[ADN] How can I fix the subtitle support for the ADN extractor?

deekerman commented

2026-02-21 09:35:10 -05:00

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Originally created by @cchudant on GitHub (Aug 7, 2019).

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I'm asking a question
I've looked through the README and FAQ for similar questions
I've searched the bugtracker for similar questions including closed ones

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Hello!
I want to fix the subtitle support in adn.py.
The current situation is explained in #12724. Right now, there is a key hardcoded here in the code:

bytes_to_intlist(binascii.unhexlify(self._K + '4b8ef13ec1872730')),

This key changes every day, so poeple have been modifying the extractor code in their installation to get the subtitle extraction working -- and they have been changing the key every day. This is obviously not user friendly.

Youtubedl should automatically get the key as part of the subtitle retrieval process, and that is what I want to implement.
I know I need a JS Interpreter since the remote JS file that has the key changes every day and you can't easily get it with a regex or something similar because the key doesn't appear in the code; it is the result of an obfuscated js computation.

Should I use PhantomJS or another interpreter to do it?

I've found that you can get the key by executing

videojs.players["adn-video-js"].onChromecastCustomData().key

when an episode page is loaded. That's kinda hacky but it works :p

There are many more ways to do it (like proxying the CryptoJS object before the dom load event)
but I found no easier way than that, because the variable is deeply nested in obfuscated code.

More importantly; this code uses calls to videojs (one of the dependencies ADN uses) so I think this code won't break for while.

Thank you!

Originally created by @cchudant on GitHub (Aug 7, 2019).  ## Checklist  - [x] I'm asking a question - [x] I've looked through the README and FAQ for similar questions - [x] I've searched the bugtracker for similar questions including closed ones ## Question  Hello! I want to fix the subtitle support in [`adn.py`](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl/blob/master/youtube_dl/extractor/adn.py). The current situation is explained in #12724. Right now, there is a key hardcoded [here](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl/blob/master/youtube_dl/extractor/adn.py#L76) in the code: ```py bytes_to_intlist(binascii.unhexlify(self._K + '4b8ef13ec1872730')), ``` This key changes every day, so poeple have been modifying the extractor code in their installation to get the subtitle extraction working -- and they have been changing the key every day. This is obviously not user friendly. Youtubedl should automatically get the key as part of the subtitle retrieval process, and that is what I want to implement. I know I need a JS Interpreter since the remote JS file that has the key changes every day and you can't easily get it with a regex or something similar because the key doesn't appear in the code; it is the result of an obfuscated js computation. Should I use PhantomJS or another interpreter to do it? I've found that you can get the key by executing ```js videojs.players["adn-video-js"].onChromecastCustomData().key ``` when an episode page is loaded. That's kinda hacky but it works :p There are many more ways to do it (like proxying the `CryptoJS` object before the dom `load` event) but I found no easier way than that, because the variable is deeply nested in obfuscated code. More importantly; this code uses calls to [videojs](https://videojs.com/) (one of the dependencies ADN uses) so I think this code won't break for while. Thank you!

deekerman added the

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2026-02-21 09:35:10 -05:00

deekerman commented

2026-02-21 09:35:13 -05:00

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@ghost commented on GitHub (Aug 13, 2019):

Why do you wanna add something that's already supported by youtube-dl ? You just need to type
--write-sub --sub-lang "fr" or --write-sub --sub-lang "vf" to get them.

I should have read before posting a comment, your method of getting the key is quite nice, but could it be integrated into youtube-dl in any way? The last time someone asked for the key to be changed automatically every day, it was a categorical refusal.

@ghost commented on GitHub (Aug 13, 2019): Why do you wanna add something that's already supported by youtube-dl ? You just need to type ```--write-sub --sub-lang "fr" or --write-sub --sub-lang "vf"``` to get them. I should have read before posting a comment, your method of getting the key is quite nice, but could it be integrated into youtube-dl in any way? The last time someone asked for the key to be changed automatically every day, it was a categorical refusal.

deekerman commented

2026-02-21 09:35:13 -05:00

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@cchudant commented on GitHub (Aug 13, 2019):

@Asusagawa The key changes automatically every day
You could use a regex but the obfuscated JS code changes everyday, so what we really need here is to use a JS interpreter -- to execute the obfuscated Javascript where the key generation is done; and get the key.

