How to download video with blob url?

Question

I am trying to download video with src url blob:https%3A//www.youtube.com/23aea5c8-9ae2-40dc-9417-e675ea99b386.

Is there a process that can be followed to download all this type of videos?

Answer 1

I found a way to download the video with blob url in Vimeo (reading here i understood how doing it). I write the simple steps here. I'm using Google Chrome:

1. Open the More Tools → Developer Tools

2. Check if in the video tag there is something like this:

   <video preload="" src="blob:https://player.vimeo.com/XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX"></video>
   

3. Copy the src of the iframe tag, if any, something like http://player.vimeo.com/video/XYZ if you found it you can go straight to the point 7, otherwise follow steps 4, 5, 6.

4. Now look for this string https://skyfire.vimeocdn.com/.../master.json?base64_init=1 inside the page (using the Developer View), you should found it inside a javascript function, like this:

   (function(e,a){var t={"cdn_url":"https://f.vimeocdn.com","view":1,"request":{"files":{"dash":{"origin":"gcs","url":"https://48skyfiregce-a.akamaihd.net/.../master.json?base64_init=1","cdn":"
   

5. Copy the link inside the url field on a new Chrome tab, for example https://48skyfiregce-a.akamaihd.net/.../master.json?base64_init=1 end open it with a browser, it will open you a json file like this:

   {
       "clip_id": XYZ,
       "base_url": "../",
       "video": [
                    { ... ... ...
   

6. Now compose a url with your id XYZ like this: https://player.vimeo.com/video/XYZ

7. Replace blob:https://player.vimeo.com/XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX inside the video tag with that last url (the one created in the previous step #6).

8. Now you will notice that magically the src field inside of the video tag changed (if it does not, try step 7 multiple times)...

   <video preload="none" src="https://fpdl.vimeocdn.com/vimeo-prod-skyfire-std-us/XX/XXX/X/XXXXXXXX/XXXXXXXXX.mp4?token=abcdefg"></video>
   

9. Use that new link to dowload it directly, it's something like this: https://fpdl.vimeocdn.com/vimeo-prod-skyfire-std-us/XX/XXX/X/XXXXXXXX/XXXXXXXXX.mp4?token=abcdefg

Answer 2

<video src="blob:https://www.example.tv/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx">
  <source src="https://cdn.example.tv/api/media/tv/xyzxyz/index" type="application/x-mpegurl">
</video>

I also had blob: URL in video/@src, but by watching Developer tools > Network during playback it turned out that video/source/@src was URL for m3u8 playlist.

An m3u8-backed video can be readily downloaded by either:

• ffplay -i "https://cdn.example.tv/api/media/tv/xyzxyz/1080/index.m3u8"
• ffmpeg -i "https://cdn.example.tv/api/media/tv/xyzxyz/1080/index.m3u8" -codec copy file.mkv

---

tl;dr - blob URL sounds like the binary you want to get but there might be easier way to get the video. Just check out Network tab in Dev tools while you play the video to see what you are actually fetching.

