Hulu Location Bug

[Cats4U]

Could it be that the Hulu Location topic ended 2 pages ago?

I've been waiting for someone to say that 6.1.6.8 fixed the Hulu Live+ location problem (the original topic). We have that now and so this topic will be closed.

[pabpetina108e]

/Just wanted to say thank you for fixing the Hulu location bug for with update 6.1.6.8, After updating, I cleared my cache, and it worked after the first time it not working due to what was most likely a rejection held in the memory. It still asked for my location, but when I clicked "approve", it went into the user list to choose. Don't know if anyone else had to do this or not, but I thought I'd mention it here.

[whb]

Could it be that the Hulu Location topic ended 2 pages ago?
and now it's "only" about re-encoding and Amazon?

Strange collection thread

I fully understand all the Sturm und Drang about re-encoding on Amazon downloads, but can anyone clue me in on the success or failure of 6.1.6.8 to resolve the Hulu + Live channels location issue this topic is supposed to be about?

[Germania]

Could it be that the Hulu Location topic ended 2 pages ago?
and now it's "only" about re-encoding and Amazon?

Strange collection thread

[theresay]

Ranma 1/2 from Freevee. I was able to download a few episodes in season 1, but nothing in season 2. May I Help You, only 5 episodes. Movie Red (Red 2 downloaded without issue). That's with 6.1.6.1. With 6.1.6.7, they can only be downloaded at 480p or 540p

[weavermovies]

Not necessarily. I have tons of video on my Amazon watchlist that couldn't be downloaded right now, and most of them were released before Jan 25. some even years ago. With Amazon, it's really a "hit or miss" situation.

How about posting a few titles..... I'll see what happens on my laptop.....

I'm assuming that these titles are showing as available for download.

[theresay]

I downloaded 6.1.6.8 on a second laptop..... then I specifically chose 3 titles that I had downloaded using AMAZON under 6.1.6.7..... which had resulted in 540p even though the popup showed they were available in 1080p meaning their acquisition date was on or after January 25, 2024.....

Not necessarily. I have tons of video on my Amazon watchlist that couldn't be downloaded right now, and most of them were released before Jan 25. some even years ago. With Amazon, it's really a "hit or miss" situation.

[Sebastian001]

There is no upscaling, neither 6163 with 480/540p nor 6168 with 720p/1080p.
Re-encoded result has same resolution like the download.

ah ok, but it's still re-coded, it's not for me :-), but everyone has to know for themselves!

[weavermovies]

To be honest, I don't know what's so bad about this re-encoding. I downloaded a few episodes. It just looks great.

I downloaded 6.1.6.8 on a second laptop..... then I specifically chose 3 titles that I had downloaded using AMAZON under 6.1.6.7..... which had resulted in 540p even though the popup showed they were available in 1080p meaning their acquisition date was on or after January 25, 2024.....

I then downloaded those 3 titles using 6.1.6.8..... and as the changelog said they would..... they downloaded as 1080p after reencoding.....

Starting with the first title...... I played the 1080p title for a couple 30 second segments..... making note of the start times..... so I could watch the same segments in the 540p file of the same title for comparison..... and I switched back and forth a few times looking at various things to compare quality.....

As you said..... I am seeing very little difference..... if any..... however..... I am looking at these movies on a 40 inch screen..... and it's common knowledge that the larger the screen..... the more you can see video artifacts..... and since lower resolution video files can begin to have a pixelated look as the screen gets larger..... I can see where Users with the larger screen sizes available today may be frustrated with the reencoding that StreamFab has invoked.....

The other negative about reencoding is..... it's being done in H264 with no option for H265..... so the file sizes are going to be larger..... If that's a consideration..... and your storage space is that much of a concern..... you should probably stay on 6.1.6.7.....

For me..... I'll just wait and stay with 6.1.6.7..... hoping that a real fix is coming and the reencoding will end.....

But everyone should make the choice on their own based on what their eyes tell them.....

I will say..... and I'm sure this will ruffle some feathers..... if you don't take the time to see what the reencoding looks like for your specific situation..... how can you complain?.....

I understand the additional frustration with Netflix and Peacock..... and I know "the competition" has Amazon fixed without having to reencode..... but as I have said before..... there are two old adages which govern how I choose to use StreamFab.....

"Just because you can..... doesn't mean you should!"..... and.....

"The only thing worse than the devil that you know..... is the devil that you don't!".....

So I guess for now..... I'll stick with the devil that I know.

[peter777]

ok, that sounds not so good! Btw: I just noticed a time gap between video and sound when downloading a movie with 2 hours playing time (reminds me of audials). It´s not at the series epiodes.

Summarized: This can only be a temporary solution!

[JeffDavis]

To be honest, I don't know what's so bad about this re-encoding. I downloaded a few episodes. It just looks great.

It may look great,but it won't be as good as the original video. There's quality loss with each compression. There may also be increased size, as the compression must be done relatively quickly. I re-encode using Handbrake and FFMpeg. With the quality settings I use (CRF=20, medium preset) re-encoding with the X265 codec takes 2x-3x actual run time for 1080p videos on my PC. Thre's a threeway tradeoff among quality, filesize, and processing time. So I won't be installing 6.1.6.8 either.

[JeffDavis]

This is simply wrong.
With 6168 what was selected is downloaded and if there is no key,
simply put, it is played invisibly in fast forward and repackaged.

Thanks. That sounds like what I was calling a screen grabber.

[peter777]

To be honest, I don't know what's so bad about this re-encoding. I downloaded a few episodes. It just looks great.

[Germania]

.. I assumed "re-encoding" here meant upscaling the SD video.

This is simply wrong.
With 6168 what was selected is downloaded and if there is no key,
simply put, it is played invisibly in fast forward and repackaged.

EDIT:
If it works without errors - which was unsuccessful on my first attempt!

"Remux file not exist"

[JeffDavis]

There is no upscaling, neither 6163 with 480/540p nor 6168 with 720p/1080p.
Re-encoded result has same resolution like the download.

You mean re-encoding works like a screen grabber, where the decoded video frame is re-encoded on the fly into an H.264 or H.265 stream? I'm asking because I haven't seen an official description and I assumed "re-encoding" here meant upscaling the SD video.

Either way, though, I prefer to wait and avoid re-encoding.