I mentionned PhantomJS because the Openload extractor uses it. It is a scriptable headless browser, meaning it is a browser that has no interface and you can control it using python. (if you are familiar with Puppeteer; it is exactly the same thing)
This way, you can execute javascript as a normal user would.

I don't really know exactly how PhantomJS is used in the openload extractor, but I see it as a pretty good solution for this problem.

The last time someone asked for the key to be changed automatically every day, it was a categorical refusal

could you please show me where you read this?

Thank you!

@cchudant commented on GitHub (Aug 13, 2019): @Asusagawa The key changes automatically every day You could use a regex but the obfuscated JS code changes everyday, so what we really need here is to use a JS interpreter -- to execute the obfuscated Javascript where the key generation is done; and get the key. I mentionned PhantomJS because the [Openload extractor uses it](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl/blob/master/youtube_dl/extractor/openload.py#L58). It is a scriptable headless browser, meaning it is a browser that has no interface and you can control it using python. (if you are familiar with [Puppeteer](https://github.com/GoogleChrome/puppeteer); it is exactly the same thing) This way, you can execute javascript as a normal user would. I don't really know exactly how PhantomJS is used in the openload extractor, but I see it as a pretty good solution for this problem. > The last time someone asked for the key to be changed automatically every day, it was a categorical refusal could you please show me where you read this? Thank you!

deekerman commented

2026-02-21 09:35:13 -05:00

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@ghost commented on GitHub (Aug 14, 2019):

The key changes automatically every day
You could use a regex but the obfuscated JS code changes everyday, so what we really need here is to use a JS interpreter -- to execute the obfuscated Javascript where the key generation is done; and get the key.

Yeah, I know, I've got a modified extractor to do that.

I mentionned PhantomJS because the Openload extractor uses it. It is a scriptable headless browser, meaning it is a browser that has no interface and you can control it using python. (if you are familiar with Puppeteer; it is exactly the same thing)
This way, you can execute javascript as a normal user would.

I don't really know exactly how PhantomJS is used in the openload extractor, but I see it as a pretty good solution for this problem.

Should be a great idea if it's accepted.

could you please show me where you read this?

Can't find it anymore but pretty sure that I've read this somewhere.

@ghost commented on GitHub (Aug 14, 2019): > The key changes automatically every day You could use a regex but the obfuscated JS code changes everyday, so what we really need here is to use a JS interpreter -- to execute the obfuscated Javascript where the key generation is done; and get the key. Yeah, I know, I've got a modified extractor to do that. > I mentionned PhantomJS because the Openload extractor uses it. It is a scriptable headless browser, meaning it is a browser that has no interface and you can control it using python. (if you are familiar with Puppeteer; it is exactly the same thing) This way, you can execute javascript as a normal user would. > I don't really know exactly how PhantomJS is used in the openload extractor, but I see it as a pretty good solution for this problem. Should be a great idea if it's accepted. > could you please show me where you read this? Can't find it anymore but pretty sure that I've read this somewhere.

deekerman commented

2026-02-21 09:35:13 -05:00

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@cchudant commented on GitHub (Aug 14, 2019):

Yeah, I know, I've got a modified extractor to do that.

do you mean it is supporting key changes?

@cchudant commented on GitHub (Aug 14, 2019): > Yeah, I know, I've got a modified extractor to do that. do you mean it is supporting key changes?

deekerman commented

2026-02-21 09:35:13 -05:00

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@ghost commented on GitHub (Aug 14, 2019):

do you mean it is supporting key changes?

Yes, it'll change the key in the adn.py file if needed automatically.

