Hit and miss downloads from BBC iPlayer

[sirmarky]

This has been working for me since December, however in the past few days I have no longer been able to download programmes. Some download fine, some start and then crash out or do not start at all.

For example,

youtube-dl http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b04fmg8j/bright-lights-brilliant-minds-a-tale-of-three-cities-2-paris-1928
[bbc.co.uk] b04fmg8j: Downloading video page
[bbc.co.uk] b04fmg8j: Downloading JSON metadata
[bbc.co.uk] b052h6gq: Downloading media selection XML
[bbc.co.uk] b052h6gq: Downloading captions
[download] Destination: Bright Lights, Brilliant Minds - A Tale of Three Cities-b052h6gq.flv
[rtmpdump] 0 bytes

ERROR: rtmpdump exited with code 1

or

youtube-dl http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04fmg8j
[bbc.co.uk] b04fmg8j: Downloading video page
[bbc.co.uk] b04fmg8j: Downloading playlist JSON
[bbc.co.uk] b052nb73: Downloading media selection XML
[bbc.co.uk] b052nb73: Downloading captions
[download] Destination: Bright Lights, Brilliant Minds - A Tale of Three Cities, Paris 1928-b052nb73.flv
[download] 2.3% of ~1.31GiB at 2.00MiB/s ETA 10:44
[rtmpdump] 32342290 bytes
[download] 2.3% of ~1.31GiB at 1.09MiB/s ETA 11:03
[rtmpdump] Could not download the whole video. This can happen for some advertisements.
[rtmpdump] 32342290 bytes

[dstftw]

Post the full output you get when running with --verbose option.

[sirmarky]

