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YouTube now disabled in Wii U 'net browser?

we have two explanations here:

- they already solved the problem
- the bug is not widespread across all their servers and it's just a matter of luck if their load balancer will send you to a broken one or not

Third... he didn't actually test the videos on a Wii U and thus his "test" only shows that there was no intentional locking out of videos on the Wii U (IE, it's a bug)

(edit) To be clear, he changed his browser's User Agent (basically, the string of code your web browser sends to a website so that it can send alternate pages if need be, see "mobile browsing") to make it look like Chrome was the Wii U browser to youtube.
 

nickcv

Member
Oh, so can we confirm that the problem is indeed a glitch and not something deliberate as a result of Google wanting to force us to use their dedicated YouTube app?

yes

Third... he didn't actually test the videos on a Wii U and thus his "test" only shows that there was no intentional locking out of videos on the Wii U (IE, it's a bug)

he sent the user agent, therefore for youtube that was a wii u
 
If you goto youtube.com/html5 in the browser, you'll see that it does detect compatability for everything HTML5 except WebM, and it will even acknowledge your HTML5 preference if you are signed in -- what it isn't doing though is serving that browser the page with a HTML5 embedded file. It did before, and this coincides with updates to the website and an update to the player app, so it could just be that their new page design isn't accounting for Wii Us / the NintendoBrowser UA like it did before.

As I posted, the interim fix / workaround for this is to search for a video as normal, and navigate to it as normal, then tap the Address bar on the gamepad. Delete "watch?v=" and replace it with "embed/" -- you should end up with a URL like www.youtube.com/embed/AIIxBUVqWKM -- you can send to the TV just as before and continue browsing other pages on the pad
 
If you goto youtube.com/html5 in the browser, you'll see that it does detect compatability for everything HTML5 except WebM, and it will even acknowledge your HTML5 preference if you are signed in -- what it isn't doing though is serving that browser the page with a HTML5 embedded file. It did before, and this coincides with updates to the website and an update to the player app, so it could just be that their new page design isn't accounting for Wii Us / the NintendoBrowser UA like it did before.

As I posted, the interim fix / workaround for this is to search for a video as normal, and navigate to it as normal, then tap the Address bar on the gamepad. Delete "watch?v=" and replace it with "embed/" -- you should end up with a URL like www.youtube.com/embed/AIIxBUVqWKM -- you can send to the TV just as before and continue browsing other pages on the pad

Very helpful, thanks! Hopefully we won't have to resort to this for too long. Did the Youtube app update add anything worthwhile?
 

11redder

Member
It's already being discussed on Google's product forums here, hopefully we'll get official word soon on what they plan to do if anything -

http://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/youtube/SLDH9oMBm1E

this post tells you how you can continue to view by altering the video URLs once you get there

Thanks for posting this workaround. I've become so used to listening to music on youtube while looking at other sites on the wii u browser that this was really beginning to get annoying.
 

majik13

Member
oh go fuck yourself

i put a theory forward for someone to test. Knob. Given recent Nintendo decisions, it could have been possible.

So yeah lets never test theories on gaf again? idiot

what recent nintendo decisions would make you think this?
 

M3d10n

Member
Probably Google trying to find more ways to put ads on the videos broke something. I noticed it's not always honoring the HTML5 settings and reverting back to Flash on my PC as well.
 

Lyonaz

Member
Boo, I hate the youtube app, can't even watch vids on the gamepad and the website was perfect. :(

Atleast Pornhub still works, so all is good.
 
This sucks. I loved to pause Mario go to browser and watch a vid of a trial, starcoin or whatever, then jump back to the game. I hope this get fixed soon.
 
Just posted this in the YouTube Miiverse community, I didn't have enough time to be more creative:

58000B37-AA04-43DB-9F08-0DB8452AE913-3772-00000541892030FA.jpg
 

ponpo

( ≖‿≖)
I hope no one seriously thought this was some Google conspiracy to force you to use the app instead of the browser.
 
Yeah, embeds work. Just click share and copy the embed source in the code it gives.

Still a jerk move, unintentional or not. The recent redesign is such a trainwreck in general.
 

wsippel

Banned
I hope no one seriously thought this was some Google conspiracy to force you to use the app instead of the browser.
Yeah, that's a truly asinine idea. Google doesn't give a fuck how you access their services, as long as you do. In fact, they would probably prefer people using the browser, as there are more ads on the website compared to the dedicated apps, and more ways to collect data from browser cookies, referrals and such. And Nintendo doesn't care either way. This is just a bug.
 

lobdale

3 ft, coiled to the sky
I really hope they get on this sooner rather than later. Even with the update the actual YouTube app is still too herky-jerky to be the go-to. And the fact that you can't dig around for other videos while one is playing makes it inferior to the browser easily.

Come on Internet, ditch this flash crap and give me the Wii U glorious future!
 
Yeah, that's a truly asinine idea. Google doesn't give a fuck how you access their services, as long as you do. In fact, they would probably prefer people using the browser, as there are more ads on the website compared to the dedicated apps, and more ways to collect data from browser cookies, referrals and such. And Nintendo doesn't care either way. This is just a bug.

If they "don't care how we access their sevices" and "probably prefer we use the browser" then they'll fix the error. We're talking about the error now, alright? I got past the "this was on purpose" mindset a long time ago once folks here discovered the bug. Chill.
 
Your "theory" doesn't make any sense, and doesn't hold up to any degree of scrutiny. If Nintendo didn't want adult content on the Wii U, then why have a web browser at all? You can just point it at whatever porn site and go nuts.

Or Netflix.

Or M rated games.

Seriously, what the hell was he on about?
 