@ghost commented on GitHub (Aug 14, 2019): > do you mean it is supporting key changes? Yes, it'll change the key in the adn.py file if needed automatically.

deekerman commented

2026-02-21 09:35:13 -05:00

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@cchudant commented on GitHub (Aug 14, 2019):

so you basically have an external program/script that changes the adn.py file
that's a strange but interesting way to solve the problem; what i meant was to have the script itself get the key without modifying any file

@cchudant commented on GitHub (Aug 14, 2019): so you basically have an external program/script that changes the adn.py file that's a strange but interesting way to solve the problem; what i meant was to have the script itself get the key without modifying any file

deekerman commented

2026-02-21 09:35:13 -05:00

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@cchudant commented on GitHub (Aug 15, 2019):

I edited the issue too make it more clear.

@remitamine sorry for the mention; but I think you might be able to help me here
I don't want to start implementing something when you might have a better alternative or prefer using another interpreter
Thank you!

@cchudant commented on GitHub (Aug 15, 2019): I edited the issue too make it more clear. @remitamine sorry for the mention; but I think you might be able to help me here I don't want to start implementing something when you might have a better alternative or prefer using another interpreter Thank you!

deekerman commented

2026-02-21 09:35:14 -05:00

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@remitamine commented on GitHub (Aug 15, 2019):

it's fine to use PhantomJS(using the common code from openload.py) if it's available to automatically get the second part of the key.

@remitamine commented on GitHub (Aug 15, 2019): it's fine to use PhantomJS(using the common code from `openload.py`) if it's available to automatically get the second part of the key.

deekerman commented

2026-02-21 09:35:14 -05:00

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@cchudant commented on GitHub (Aug 15, 2019):

Thank you!! I'll post my questions here if I have any during implementation.
I'll do a PR ASAP!

@cchudant commented on GitHub (Aug 15, 2019): Thank you!! I'll post my questions here if I have any during implementation. I'll do a PR ASAP!

deekerman commented

2026-02-21 09:35:14 -05:00

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@cchudant commented on GitHub (Aug 18, 2019):

PR is here #22150!

@cchudant commented on GitHub (Aug 18, 2019): PR is here #22150!

deekerman commented

2026-02-21 09:35:14 -05:00

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@PR3D4T0R8778 commented on GitHub (Dec 23, 2019):

What is this ?

https://subtitle1.animedigitalnetwork.fr/4HlcBFY5ow7uAP%2BWFXEmgEw7QDsSAdc1FfuaYDwpBJxSaL9Eb5EvlLyobemEb1u5pFMXwYJ9yZwaapxcY_THGNFo7nXq_WC%2BJkwyBKQyjHDRnmBa0j5_EGKlnB5s2aBqHk03Cd2n0n6QPwjgrp4OLIS_8ysXMqk35fXPmCUWUw0%3D-lXQf11w84g4UNpu4SOwTdQ%3D%3D.json

and :

{links: {vostf: {,…}}, video: {id: "10210",…},…}
links: {vostf: {,…}}
video: {id: "10210",…}
meta: {title: "BORUTO - NARUTO NEXT GENERATIONS - Épisode 137",…}
savedCurrentTime: "468"
subtitles: "//animedigitalnetwork.fr/loadbalance/subtitles/4HlcBFY5ow7uAP%2BWFXEmgEw7QDsSAdc1FfuaYDwpBJxSaL9Eb5EvlLyobemEb1u5pFMXwYJ9yZwaapxcY_THGNFo7nXq_WC%2BJkwyBKQyjHDRnmBa0j5_EGKlnB5s2aBqHk03Cd2n0n6QPwjgrp4OLIS_8ysXMqk35fXPmCUWUw0%3D-lXQf11w84g4UNpu4SOwTdQ%3D%3D.json"
previousVideoUrl: "/index.php?option=com_vodvideo&task=player.videos&format=raw&fulllinks=1&free=1&video=10209"