youtube-dl --verbose http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04fmg8j
[debug] System config: []
[debug] User config: []
[debug] Command-line args: ['--verbose', 'http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04fmg8j']
[debug] Encodings: locale UTF-8, fs UTF-8, out UTF-8, pref UTF-8
[debug] youtube-dl version 2015.02.11
[debug] Python version 2.7.8 - Linux-3.16.0-30-generic-x86_64-with-Ubuntu-14.10-utopic
[debug] exe versions: avconv 11-6, avprobe 11-6, rtmpdump 2.4
[debug] Proxy map: {}
[bbc.co.uk] b04fmg8j: Downloading video page
[bbc.co.uk] b04fmg8j: Downloading playlist JSON
[bbc.co.uk] b052nb73: Downloading media selection XML
[bbc.co.uk] b052nb73: Downloading captions
[debug] Invoking downloader on u'rtmp://iplayertokfs.fplive.net/iplayertok?token=c3RhcnRfdGltZT0yMDE1MDIxNTA5MzAzOCZlbmRfdGltZT0yMDE1MDIxNTEzMzAzOCZkaWdlc3Q9YTBkOGNmZWE0ZWY2ZjIyMTkwMDNjN2VlN2E3NTcwYWE='
[download] Destination: Bright Lights, Brilliant Minds - A Tale of Three Cities, Paris 1928-b052nb73.flv
[debug] rtmpdump command line: rtmpdump --verbose -r 'rtmp://iplayertokfs.fplive.net/iplayertok?token=c3RhcnRfdGltZT0yMDE1MDIxNTA5MzAzOCZlbmRfdGltZT0yMDE1MDIxNTEzMzAzOCZkaWdlc3Q9YTBkOGNmZWE0ZWY2ZjIyMTkwMDNjN2VlN2E3NTcwYWE=' -o 'Bright Lights, Brilliant Minds - A Tale of Three Cities, Paris 1928-b052nb73.flv.part' --swfVfy http://www.bbc.co.uk/emp/releases/iplayer/revisions/617463_618125_4/617463_618125_4_emp.swf --pageUrl http://www.bbc.co.uk --app 'iplayertok?token=c3RhcnRfdGltZT0yMDE1MDIxNTA5MzAzOCZlbmRfdGltZT0yMDE1MDIxNTEzMzAzOCZkaWdlc3Q9YTBkOGNmZWE0ZWY2ZjIyMTkwMDNjN2VlN2E3NTcwYWE=' --playpath mp4:3200kbps/modav/bUnknown-37bd5dec-0625-42d2-bdfa-e5e300ab3a2f_b052nb73_1422629271915
[rtmpdump] RTMPDump v2.4
rtmpdump 2010 Andrej Stepanchuk, Howard Chu, The Flvstreamer Team; license: GPL
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: Parsing...
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: Parsed protocol: 0
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: Parsed host : iplayertokfs.fplive.net
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: Parsed app : iplayertok?token=c3RhcnRfdGltZT0yMDE1MDIxNTA5MzAzOCZlbmRfdGltZT0yMDE1MDIxNTEzMzAzOCZkaWdlc3Q9YTBkOGNmZWE0ZWY2ZjIyMTkwMDNjN2VlN2E3NTcwYWE=
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: Protocol : RTMP
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: Hostname : iplayertokfs.fplive.net
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: Port : 1935
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: Playpath : mp4:3200kbps/modav/bUnknown-37bd5dec-0625-42d2-bdfa-e5e300ab3a2f_b052nb73_1422629271915
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: tcUrl : rtmp://iplayertokfs.fplive.net:1935/iplayertok?token=c3RhcnRfdGltZT0yMDE1MDIxNTA5MzAzOCZlbmRfdGltZT0yMDE1MDIxNTEzMzAzOCZkaWdlc3Q9YTBkOGNmZWE0ZWY2ZjIyMTkwMDNjN2VlN2E3NTcwYWE=
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: swfUrl : http://www.bbc.co.uk/emp/releases/iplayer/revisions/617463_618125_4/617463_618125_4_emp.swf
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: pageUrl : http://www.bbc.co.uk
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: app : iplayertok?token=c3RhcnRfdGltZT0yMDE1MDIxNTA5MzAzOCZlbmRfdGltZT0yMDE1MDIxNTEzMzAzOCZkaWdlc3Q9YTBkOGNmZWE0ZWY2ZjIyMTkwMDNjN2VlN2E3NTcwYWE=
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: live : no
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: timeout : 30 sec
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: SWFSHA256:
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: b6 74 7f 89 f9 ec 6a 60 c1 a4 b5 8b b1 18 b0 fa
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: 65 18 86 24 c2 8a 1a a3 2f 72 0f 0b 80 59 dd 7f
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: SWFSize : 595316
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: Setting buffer time to: 36000000ms
[rtmpdump] Connecting ...
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: RTMP_Connect1, ... connected, handshaking
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: HandShake: Client type: 03
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: HandShake: Client digest offset: 430
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: HandShake: Initial client digest:
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: c7 77 8e 9e ae 7d 1e 64 43 83 fc f5 8d 5d 82 cb
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: 19 d3 ab d6 45 97 00 85 76 a1 61 4b 15 ca 3a 2c
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: HandShake: Type Answer : 03
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: HandShake: Server Uptime : 1135319953
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: HandShake: FMS Version : 4.5.3.1
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: HandShake: Calculated digest key from secure key and server digest:
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: c1 d3 e1 68 bd 90 91 c4 62 9f 8d 28 2c a0 a3 44
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: b6 e6 1f 8b 89 92 66 fc a2 5a 70 ec 2c ed c5 4f
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: HandShake: Client signature calculated:
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: 0f 89 ac 5c fc b8 6b 62 9c 67 61 50 48 bc 60 92
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: 1c 9e d0 9a 8e ad 67 5e d9 25 a5 83 d4 e2 31 7d
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: HandShake: Server sent signature:
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: bb c9 52 ed d1 94 4b 55 4c 16 0a 9a 9f 7b 65 09
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: 73 ac 38 69 07 0f a0 3e 16 40 57 ee 77 3b d5 14
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: HandShake: Digest key:
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: f8 a1 bc 8a 2a 10 e4 9a 51 86 11 60 13 ec 68 d8
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: d4 7f 75 54 6b 90 3d 3a f0 30 ed b0 17 e0 4c 31
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: HandShake: Signature calculated:
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: bb c9 52 ed d1 94 4b 55 4c 16 0a 9a 9f 7b 65 09
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: 73 ac 38 69 07 0f a0 3e 16 40 57 ee 77 3b d5 14
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: HandShake: Genuine Adobe Flash Media Server
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: HandShake: Handshaking finished....
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: RTMP_Connect1, handshaked
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: Invoking connect
[rtmpdump] INFO: Connected...
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: HandleServerBW: server BW = 2500000
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: HandleClientBW: client BW = 2500000 2
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: HandleChangeChunkSize, received: chunk size change to 16384
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: RTMP_ClientPacket, received: invoke 240 bytes
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: (object begin)
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: (object begin)
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: Property: <Name: fmsVer, STRING: FMS/4,5,3,101>
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: Property: <Name: capabilities, NUMBER: 255.00>
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: Property: <Name: mode, NUMBER: 1.00>
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: (object end)
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: (object begin)
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: Property: <Name: level, STRING: status>
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: Property: <Name: code, STRING: NetConnection.Connect.Success>
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: Property: <Name: description, STRING: Connection succeeded.>
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: Property: <Name: objectEncoding, NUMBER: 0.00>
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: Property: <Name: data, ECMA_ARRAY>
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: (object begin)
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: Property: <Name: version, STRING: 4,5,3,101>
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: (object end)
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: (object end)
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: (object end)
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: HandleInvoke, server invoking <_result>
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: HandleInvoke, received result for method call
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: sending ctrl. type: 0x0003
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: Invoking createStream
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: RTMP_ClientPacket, received: invoke 21 bytes
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: (object begin)
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: Property: NULL
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: (object end)
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: HandleInvoke, server invoking
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: Invoking _checkbw
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: RTMP_ClientPacket, received: invoke 29 bytes
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: (object begin)
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: Property: NULL
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: (object end)
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: HandleInvoke, server invoking <_result>
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: HandleInvoke, received result for method call
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: SendPlay, seekTime=0, stopTime=0, sending play: mp4:3200kbps/modav/bUnknown-37bd5dec-0625-42d2-bdfa-e5e300ab3a2f_b052nb73_1422629271915
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: Invoking play
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: sending ctrl. type: 0x0003
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: RTMP_ClientPacket, received: invoke 16419 bytes
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: (object begin)
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: Property: NULL
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: (object end)
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: HandleInvoke, server invoking <_onbwcheck>
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: Invoking _result
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: HandleChangeChunkSize, received: chunk size change to 16384
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: RTMP_ClientPacket, received: invoke 121 bytes
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: (object begin)
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: Property: NULL
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: (object begin)
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: Property: <Name: level, STRING: error>
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: Property: <Name: code, STRING: NetStream.Failed>
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: Property: <Name: description, STRING: 206 Partial Content>
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: Property: <Name: clientid, STRING: pAATELFA>
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: (object end)
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: (object end)
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: HandleInvoke, server invoking
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: HandleInvoke, onStatus: NetStream.Failed
[rtmpdump] ERROR: Closing connection: NetStream.Failed
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: Closing connection.
[rtmpdump] 0 bytes
[rtmpdump] RTMPDump v2.4
rtmpdump 2010 Andrej Stepanchuk, Howard Chu, The Flvstreamer Team; license: GPL
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: Parsing...
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: Parsed protocol: 0
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: Parsed host : iplayertokfs.fplive.net
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: Parsed app : iplayertok?token=c3RhcnRfdGltZT0yMDE1MDIxNTA5MzAzOCZlbmRfdGltZT0yMDE1MDIxNTEzMzAzOCZkaWdlc3Q9YTBkOGNmZWE0ZWY2ZjIyMTkwMDNjN2VlN2E3NTcwYWE=
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: Number of skipped key frames for resume: 1
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: Protocol : RTMP
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: Hostname : iplayertokfs.fplive.net
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: Port : 1935
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: Playpath : mp4:3200kbps/modav/bUnknown-37bd5dec-0625-42d2-bdfa-e5e300ab3a2f_b052nb73_1422629271915
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: tcUrl : rtmp://iplayertokfs.fplive.net:1935/iplayertok?token=c3RhcnRfdGltZT0yMDE1MDIxNTA5MzAzOCZlbmRfdGltZT0yMDE1MDIxNTEzMzAzOCZkaWdlc3Q9YTBkOGNmZWE0ZWY2ZjIyMTkwMDNjN2VlN2E3NTcwYWE=
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: swfUrl : http://www.bbc.co.uk/emp/releases/iplayer/revisions/617463_618125_4/617463_618125_4_emp.swf
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: pageUrl : http://www.bbc.co.uk
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: app : iplayertok?token=c3RhcnRfdGltZT0yMDE1MDIxNTA5MzAzOCZlbmRfdGltZT0yMDE1MDIxNTEzMzAzOCZkaWdlc3Q9YTBkOGNmZWE0ZWY2ZjIyMTkwMDNjN2VlN2E3NTcwYWE=
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: live : no
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: timeout : 30 sec
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: SWFSHA256:
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: b6 74 7f 89 f9 ec 6a 60 c1 a4 b5 8b b1 18 b0 fa
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: 65 18 86 24 c2 8a 1a a3 2f 72 0f 0b 80 59 dd 7f
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: SWFSize : 595316
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: Failed to get last keyframe.
[rtmpdump] DEBUG: Closing connection.