Answer 3

This answer is for Twitter URLs -

1. Right click on the video and click Inspect Elements -

You'll find a code like this

<div id="playerContainer" class="player-container full-screen-enabled" data-config="{&quot;is_360&quot;:false,&quot;duration&quot;:28617,&quot;scribe_widget_origin&quot;:true,&quot;heartbeatEnabled&quot;:true,&quot;video_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/video.twimg.com\/ext_tw_video\/844504104512749568\/pu\/pl\/e91Du5N2TZ09ZaW_.m3u8&quot;,&quot;disable_embed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;videoInfo&quot;:{&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;description&quot;:null,&quot;publisher&quot;:{&quot;screen_name&quot;:&quot;MountainButorac&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Mountain Butorac&quot;,&quot;profile_image_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/profile_images\/808318456701521920\/vBvlAASx_normal.jpg&quot;}},&quot;cardUrl&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/t.co\/SdSorop3uN&quot;,&quot;content_type&quot;:&quot;application\/x-mpegURL&quot;,&quot;owner_id&quot;:&quot;14120461&quot;,&quot;looping_enabled&quot;:true,&quot;show_cookie_override_en&quot;:true,&quot;visit_cta_url&quot;:null,&quot;scribe_playlist_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/twitter.com\/MountainButorac\/status\/844505243538931714\/video\/1&quot;,&quot;source_type&quot;:&quot;consumer&quot;,&quot;image_src&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/ext_tw_video_thumb\/844504104512749568\/pu\/img\/FFt3qkbeOh0RlGfZ.jpg&quot;,&quot;heartbeatIntervalInMs&quot;:5000.0,&quot;use_tfw_live_heartbeat_event_category&quot;:true,&quot;video_loading_timeout&quot;:45000.0,&quot;status&quot;:{&quot;created_at&quot;:&quot;Wed Mar 22 11:05:14 +0000 2017&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:844505243538931714,&quot;id_str&quot;:&quot;844505243538931714&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Took my Goddaughter to meet the pope. She stole his hat! https:\/\/t.co\/SdSorop3uN&quot;,&quot;truncated&quot;:false,&quot;entities&quot;:{&quot;hashtags&quot;:[],&quot;symbols&quot;:[],&quot;user_mentions&quot;:[],&quot;urls&quot;:[],&quot;media&quot;:[{&quot;id&quot;:844504104512749568,&quot;id_str&quot;:&quot;844504104512749568&quot;,&quot;indices&quot;:[57,80],&quot;media_url&quot;:&quot;http:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/ext_tw_video_thumb\/844504104512749568\/pu\/img\/FFt3qkbeOh0RlGfZ.jpg&quot;,&quot;media_url_https&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/ext_tw_video_thumb\/844504104512749568\/pu\/img\/FFt3qkbeOh0RlGfZ.jpg&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/t.co\/SdSorop3uN&quot;,&quot;display_url&quot;:&quot;pic.twitter.com\/SdSorop3uN&quot;,&quot;expanded_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/twitter.com\/MountainButorac\/status\/844505243538931714\/video\/1&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;photo&quot;,&quot;sizes&quot;:{&quot;small&quot;:{&quot;w&quot;:340,&quot;h&quot;:604,&quot;resize&quot;:&quot;fit&quot;},&quot;thumb&quot;:{&quot;w&quot;:150,&quot;h&quot;:150,&quot;resize&quot;:&quot;crop&quot;},&quot;large&quot;:{&quot;w&quot;:576,&quot;h&quot;:1024,&quot;resize&quot;:&quot;fit&quot;},&quot;medium&quot;:{&quot;w&quot;:576,&quot;h&quot;:1024,&quot;resize&quot;:&quot;fit&quot;}}}]},&quot;source&quot;:&quot;\u003ca href=\&quot;http:\/\/twitter.com\/download\/iphone\&quot; rel=\&quot;nofollow\&quot;\u003eTwitter for iPhone\u003c\/a\u003e&quot;,&quot;in_reply_to_status_id&quot;:null,&quot;in_reply_to_status_id_str&quot;:null,&quot;in_reply_to_user_id&quot;:null,&quot;in_reply_to_user_id_str&quot;:null,&quot;in_reply_to_screen_name&quot;:null,&quot;geo&quot;:null,&quot;coordinates&quot;:null,&quot;place&quot;:null,&quot;contributors&quot;:null,&quot;retweet_count&quot;:0,&quot;favorite_count&quot;:0,&quot;favorited&quot;:false,&quot;retweeted&quot;:false,&quot;possibly_sensitive&quot;:false,&quot;lang&quot;:&quot;en&quot;},&quot;show_cookie_override_all&quot;:true,&quot;video_session_enabled&quot;:false,&quot;media_id&quot;:&quot;844504104512749568&quot;,&quot;view_counts&quot;:null,&quot;statusTimestamp&quot;:{&quot;local&quot;:&quot;4:05 AM - 22 Mar 2017&quot;},&quot;media_type&quot;:1,&quot;user&quot;:{&quot;screen_name&quot;:&quot;MountainButorac&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Mountain Butorac&quot;,&quot;profile_image_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/profile_images\/808318456701521920\/vBvlAASx_bigger.jpg&quot;},&quot;watch_now_cta_url&quot;:null,&quot;tweet_id&quot;:&quot;844505243538931714&quot;}" data-source-type="consumer">

2.Copy Paste above code in notepad++. Replace all the " with " and \/ wth / in notepad++. (Use CTRL+H)

You'll get something like

{
    "is_360": false,
    "duration": 28617,
    "scribe_widget_origin": true,
    "heartbeatEnabled": true,
    "video_url": "https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/844504104512749568/pu/pl/e91Du5N2TZ09ZaW_.m3u8",