@PR3D4T0R8778 commented on GitHub (Dec 23, 2019): What is this ? https://subtitle1.animedigitalnetwork.fr/4HlcBFY5ow7uAP%2BWFXEmgEw7QDsSAdc1FfuaYDwpBJxSaL9Eb5EvlLyobemEb1u5pFMXwYJ9yZwaapxcY_THGNFo7nXq_WC%2BJkwyBKQyjHDRnmBa0j5_EGKlnB5s2aBqHk03Cd2n0n6QPwjgrp4OLIS_8ysXMqk35fXPmCUWUw0%3D-lXQf11w84g4UNpu4SOwTdQ%3D%3D.json and : {links: {vostf: {,…}}, video: {id: "10210",…},…} links: {vostf: {,…}} video: {id: "10210",…} meta: {title: "BORUTO - NARUTO NEXT GENERATIONS - Épisode 137",…} savedCurrentTime: "468" subtitles: "//animedigitalnetwork.fr/loadbalance/subtitles/4HlcBFY5ow7uAP%2BWFXEmgEw7QDsSAdc1FfuaYDwpBJxSaL9Eb5EvlLyobemEb1u5pFMXwYJ9yZwaapxcY_THGNFo7nXq_WC%2BJkwyBKQyjHDRnmBa0j5_EGKlnB5s2aBqHk03Cd2n0n6QPwjgrp4OLIS_8ysXMqk35fXPmCUWUw0%3D-lXQf11w84g4UNpu4SOwTdQ%3D%3D.json" previousVideoUrl: "/index.php?option=com_vodvideo&task=player.videos&format=raw&fulllinks=1&free=1&video=10209"

deekerman commented

2026-02-21 09:35:14 -05:00

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@gamersalpha commented on GitHub (Apr 26, 2020):

Hello there i thinks this my problem here :

so i try to get subtiles from ADN video :

i got to try :
on with python 2


stagiaire@srv-web-01:~$ youtube-dl -v --write-sub https://animedigitalnetwork.fr/video/naruto/4189-episode-1-et-voici-naruto-uzumaki
[debug] System config: []
[debug] User config: []
[debug] Custom config: []
[debug] Command-line args: [u'-v', u'--write-sub', u'https://animedigitalnetwork.fr/video/naruto/4189-episode-1-et-voici-naruto-uzumaki']
[debug] Encodings: locale UTF-8, fs UTF-8, out UTF-8, pref UTF-8
[debug] youtube-dl version 2020.03.24
[debug] Python version 2.7.17 (CPython) - Linux-4.15.0-96-generic-x86_64-with-Ubuntu-18.04-bionic
[debug] exe versions: ffmpeg 3.4.6, ffprobe 3.4.6
[debug] Proxy map: {}
[ADN] 4189: Downloading webpage
[ADN] 4189: Downloading player config JSON metadata
[ADN] 4189: Downloading links JSON metadata
[ADN] 4189: Downloading vostf mobile JSON metadata
[ADN] 4189: Downloading m3u8 information
[ADN] 4189: Downloading vostf sd JSON metadata
[ADN] 4189: Downloading m3u8 information
[ADN] 4189: Downloading subtitles location
[ADN] 4189: Downloading subtitles data
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/lib/python2.7/runpy.py", line 174, in _run_module_as_main
    "__main__", fname, loader, pkg_name)
  File "/usr/lib/python2.7/runpy.py", line 72, in _run_code
    exec code in run_globals
  File "/usr/local/bin/youtube-dl/__main__.py", line 19, in <module>
  File "/usr/local/bin/youtube-dl/youtube_dl/__init__.py", line 474, in main
  File "/usr/local/bin/youtube-dl/youtube_dl/__init__.py", line 464, in _real_main
  File "/usr/local/bin/youtube-dl/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py", line 2019, in download
  File "/usr/local/bin/youtube-dl/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py", line 797, in extract_info
  File "/usr/local/bin/youtube-dl/youtube_dl/extractor/common.py", line 530, in extract
  File "/usr/local/bin/youtube-dl/youtube_dl/extractor/adn.py", line 204, in _real_extract
  File "/usr/local/bin/youtube-dl/youtube_dl/extractor/common.py", line 2892, in extract_subtitles
  File "/usr/local/bin/youtube-dl/youtube_dl/extractor/adn.py", line 80, in _get_subtitles
UnicodeDecodeError: 'ascii' codec can't decode byte 0xf4 in position 0: ordinal not in range(128)