ERROR: rtmpdump exited with code 1
File "/usr/bin/youtube-dl", line 6, in
youtube_dl.main()
File "/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/youtube_dl/init.py", line 388, in main
_real_main(argv)
File "/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/youtube_dl/init.py", line 378, in _real_main
retcode = ydl.download(all_urls)
File "/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py", line 1387, in download
res = self.extract_info(url)
File "/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py", line 644, in extract_info
return self.process_ie_result(ie_result, download, extra_info)
File "/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py", line 690, in process_ie_result
return self.process_video_result(ie_result, download=download)
File "/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py", line 1145, in process_video_result
self.process_info(new_info)
File "/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py", line 1320, in process_info
success = dl(filename, info_dict)
File "/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py", line 1295, in dl
return fd.download(name, info)
File "/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/youtube_dl/downloader/common.py", line 316, in download
return self.real_download(filename, info_dict)
File "/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/youtube_dl/downloader/rtmp.py", line 204, in real_download
self.report_error('rtmpdump exited with code %d' % retval)
File "/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/youtube_dl/downloader/common.py", line 151, in report_error
self.ydl.report_error(_args, *_kargs)
File "/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py", line 511, in report_error
self.trouble(error_message, tb)
File "/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py", line 473, in trouble
tb_data = traceback.format_list(traceback.extract_stack())

[dstftw]

Duplicate of #4828.
You can try downloading from different content supplier by specifying format code to -f, e.g. -f pc_streaming_hd_akamai. See -F for the full list.

[sirmarky]

Yes. That seems to work. Will I need to do that every time from now on?

[narmon]

Apparently, yes. I use youtube-GUI now so I don't have to type commands. See https://github.com/MrS0m30n3/youtube-dl-gui

In the prog, go to Options > Commands and paste in
-f pc_streaming_hd_akamai
or
-f iplayer_streaming_h264_flv_high_akamai
for standard definition, but without either of these, rtmpdump might exit with code 1.