    "disable_embed": "0",
    "videoInfo": {
        "title": null,
        "description": null,
        "publisher": {
            "screen_name": "MountainButorac",
            "name": "Mountain Butorac",
            "profile_image_url": "https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/808318456701521920/vBvlAASx_normal.jpg"
        }
    },
    "cardUrl": "https://t.co/SdSorop3uN",
    "content_type": "application/x-mpegURL",
    "owner_id": "14120461",
    "looping_enabled": true,
    "show_cookie_override_en": true,
    "visit_cta_url": null,
    "scribe_playlist_url": "https://twitter.com/MountainButorac/status/844505243538931714/video/1",
    "source_type": "consumer",
    "image_src": "https://pbs.twimg.com/ext_tw_video_thumb/844504104512749568/pu/img/FFt3qkbeOh0RlGfZ.jpg",
    "heartbeatIntervalInMs": 5000.0,
    "use_tfw_live_heartbeat_event_category": true,
    "video_loading_timeout": 45000.0,
    "status": {
        "created_at": "Wed Mar 22 11:05:14 +0000 2017",
        "id": 844505243538931714,
        "id_str": "844505243538931714",
        "text": "Took my Goddaughter to meet the pope. She stole his hat! https://t.co/SdSorop3uN",
        "truncated": false,
        "entities": {
            "hashtags": [],
            "symbols": [],
            "user_mentions": [],
            "urls": [],
            "media": [{
                "id": 844504104512749568,
                "id_str": "844504104512749568",
                "indices": [57, 80],
                "media_url": "http://pbs.twimg.com/ext_tw_video_thumb/844504104512749568/pu/img/FFt3qkbeOh0RlGfZ.jpg",
                "media_url_https": "https://pbs.twimg.com/ext_tw_video_thumb/844504104512749568/pu/img/FFt3qkbeOh0RlGfZ.jpg",
                "url": "https://t.co/SdSorop3uN",
                "display_url": "pic.twitter.com/SdSorop3uN",
                "expanded_url": "https://twitter.com/MountainButorac/status/844505243538931714/video/1",
                "type": "photo",
                "sizes": {
                    "small": {
                        "w": 340,
                        "h": 604,
                        "resize": "fit"
                    },
                    "thumb": {
                        "w": 150,
                        "h": 150,
                        "resize": "crop"
                    },
                    "large": {
                        "w": 576,
                        "h": 1024,
                        "resize": "fit"
                    },
                    "medium": {
                        "w": 576,
                        "h": 1024,
                        "resize": "fit"
                    }
                }
            }]
        },
        "source": "\u003ca href=\"http://twitter.com/download/iphone\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003eTwitter for iPhone\u003c/a\u003e",
        "in_reply_to_status_id": null,
        "in_reply_to_status_id_str": null,
        "in_reply_to_user_id": null,
        "in_reply_to_user_id_str": null,
        "in_reply_to_screen_name": null,
        "geo": null,
        "coordinates": null,
        "place": null,
        "contributors": null,
        "retweet_count": 0,
        "favorite_count": 0,
        "favorited": false,
        "retweeted": false,
        "possibly_sensitive": false,
        "lang": "en"
    },
    "show_cookie_override_all": true,
    "video_session_enabled": false,
    "media_id": "844504104512749568",
    "view_counts": null,
    "statusTimestamp": {
        "local": "4:05 AM - 22 Mar 2017"
    },
    "media_type": 1,
    "user": {
        "screen_name": "MountainButorac",
        "name": "Mountain Butorac",
        "profile_image_url": "https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/808318456701521920/vBvlAASx_bigger.jpg"
    },
    "watch_now_cta_url": null,
    "tweet_id": "844505243538931714"
}

From above JSON format, see the value video_url

https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/844504104512749568/pu/pl/e91Du5N2TZ09ZaW_.m3u8

The issue here is, after August 1st, 2016, Twitter is no longer using .mp4 videos, but converting to a new HLS, adaptive-streaming format, with a .m3u8 file extension.

.m3u8 files are basically just a text file wrapper, they are super small (300-500 bytes), and when you open them with a text editor, they contain links to different video sizes

3. Open the file m3u8 in notepad++, it would contain code like this

EXTM3U EXT-X-INDEPENDENT-SEGMENTS EXT-X-STREAM-INF:PROGRAM-ID=1,BANDWIDTH=256000,RESOLUTION=180x320,CODECS="mp4a.40.2,avc1.42001f" /ext_tw_video/844504104512749568/pu/pl/180x320/_Z42SY5zwMlLdFYx.m3u8 EXT-X-STREAM-INF:PROGRAM-ID=1,BANDWIDTH=832000,RESOLUTION=360x640,CODECS="mp4a.40.2,avc1.42001f" /ext_tw_video/844504104512749568/pu/pl/360x640/-Phfjbbx2yinirLi.m3u8

4. Copy the respective link from above as per your resolution need. Repeat the same step until you have .ts file. Download the .ts file (the video file).

Answer 4

This is what worked for me using Chrome, but I would think any browser that has "Developer Tools" would work. I hope this helps all of humanity...

Go to the web page with the embedded video. Open up Developer Tools (for Chrome it's Right-Click | Inspect. For Firefox it's Right-Click | Inspect Element.

