CrunchyRoll HardSub videos are not available to download when using a premium account

Checklist

• I’m reporting a broken site
• I’ve verified that I’m running yt-dlp version 2022.04.08 (update instructions) or later (specify commit)
• I’ve checked that all provided URLs are alive and playable in a browser
• I’ve checked that all URLs and arguments with special characters are properly quoted or escaped
• I’ve searched the bugtracker for similar issues including closed ones. DO NOT post duplicates
• I’ve read the guidelines for opening an issue
• I’ve read about sharing account credentials and I’m willing to share it if required

Region

US

Description

Since support has been added for the beta.crunchyroll.com site, HardSub video options only show up for free user options. This is demonstrated by the first section of the verbose log output. When using a premium account, the HardSub video formats no longer show up as an option to download. This is demonstrated by the second section of the verbose log output.

I simply used a blank cookie file for the first section and replaced it with a valid cookie file for the second section. This happens when using the English Dub episode links. I have not tried others. The HardSub formats are not available for all dubbed videos but are available for most newer releases. This is not a difference between premium content versus free content. The same episode link was used in both sections, so in this case, it’s the same content.

You can see that it downloads all content information in the first section

 [crunchyroll] 842078: Downloading webpage
 [crunchyroll] 842078: Downloading adaptive_hls-audio-enUS information
 [crunchyroll] 842078: Downloading adaptive_hls-audio-enUS-hardsub-enUS information

But it only downloads some of the content information in the second section using a premium account

 [crunchyroll:beta] Retrieving main page
 [crunchyroll:beta] Authenticating with cookie
 [crunchyroll:beta] Retrieving signed policy
 [crunchyroll:beta] bear-hunting-a-queen-a-bath-and-monsters: Retrieving episode metadata
 [crunchyroll:beta] bear-hunting-a-queen-a-bath-and-monsters: Retrieving stream info
 [crunchyroll:beta] bear-hunting-a-queen-a-bath-and-monsters: Downloading adaptive_hls information

I tried to be as thorough as possible, but this is my first time reporting here. Please let me know if you need any additional information. Attached is a screenshot of a non-verbose output for an example. The verbose output was pasted in the box provided

.

