their videos.

I advocate using android and web_embedded extractors in VRChat for now.

Please submit a bug report or a feature request if you feel strongly this should be changed or supported.

MiamiXBlue · August 24, 2026, 2:13pm

I was wondering what was going on for the past week with these video players. Thanks for the update! I was wondering how did you even figure this out?

WubTheCaptain · August 24, 2026, 5:20pm

I try to read all bug reports coming in to VRChat Feedback bug reports board. This was a community effort, with several people contributing information.

Anytime there’s a newly discovered report coming in to VRChat Feedback bug reports board about “video players”, the first thing to usually do is to check the upstream yt-dlp issues for recently reported issues - typically issues about YouTube.

I first noticed the intermittent issue on August 14th or 15th by first hand in VRChat (an early A/B test by YouTube), but I didn’t care enough to investigate the cause because reloading/retrying the video was convenient enough as a workaround.

The first reproducible android_vr related bug report at VRChat Feedback bug reports board was probably the following topic on August 17th by OpportunityV2SM: https://feedback.vrchat.com/bug-reports/p/vid-player. (Note: Before August 18th, in-client bug report log files were readable by anyone at VRChat Feedback.) In the comments there, on August 17th I tested against the upstream yt-dlp 2026.07.04 executable, reproduced the issue, and I linked to a yt-dlp issue #17427 about android_vr related 403 Forbidden errors reported at the upstream yt-dlp project on August 14th.

On August 18th, @Fusl also provided a pointer to another android_vr yt-dlp issue #17456 (August 18th) in the comments of https://feedback.vrchat.com/bug-reports/p/video-bug. The issue’s root cause has been known well since.

The issue was then cross-checked from VRChat output logs, %LocalAppdata%Low\VRChat\VRChat\Tools\yt-dlp.exe --version and from yt-dlp’s documented default client configuration that the use of yt-dlp 2026.07.04’s default android_vr client was the issue in VRChat.

This topic on VRChat Ask was then asked at late August 18th, and I responded on August 19th above before the release of yt-dlp 2026.08.19 was made available.

WubTheCaptain · August 28, 2026, 11:42pm

VRChat has updated to yt-dlp 2026.08.14 tonight. This issue should be resolved now.

PS C:\Users\linda.LINDALAP\AppData\LocalLow\VRChat\VRChat\Tools> .\yt-dlp.exe --version
2026.08.19

Topic		Replies	Views
AVPro Player , Vizvid plays low resolution yt videos Creator Hub world , video-players , vrchat	5	456	April 29, 2026
Video players having issues Help! video-players , bug	54	35513	December 15, 2025
Video player Broke Help! bug	13	223	August 28, 2026
Videoplayer issues Help! world , video-players , bug	32	15010	November 12, 2025
Specifically Youtube videos not playing as of yesterday Help! world , video-players , bug , vrchat	12	4518	June 2, 2025

Video players completely broken

Related topics