On the top of the Inspector, there will be a bunch of tabs. Select the Network tab. Look for the Headers tab. If the video auto-starts, you may have to stop it. Also click the Record (red circle icon far left under the Network tab. You'll want to stop recording.

When the page has completely loaded, click the Record button, and on the video, click Play. You'll see a bunch of requests/responses show up in the Headers area. You're looking for a request with the playlist (.m3u8) for the video. The URL should look something like this in the Headers section

https://cdnapisec.kaltura.com/p/1289861/sp/0/playManifest/entryId/1_zb2s80ga/format/applehttp/protocol/https/a.m3u8

Copy/paste that link into your browser, and at least in Chrome, that file (a.m3u8) will be downloaded. The filename for your site may differ.

Go to where you saved that file and open it with VLC. Select Media | Convert / Save. Click the Add... button and find the .m3u8 file you just downloaded. Click Open. Click on the Convert / Save button. Make sure Convert is selected, and click Browse to set the destination of the converted file.

Click the Automatically select filename extension (.mp4) in the bottom left of the window, and click Save. Select Start and you should see the video play, and once that's done, the MP4 video should be in your save location.

Good luck.

Answer 5

This is for blob video from facebook. Requires minimum technical expertise.

1. On the video, click on the three dots in the upper right and click 'Copy Link'. Link will look like this: https://fb.watch/1F3iBykxNf/
2. Open URL in browser.
3. Now you have the ablility to right-click the video hitbox. Right-click the video hitbox, and click 'Copy video URL at current time'. The URL will look something like this: https://www.facebook.com/686268088027568/videos/784217565526864/?t=0
4. Paste that URL into https://fbdown.net/. For me I was able to get an mp4 video.

I have no affiliation with fbdown.net.

Answer 6

A blob is already an indicator that content has already been downloaded, so there's no need to download again. As opposed to text data, a blob is binary data and therefore is much smaller (each char takes two bytes in JavaScript) than text or text encoded data. Another benefit of blob is since data has been already downloaded, the browser doesn't need to send multiple requests to the originating server to render the same content.

Instead, the server packages content and any instructions for further content to be added (at client side), sends to browser (client) which renders content & handles any content update on client side, relieving server from additional traffic or workload. Blobs have their roots in databases, which evolved to store data as binary objects, for the very same reasons of efficiency. The beginnings of blobs were already evident in the days when dynamic webpages were making headlines and client side scripting became a thing.

A blob itself is data/resource, as opposed to a URL which points to source of data, and can be as simple as an array of bytes or a single file. To extract data from a blob for rendering in a browser, pass the blob to URL.createObjectURL() to create a blob URL in the browser, of the form
blob:[protocol]://[server].[domain]/[blob ID]
eg. blob:https://thenewsit.com/345a291c-ac2e-456a-a202-2a8f131327ea

This URL then becomes the source of data eg. fed to src attribute of html tags or elements for rendering in the browser, without involving the server. In your case, you already have a blob url, meaning the video data is already in the browser and the browser is showing you the video contained in that blob object, instead of getting it from the server (youtube).

An example to create a blob & render content from blob object:

HTML

<input type="file" id="fileItem" onchange="onChange()">
 <video></video>
 <br><label id="blob"></label>

JavaScript

function onChange() {
  var file = document.getElementById('fileItem').files[0];
  var vid = document.getElementsByTagName('video')[0];
  var url = URL.createObjectURL(file);

  document.getElementById('blob').innerHTML = "Blob URL is:<br>".concat(url); 
  document.getElementById('fileItem').type = "hidden";

  vid.src = url;
  vid.load();
  vid.onloadeddata = function() {
    vid.play();
  }
}

Tested in jsfiddle

Answer 7

I found another way to download a video with blob url in Vimeo (see the other answer in this page).

This solution is suitable only if you want just the video without the sounds!

So, if you want to download just a Vimeo video (often without sounds), I can confirm that this Google Chrome extension works really good: Flash Video Downloader.

Answer 8

All previous answers are nice hacks, but simplest way is to use https://jdownloader.org/, and paste m3u8 playlist link into it.

Answer 9

For Instagram stories/videos have a look at the network tab of the Dev Tools. There, while the video is playing/being loaded, you should see one or several network requests (JS fetch requests) to an .mp4 file

https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/v/<filename>.mp4?<lots of parameters here>&bytestart=XXXXX&byteend=YYYYYY

Copy this URL, change bytestart to 0 and byteend to the maximum value you see in your network requests (once the video has fully loaded/played), then paste this modified URL into a new tab. -> You should see a standalone video. Now do right click -> Save.