and the second with python 3

stagiaire@web-02:/usr/local/bin$ youtube-dl -v --write-sub https://animedigitalnetwork.fr/video/naruto/4189-episode-1-et-voici-naruto-uzumaki
[debug] System config: []
[debug] User config: []
[debug] Custom config: []
[debug] Command-line args: ['-v', '--write-sub', 'https://animedigitalnetwork.fr/video/naruto/4189-episode-1-et-voici-naruto-uzumaki']
[debug] Encodings: locale UTF-8, fs utf-8, out utf-8, pref UTF-8
[debug] youtube-dl version 2020.03.24
[debug] Python version 3.8.2 (CPython) - Linux-5.4.0-26-generic-x86_64-with-glibc2.29
[debug] exe versions: none
[debug] Proxy map: {}
[ADN] 4189: Downloading webpage
[ADN] 4189: Downloading player config JSON metadata
[ADN] 4189: Downloading links JSON metadata
[ADN] 4189: Downloading vostf mobile JSON metadata
[ADN] 4189: Downloading m3u8 information
[ADN] 4189: Downloading vostf sd JSON metadata
[ADN] 4189: Downloading m3u8 information
[ADN] 4189: Downloading subtitles location
[ADN] 4189: Downloading subtitles data
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/lib/python3.8/runpy.py", line 193, in _run_module_as_main
    return _run_code(code, main_globals, None,
  File "/usr/lib/python3.8/runpy.py", line 86, in _run_code
    exec(code, run_globals)
  File "/usr/local/bin/youtube-dl/__main__.py", line 19, in <module>
  File "/usr/local/bin/youtube-dl/youtube_dl/__init__.py", line 474, in main
  File "/usr/local/bin/youtube-dl/youtube_dl/__init__.py", line 464, in _real_main
  File "/usr/local/bin/youtube-dl/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py", line 2018, in download
  File "/usr/local/bin/youtube-dl/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py", line 797, in extract_info
  File "/usr/local/bin/youtube-dl/youtube_dl/extractor/common.py", line 530, in extract
  File "/usr/local/bin/youtube-dl/youtube_dl/extractor/adn.py", line 204, in _real_extract
  File "/usr/local/bin/youtube-dl/youtube_dl/extractor/common.py", line 2892, in extract_subtitles
  File "/usr/local/bin/youtube-dl/youtube_dl/extractor/adn.py", line 80, in _get_subtitles
UnicodeDecodeError: 'utf-8' codec can't decode byte 0xb4 in position 2: invalid start byte

i got the same error

UnicodeDecodeError: 'utf-8' codec can't decode byte 0xb4 in position 2: invalid start byte

