Downloading Deeply Embedded Flash Videos?

Question

I have been trying to get a couple of videos from 9now.com.au (previously 9jumpin.com.au). Unfortunately standard video downloaders don't have much success on ninemsn pages (thats what 9now.com.au is basically) they are too deeply embedded in the flash object.

I have experimented with all sorts of things so far nothing has worked. By looking under 'Page Info' (in Mozilla) on this site: https://www.9now.com.au/a-current-affair/2016/episode-18, I was able to grab the swf link to an example video from the site.

https://secure.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?&width=1061&height=647&flashID=BC_307&bgcolor=%23000000&isVid=true&isUI=true&dynamicStreaming=true&includeAPI=true&wmode=transparent&player=%5Bobject%20Object%5D&apiToken=EbGEbecFBWqULp6jwCXEIiR7Bcz9XxgqB662FFTyaKAGTjCFOpOD3A..&playerID=4636048170001&playerKey=AQ~~%2CAAAEDpoL5OE~%2C9W2Ko8jEE65vrRI0g8wfVq9C9K0vT3MJ&%40videoPlayer=ref%3Acijv5st7m005cb5os1vted0p7&secureConnections=true&secureHTMLConnections=true&templateLoadHandler=BC_307_loadCallback&templateReadyHandler=brightcove%5B%22templateReadyHandlerBC_307%22%5D&templateErrorHandler=BC_307_errorCallback&autoStart=&debuggerID=&originalTemplateReadyHandler=BC_307_readyCallback&startTime=1453978037116

If anyone has any advice I am really keen to hear it.

P.S I am not trying to pirate or do illegal things, I just find the videos don't always load correctly so downloading them would be preferable.

Answer 1

It's tricky, but I've found a way.

1. View source, in Chrome/Chromium just put view-source: in front of the URL

2. Find .m3u8 URL. Mine looked like:

   https:\u002F\u002Fonce-mi9.unicornmedia.com\u002Fnow\u002Fod\u002Fauto\u002Fe62f13e1-cab4-4fca-bdbb-eaa84d793f41\u002Ff68ef73c-99ad-464e-8e5a-b7086188a73f\u002Fcioibvzgd003f0lmca52awlrx\u002Fcontent.m3u8

3. Remove all \u002F and replace with a forward slash /

4. youtubedl the resulting URL. It saves as an m3u8 file but plays in mplayer (mediainfo tells me it's an .mp4 file - should be fine to rename)

It took me less than half that time to find the torrent.

Usually it's one of the first two - the first one will be an ad and will have \u002Fad\ in the url, the second should be it. I've found that a more up-to-date youtubedl (ubuntu vs. debian) changes the file to .mp4 automatically. Good hunting.

Answer 2

The FlashGot Firefox addon, unlike many other downloader addons, doesn't parse specific sites but rather intercepts actual requests your browser is making and allows you to download them. So, it works for any site and regardless of how it works - plain html, javascript, flash, whatever.

It has a built-in list of file types, requests to which to intercept, you can add to it in its settings.

If it doesn't catch the downloads on the specific site, to determine what to add, use the Network tab in the built-in developer tools (F12). Or you can temporarily tell it to catch "everything" and pick what you need from the resulting list.

UPDATE: FlashGot wasn't rewritten as a WebExtension and thus doesn't work in FF 57+. Bulk Media Downloader is a WebExtension based on the same principle.

Answer 3

Try this program: m3u8x

m3u8x is to help you download and save m3u8 videos.

Copy the M3U8 file and then paste its file link to m3u8x. It can also support downloading multiple M3U8 files at one time, so you can paste many M3U8 file links to m3u8x.

You can also select other file formats, like .ts and MP4 .

The product link also includes a tutorial.