Eusis

Member
Or Netflix.

Or M rated games.

Seriously, what the hell was he on about?
Or took on publishing duty for some of those M rated games.

Some people are amazing in how they still think Nintendo's that prudish, when at worst there's one exception (Binding of Isaac), and for all we know it needed to be properly redeveloped for handheld/console first as is happening with Nicalis.
 
It kind of sucks having to change the URL on every video. There is no way to just navigate without having ro edit one by one is it?

Unless Google/YouTube get off their butts and fix the bug, we'll probably have to wait for someone to make their own redirect style URL ala the old "Wii Tube" site.

I gotta say this really is irritating after the junk we went through with the Opera browser and endless Flash updates that eventually killed it from being a good option. Now, we finally get an awesome, high scoring HTML5 browser and no longer have to worry about Adobe but in the end that isn't quite enough because YouTube just can't stop screwing around with the site.


I tried to make my angry face as cute and politely militant as possible. :p
 

Emitan

Member
The Youtube app still refuses to even load my subscriptions. "No videos"? Really? Funny, when I look on the home page on my desktop I see 3 unwatched videos.
 
The Youtube app still refuses to even load my subscriptions. "No videos"? Really? Funny, when I look on the home page on my desktop I see 3 unwatched videos.
I thought that was just me! That's a common problem? Terrible. I use YT on the browser while doing my daily cardio... at least I used to. I'd have no problem using the app if it:

1. WORKED, AKA actually loaded my subscriptions. Wonder if it's a WebM issue...
2. Let you view videos on the game pad!
 
I'll second that it's a shame the app isnt a simple, usable solution. Google's entire YouTube app team just needs to be fired at this point. It's mind blowing how incompetent they are at designing a workable, straightforward app for the service.

Oh well, at least we have the URL workaround for now.
 
Somebody in that Google product forum linked earlier got the following response from NOA:

"Hello,

 

Thanks for contacting us. I'm sorry to hear about the problem you're having with the Wii U's Internet Browser; however, while we are aware of the issue, I'll be sure to forward your feedback to the appropriate departments for review. In the meantime, we recommend that you check out the YouTube application already available on the system. To find out more information, please visit our website through the link below:

   

http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/systems/wiiu/en_na/features_youtube.jsp
     

While I know this may not be what you were hoping to hear, we appreciate your understanding. If you have any further questions or concerns, please give us a call. You can contact our Consumer Service Department by calling 1-800-255-3700 any time between 6:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Pacific Time, seven days a week.

 

Sincerely,

 
Colleen Duffy
Nintendo of America Inc."
 

Alex

Member
The youtube app is the one they use on several devices and set top boxes. It is absolutely horrendous, it is missing so much stuff, so much information, has an awful layout and it consistently forgets your login info, forcing you to go get that stupid pairing code. You can tell it's a very makeshift solution to quickly getting Youtube on a variety of devices without doing much natively for any of them.

Why they can't just put on... say, the Android tablet Youtube app for consoles and other boxes is beyond me. It is very, very good...still, I need the browser version fixed, because more efficiently cheating in games is the main reason I'd need the browser or youtube on the Wii U!
 
Even with the patch to the Youtube App it's still as stuttery as ever with video... it is unacceptable

Same. Why is there even a difference? The browser was able to play back the videos perfectly, but the app is always pausing to buffer and when it actually manages to load playback isn't smooth at all.
 
Same. Why is there even a difference? The browser was able to play back the videos perfectly, but the app is always pausing to buffer and when it actually manages to load playback isn't smooth at all.

Seperate (B) team works on the apps versus the actual website. Obviously the website gets more hits and therefore is the primary focus. Not a GOOD excuse mind you, but it's their excuse.
 

Alex

Member
The revised website was pretty awful too. Especially on mobile, which is why the good Android app is a godsend.

On the Wii U it's even worse, trying to scroll your subscriptions with that little pop up bar? Fucking terrible. Google in general has been going to shit with some of their stuff lately, I've swapped off Chrome for both mobile and PC as well.
 

Game Guru

Member
Or took on publishing duty for some of those M rated games.

Some people are amazing in how they still think Nintendo's that prudish, when at worst there's one exception (Binding of Isaac), and for all we know it needed to be properly redeveloped for handheld/console first as is happening with Nicalis.

I think everyone is still sore about the whole "Europe can't download anything M-Rated except during the midnight hours" bull that Nintendo has recently pulled. Logically, it would stand to reason that YouTube support would also apply.
 
Why can't I just watch youtube videos on the gamepad? Pretty short-sighted design.

Edit: At least amazon instant video works pretty well...
 
You can do that with the browser. When it worked anyway.

It still works in the browser, it's just that the play button is missing (still a very annoying inconvenience that needs to be fixed), you can get around it by using the fix radioheadrule posted:

Delete "watch?v=" and replace it with "embed/" -- you should end up with a URL like www.youtube.com/embed/AIIxBUVqWKM -- you can send to the TV just as before and continue browsing other pages on the pad.
 

Eric C

Member
It still works in the browser, it's just that the play button is missing (still a very annoying inconvenience that needs to be fixed), you can get around it by using the fix radioheadrule posted:


yep, thats what I've been doing.

Manually changing the URL from

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAmmCIcq4H8
to
http://www.youtube.com/embed/IAmmCIcq4H8

it sucks that you have to do that, but at least it works in the webbrowser that way, and it's still way better than the youtube app.
 

MDX

Member
I'll second that it's a shame the app isnt a simple, usable solution. Google's entire YouTube app team just needs to be fired at this point. It's mind blowing how incompetent they are at designing a workable, straightforward app for the service..

All that spyware they put in the code
 
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