Verbose log

[debug] Command-line config: ['-vU', '-F', '--cookies', 'cookies-crunchyroll-com.txt', '-a', 'Links.txt']
[debug] Batch file urls: ['https://beta.crunchyroll.com/watch/GZ7UV0315/bear-hunting-a-queen-a-bath-and-monsters']
[debug] Encodings: locale cp1252, fs utf-8, out utf-8, err utf-8, pref cp1252
[debug] yt-dlp version 2022.04.08 [7884ade] (win_exe)
[debug] Python version 3.8.10 (CPython 64bit) - Windows-10-10.0.19043-SP0
[debug] Checking exe version: ffmpeg -bsfs
[debug] Checking exe version: ffprobe -bsfs
[debug] exe versions: ffmpeg 4.4-full_build-www.gyan.dev (setts), ffprobe 4.4-full_build-www.gyan.dev
[debug] Optional libraries: brotli, certifi, Cryptodome, mutagen, sqlite, websockets
[debug] Proxy map: {}
Latest version: 2022.04.08, Current version: 2022.04.08
yt-dlp is up to date (2022.04.08)
[debug] [crunchyroll:beta] Extracting URL: https://beta.crunchyroll.com/watch/GZ7UV0315/bear-hunting-a-queen-a-bath-and-monsters
[crunchyroll:beta] bear-hunting-a-queen-a-bath-and-monsters: Downloading webpage
[crunchyroll:beta] bear-hunting-a-queen-a-bath-and-monsters: Not logged in. Redirecting to non-beta site - https://www.crunchyroll.com/in-the-land-of-leadale/bear-hunting-a-queen-a-bath-and-monsters-842078
[debug] [crunchyroll] Extracting URL: https://www.crunchyroll.com/in-the-land-of-leadale/bear-hunting-a-queen-a-bath-and-monsters-842078
[crunchyroll] 842078: Downloading webpage
[crunchyroll] 842078: Downloading adaptive_hls-audio-enUS information
[crunchyroll] 842078: Downloading adaptive_hls-audio-enUS-hardsub-enUS information
[debug] Formats sorted by: hasvid, ie_pref, lang, quality, res, fps, hdr:12(7), vcodec:vp9.2(10), acodec, filesize, fs_approx, tbr, vbr, abr, asr, proto, vext, aext, hasaud, source, id
[crunchyroll] 842078: Downloading media info
WARNING: [crunchyroll] Unable to download XML: HTTP Error 404: Not Found
[info] Available formats for 842078:
ID                                          EXT RESOLUTION FPS │   TBR PROTO  │ VCODEC        VBR ACODEC    ABR MORE INFO
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
adaptive_hls-audio-enUS-hardsub-enUS-561-0  mp4 428x240     23 │  561k m3u8_n │ avc1.42c015  561k mp4a.40.2  0k [enUS]
adaptive_hls-audio-enUS-hardsub-enUS-561-1  mp4 428x240     23 │  561k m3u8_n │ avc1.42c015  561k mp4a.40.2  0k [enUS]
adaptive_hls-audio-enUS-hardsub-enUS-1092-0 mp4 640x360     23 │ 1092k m3u8_n │ avc1.4d401e 1092k mp4a.40.2  0k [enUS]
adaptive_hls-audio-enUS-hardsub-enUS-1092-1 mp4 640x360     23 │ 1092k m3u8_n │ avc1.4d401e 1092k mp4a.40.2  0k [enUS]
adaptive_hls-audio-enUS-hardsub-enUS-2092-0 mp4 848x480     23 │ 2092k m3u8_n │ avc1.4d401f 2092k mp4a.40.2  0k [enUS]
adaptive_hls-audio-enUS-hardsub-enUS-2092-1 mp4 848x480     23 │ 2092k m3u8_n │ avc1.4d401f 2092k mp4a.40.2  0k [enUS]
adaptive_hls-audio-enUS-hardsub-enUS-4108-0 mp4 1280x720    23 │ 4108k m3u8_n │ avc1.640028 4108k mp4a.40.2  0k [enUS]
adaptive_hls-audio-enUS-hardsub-enUS-4108-1 mp4 1280x720    23 │ 4108k m3u8_n │ avc1.640028 4108k mp4a.40.2  0k [enUS]
adaptive_hls-audio-enUS-hardsub-enUS-8102-0 mp4 1920x1080   23 │ 8102k m3u8_n │ avc1.640028 8102k mp4a.40.2  0k [enUS]
adaptive_hls-audio-enUS-hardsub-enUS-8102-1 mp4 1920x1080   23 │ 8102k m3u8_n │ avc1.640028 8102k mp4a.40.2  0k [enUS]
adaptive_hls-audio-enUS-561-0               mp4 428x240     23 │  561k m3u8_n │ avc1.42c015  561k mp4a.40.2  0k [enUS]
adaptive_hls-audio-enUS-561-1               mp4 428x240     23 │  561k m3u8_n │ avc1.42c015  561k mp4a.40.2  0k [enUS]
adaptive_hls-audio-enUS-1092-0              mp4 640x360     23 │ 1092k m3u8_n │ avc1.4d401e 1092k mp4a.40.2  0k [enUS]
adaptive_hls-audio-enUS-1092-1              mp4 640x360     23 │ 1092k m3u8_n │ avc1.4d401e 1092k mp4a.40.2  0k [enUS]
adaptive_hls-audio-enUS-2092-0              mp4 848x480     23 │ 2092k m3u8_n │ avc1.4d401f 2092k mp4a.40.2  0k [enUS]
adaptive_hls-audio-enUS-2092-1              mp4 848x480     23 │ 2092k m3u8_n │ avc1.4d401f 2092k mp4a.40.2  0k [enUS]
adaptive_hls-audio-enUS-4108-0              mp4 1280x720    23 │ 4108k m3u8_n │ avc1.640028 4108k mp4a.40.2  0k [enUS]
adaptive_hls-audio-enUS-4108-1              mp4 1280x720    23 │ 4108k m3u8_n │ avc1.640028 4108k mp4a.40.2  0k [enUS]
adaptive_hls-audio-enUS-8103-0              mp4 1920x1080   23 │ 8103k m3u8_n │ avc1.640028 8103k mp4a.40.2  0k [enUS]
adaptive_hls-audio-enUS-8103-1              mp4 1920x1080   23 │ 8103k m3u8_n │ avc1.640028 8103k mp4a.40.2  0k [enUS]