do u know how fix this

thanks

@gamersalpha commented on GitHub (Apr 26, 2020): Hello there i thinks this my problem here : so i try to get subtiles from ADN video : i got to try : on with python 2 ``` stagiaire@srv-web-01:~$ youtube-dl -v --write-sub https://animedigitalnetwork.fr/video/naruto/4189-episode-1-et-voici-naruto-uzumaki [debug] System config: [] [debug] User config: [] [debug] Custom config: [] [debug] Command-line args: [u'-v', u'--write-sub', u'https://animedigitalnetwork.fr/video/naruto/4189-episode-1-et-voici-naruto-uzumaki'] [debug] Encodings: locale UTF-8, fs UTF-8, out UTF-8, pref UTF-8 [debug] youtube-dl version 2020.03.24 [debug] Python version 2.7.17 (CPython) - Linux-4.15.0-96-generic-x86_64-with-Ubuntu-18.04-bionic [debug] exe versions: ffmpeg 3.4.6, ffprobe 3.4.6 [debug] Proxy map: {} [ADN] 4189: Downloading webpage [ADN] 4189: Downloading player config JSON metadata [ADN] 4189: Downloading links JSON metadata [ADN] 4189: Downloading vostf mobile JSON metadata [ADN] 4189: Downloading m3u8 information [ADN] 4189: Downloading vostf sd JSON metadata [ADN] 4189: Downloading m3u8 information [ADN] 4189: Downloading subtitles location [ADN] 4189: Downloading subtitles data Traceback (most recent call last): File "/usr/lib/python2.7/runpy.py", line 174, in _run_module_as_main "__main__", fname, loader, pkg_name) File "/usr/lib/python2.7/runpy.py", line 72, in _run_code exec code in run_globals File "/usr/local/bin/youtube-dl/__main__.py", line 19, in <module> File "/usr/local/bin/youtube-dl/youtube_dl/__init__.py", line 474, in main File "/usr/local/bin/youtube-dl/youtube_dl/__init__.py", line 464, in _real_main File "/usr/local/bin/youtube-dl/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py", line 2019, in download File "/usr/local/bin/youtube-dl/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py", line 797, in extract_info File "/usr/local/bin/youtube-dl/youtube_dl/extractor/common.py", line 530, in extract File "/usr/local/bin/youtube-dl/youtube_dl/extractor/adn.py", line 204, in _real_extract File "/usr/local/bin/youtube-dl/youtube_dl/extractor/common.py", line 2892, in extract_subtitles File "/usr/local/bin/youtube-dl/youtube_dl/extractor/adn.py", line 80, in _get_subtitles UnicodeDecodeError: 'ascii' codec can't decode byte 0xf4 in position 0: ordinal not in range(128) ``` and the second with python 3 ``` stagiaire@web-02:/usr/local/bin$ youtube-dl -v --write-sub https://animedigitalnetwork.fr/video/naruto/4189-episode-1-et-voici-naruto-uzumaki [debug] System config: [] [debug] User config: [] [debug] Custom config: [] [debug] Command-line args: ['-v', '--write-sub', 'https://animedigitalnetwork.fr/video/naruto/4189-episode-1-et-voici-naruto-uzumaki'] [debug] Encodings: locale UTF-8, fs utf-8, out utf-8, pref UTF-8 [debug] youtube-dl version 2020.03.24 [debug] Python version 3.8.2 (CPython) - Linux-5.4.0-26-generic-x86_64-with-glibc2.29 [debug] exe versions: none [debug] Proxy map: {} [ADN] 4189: Downloading webpage [ADN] 4189: Downloading player config JSON metadata [ADN] 4189: Downloading links JSON metadata [ADN] 4189: Downloading vostf mobile JSON metadata [ADN] 4189: Downloading m3u8 information [ADN] 4189: Downloading vostf sd JSON metadata [ADN] 4189: Downloading m3u8 information [ADN] 4189: Downloading subtitles location [ADN] 4189: Downloading subtitles data Traceback (most recent call last): File "/usr/lib/python3.8/runpy.py", line 193, in _run_module_as_main return _run_code(code, main_globals, None, File "/usr/lib/python3.8/runpy.py", line 86, in _run_code exec(code, run_globals) File "/usr/local/bin/youtube-dl/__main__.py", line 19, in <module> File "/usr/local/bin/youtube-dl/youtube_dl/__init__.py", line 474, in main File "/usr/local/bin/youtube-dl/youtube_dl/__init__.py", line 464, in _real_main File "/usr/local/bin/youtube-dl/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py", line 2018, in download File "/usr/local/bin/youtube-dl/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py", line 797, in extract_info File "/usr/local/bin/youtube-dl/youtube_dl/extractor/common.py", line 530, in extract File "/usr/local/bin/youtube-dl/youtube_dl/extractor/adn.py", line 204, in _real_extract File "/usr/local/bin/youtube-dl/youtube_dl/extractor/common.py", line 2892, in extract_subtitles File "/usr/local/bin/youtube-dl/youtube_dl/extractor/adn.py", line 80, in _get_subtitles UnicodeDecodeError: 'utf-8' codec can't decode byte 0xb4 in position 2: invalid start byte ``` i got the same error UnicodeDecodeError: 'utf-8' codec can't decode byte 0xb4 in position 2: invalid start byte do u know how fix this thanks

deekerman commented

2026-02-21 09:35:14 -05:00

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@PierreC93 commented on GitHub (Apr 14, 2021):

i want to fix this too :(

@PierreC93 commented on GitHub (Apr 14, 2021): i want to fix this too :(

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[ADN] How can I fix the subtitle support for the ADN extractor? #17619

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