YouTube said: Invalid parameters. (instead of specific error message)

[srett]

Make sure you are using the latest version: run youtube-dl --version and ensure your version is 2018.01.14. If it's not, read this FAQ entry and update. Issues with outdated version will be rejected.

• I've verified and I assure that I'm running youtube-dl 2018.01.14

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• Bug report (encountered problems with youtube-dl)
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• Feature request (request for a new functionality)
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The following sections concretize particular purposed issues, you can erase any section (the contents between triple ---) not applicable to your issue

For a few days now, videos that have been removed, blocked, unavailable in current country etc. yield the generic error "Invalid parameters" instead of the actual message you'd see in a browser, like before.
My workflow depends on knowing why accessing a video failed. I used "youtube-dl --skip-download ..." for this.

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If the purpose of this issue is a bug report, site support request or you are not completely sure provide the full verbose output as follows:

$ youtube-dl -v NbhXmSBlS_U
[debug] System config: []
[debug] User config: []
[debug] Custom config: []
[debug] Command-line args: [u'-v', u'NbhXmSBlS_U']
[debug] Encodings: locale UTF-8, fs UTF-8, out UTF-8, pref UTF-8
[debug] youtube-dl version 2018.01.14
[debug] Python version 2.7.14 (CPython) - Linux-4.15.0-rc7-devtest+-x86_64-with-debian-buster-sid
[debug] exe versions: avprobe present, ffmpeg N-81364-gf85842b-static, ffprobe N-81364-gf85842b-static
[debug] Proxy map: {}
[youtube] NbhXmSBlS_U: Downloading webpage
[youtube] NbhXmSBlS_U: Downloading video info webpage
ERROR: NbhXmSBlS_U: YouTube said: Invalid parameters.
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/home/zahl/bin/youtube-dl/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py", line 784, in extract_info
    ie_result = ie.extract(url)
  File "/home/zahl/bin/youtube-dl/youtube_dl/extractor/common.py", line 438, in extract
    ie_result = self._real_extract(url)
  File "/home/zahl/bin/youtube-dl/youtube_dl/extractor/youtube.py", line 1609, in _real_extract
    expected=True, video_id=video_id)
ExtractorError: NbhXmSBlS_U: YouTube said: Invalid parameters.

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Description of your issue, suggested solution and other information

This seems to happen since around Jan 4 according to logs.
Examples:
XR4YH1N04pc (This video contains content from UMG, who has blocked it in your country on copyright grounds.)
NbhXmSBlS_U (This video contains content from Formula One Management, who has blocked it on copyright grounds.)
7HpZjCe9LQY (This video is unavailable.)
xPFZl59_OZ4 (This video is no longer available because the YouTube account associated with this video has been terminated.)
n_7t_vO3vlU ("Gamma Ray - Beyo..." The YouTube account associated with this video has been terminated due to multiple third-party notifications of copyright infringement.)

The all just yield "Invalid parameters".

The website itself also behaves slightly different from before, I cannot get it to tell me that a video does not exist by passing random or invalid video ids, I only get the "unavailable" message, so that would at least explain why youtube-dl doesn't report non-existent videos anymore, but the rest should still be possible to detect.

[glenn-slayden]

I also reproduce this problem as starting sometime in early January (i.e., with all relevant scripts, code, binary versions, and procedures unchanged on my side). I'm guessing #15246 is related.

[yan12125]

Fixed! Thanks for the examples.

[HiradNikoo]

I've got the exact problem. I've got two servers one in Germany and one in France when I try from server from Germany it is totally fine and the result is OK. But when I try from France server I get the error: "YouTube said: Invalid parameters"
The video I tried was this: "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KiKEB5guoY"

When I checked the video via browser I found out that the video was available in Germany but not in france. So maybe you have my problem on your videos!

[yan12125]

@HiradNikoo: are you using version 2018.01.27? That version improves error messages.

[nardev]

Could be, i didn't try to confirm, but that youtube limits the IPs from data centers. For a quite some time, google, netflix, and other big services added that as the decision making info for providing services. That's why you can't get cheap VPS and make your proxy for netflix any more.

[ChildishGiant]

I'm getting this right now for a video that is geoblocked, but not in my country, where my request is coming from.

[unkn0wn-src]

Im getting this error anytime i try no matter wich link or id im using. Please help

[Svito-zar]

@yan12125 , I also have the same issue with any link and id. Could you please help with that?
My youtube-dl --version is 2018.03.14

[llacb47]

Update your youtube-dl...

[yan12125]

I picked a random video (EXaLvBGqQww) and downloading works fine with version 2020.07.28. Most likely recent issues (if any) are different from those in 2018. Please make sure you are using the latest version and create a new issue if needed.

Locked this one as the original issue from 2018 have been solved for a long time.