[debug] Command-line config: ['-vU', '-F', '--cookies', 'cookies-crunchyroll-com.txt', '-a', 'Links.txt']
[debug] Batch file urls: ['https://beta.crunchyroll.com/watch/GZ7UV0315/bear-hunting-a-queen-a-bath-and-monsters']
[debug] Encodings: locale cp1252, fs utf-8, out utf-8, err utf-8, pref cp1252
[debug] yt-dlp version 2022.04.08 [7884ade] (win_exe)
[debug] Python version 3.8.10 (CPython 64bit) - Windows-10-10.0.19043-SP0
[debug] Checking exe version: ffmpeg -bsfs
[debug] Checking exe version: ffprobe -bsfs
[debug] exe versions: ffmpeg 4.4-full_build-www.gyan.dev (setts), ffprobe 4.4-full_build-www.gyan.dev
[debug] Optional libraries: brotli, certifi, Cryptodome, mutagen, sqlite, websockets
[debug] Proxy map: {}
Latest version: 2022.04.08, Current version: 2022.04.08
yt-dlp is up to date (2022.04.08)
[debug] [crunchyroll:beta] Extracting URL: https://beta.crunchyroll.com/watch/GZ7UV0315/bear-hunting-a-queen-a-bath-and-monsters
[crunchyroll:beta] Retrieving main page
[crunchyroll:beta] Authenticating with cookie
[crunchyroll:beta] Retrieving signed policy
[crunchyroll:beta] bear-hunting-a-queen-a-bath-and-monsters: Retrieving episode metadata
[crunchyroll:beta] bear-hunting-a-queen-a-bath-and-monsters: Retrieving stream info
[crunchyroll:beta] bear-hunting-a-queen-a-bath-and-monsters: Downloading adaptive_hls information
[debug] Formats sorted by: hasvid, ie_pref, lang, quality, res, fps, hdr:12(7), vcodec:vp9.2(10), acodec, filesize, fs_approx, tbr, vbr, abr, asr, proto, vext, aext, hasaud, source, id
[info] Available formats for GZ7UV0315:
ID                  EXT RESOLUTION FPS │   FILESIZE   TBR PROTO  │ VCODEC        VBR ACODEC    ABR MORE INFO
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
adaptive_hls-195-0  mp4 144x80      23 │ ~ 33.88MiB  195k m3u8_n │ avc1.42c00c  195k mp4a.40.2  0k [en-US]
adaptive_hls-195-1  mp4 144x80      23 │ ~ 33.88MiB  195k m3u8_n │ avc1.42c00c  195k mp4a.40.2  0k [en-US]
adaptive_hls-561-0  mp4 428x240     23 │ ~ 97.42MiB  561k m3u8_n │ avc1.42c015  561k mp4a.40.2  0k [en-US]
adaptive_hls-561-1  mp4 428x240     23 │ ~ 97.42MiB  561k m3u8_n │ avc1.42c015  561k mp4a.40.2  0k [en-US]
adaptive_hls-1092-0 mp4 640x360     23 │ ~189.36MiB 1092k m3u8_n │ avc1.4d401e 1092k mp4a.40.2  0k [en-US]
adaptive_hls-1092-1 mp4 640x360     23 │ ~189.36MiB 1092k m3u8_n │ avc1.4d401e 1092k mp4a.40.2  0k [en-US]
adaptive_hls-2092-0 mp4 848x480     23 │ ~362.70MiB 2092k m3u8_n │ avc1.4d401f 2092k mp4a.40.2  0k [en-US]
adaptive_hls-2092-1 mp4 848x480     23 │ ~362.70MiB 2092k m3u8_n │ avc1.4d401f 2092k mp4a.40.2  0k [en-US]
adaptive_hls-4108-0 mp4 1280x720    23 │ ~712.12MiB 4108k m3u8_n │ avc1.640028 4108k mp4a.40.2  0k [en-US]
adaptive_hls-4108-1 mp4 1280x720    23 │ ~712.12MiB 4108k m3u8_n │ avc1.640028 4108k mp4a.40.2  0k [en-US]
adaptive_hls-8103-0 mp4 1920x1080   23 │ ~  1.37GiB 8103k m3u8_n │ avc1.640028 8103k mp4a.40.2  0k [en-US]
adaptive_hls-8103-1 mp4 1920x1080   23 │ ~  1.37GiB 8103k m3u8_n │ avc1.640028 8103k mp4a.40.2  0k [en-US]

[tejing1]

So you can get english hardsub formats with --extractor-args crunchyrollbeta:hardsub=en-US, though generally I would use --sub-lang en-US --embed-subs to get softsubs instead, unless you have a player that deals poorly with the soft subs for some reason.

[tejing1]

I suspect the hardsubs are only in the api at all to support apps on platforms that have less featureful subtitle rendering abilities, since crunchyroll places subs over top of written text in the source material, matching the color and font and such. Subtitle renderers on some platforms may just throw all that text at the bottom of the screen, which would be a pretty bad viewing experience.