YouTube in WMC

th3luk3st3r

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YouTube in WMC

#1

Post by th3luk3st3r » Wed Sep 08, 2021 9:04 am

Hi there fellow TGB'ers!

As you may know, it's possible to use the YouTube on TV (youtube.com/tv) Smart TV Web App version of YouTube by modifying the browser user agent (as was noted here https://www.thegreenbutton.tv/forums/vi ... php?t=9736).

While the most common methods such as creating a batch script or adding arguments to a shortcut can work, I've found them to be unreliable for a variety of reasons.

I was so sick of the issues I was experiencing that I created my own application for YouTube on TV to solve the issues I was having, because ... well ... why not? ;)

The application must be added to the WMC start screen using whatever tool you prefer, but once added it works extremely well considering.

So far YouTubeWMC enables:
  • A Full-Screen YouTube Experience
  • Proper Remote Control Navigation
  • Native RC6 Back Button Support on Windows 10
  • Hidden Mouse Pointer
Play and Pause may work correctly if you are running Windows 10, however as these are not capturable by the application I can't get them working on Windows 7 at all and instead the "center" or "OK" button must be used.
Important: If you are running Windows 7, you will also need to use a tool such as the AdvancedMCERemoteMapper to remap the "Back" button to the "Backspace" command.

Installation:
  • Ensure you have .NET Framework 4.5.2 installed
  • Right click and "Unblock" the .ZIP before extracting
  • copy the contents of the .ZIP to a static location (I generally use C:\Program Files\Windows Media Center Apps\YouTubeWMC)
  • Add YouTubeWMC.exe to the WMC start screen through whatever tool you prefer (MC Studio, etc)
Enjoy! :)
Last edited by th3luk3st3r on Wed Sep 08, 2021 12:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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StinkyImp

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#2

Post by StinkyImp » Wed Sep 08, 2021 10:29 am

Oooops? :think:

Image

th3luk3st3r

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#3

Post by th3luk3st3r » Wed Sep 08, 2021 12:18 pm

StinkyImp wrote: Wed Sep 08, 2021 10:29 am Oooops? :think:

Image
Oooops indeed! Forgot to make the repo public :D

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aquadextrous

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#4

Post by aquadextrous » Thu Sep 09, 2021 10:15 pm

Wow, wow, wow. It works and it works REALLY well. Absolute amazing job! A million thanks :)

th3luk3st3r

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#5

Post by th3luk3st3r » Fri Sep 10, 2021 8:12 am

aquadextrous wrote: Thu Sep 09, 2021 10:15 pm Wow, wow, wow. It works and it works REALLY well. Absolute amazing job! A million thanks :)
Thanks for the feedback, glad to hear it's working well for you :)

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DavidinCT

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#6

Post by DavidinCT » Mon Apr 11, 2022 12:58 am

Hmmmm....going to give this a shot, I know it's been a while but, I could use something on WMC to do this....
-Dave
Twitter @TheCoolDave

Windows Media Center certified and WMC MVP 2010 - 2012

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#7

Post by realphoenixe » Mon Jun 27, 2022 12:58 am

when i launched it on my windows 7 pc, it wont load. i have .net framework on it. but it wont work. HELP!

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#8

Post by th3luk3st3r » Mon Jun 27, 2022 1:28 pm

realphoenixe wrote:when i launched it on my windows 7 PC, it wont load. i have .net framework on it. but it wont work. HELP!
Do you get an error message when trying to start YouTubeWMC.exe?

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk


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#9

Post by realphoenixe » Mon Jun 27, 2022 4:57 pm

no i didnt, it just moved my cursor to the top left corner and wont launched.

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#10

Post by realphoenixe » Tue Jun 28, 2022 7:05 pm

I forgot to mention, this glitch didn't happen on my windows 11 pc, i opened the app on windows media center on windows 11 and it works, but not on my windows 7 pc.

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d00zah

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#11

Post by d00zah » Tue Jun 28, 2022 7:43 pm

I didn't do anything close to extensive testing on my Win 7 PC, but the plugin (latest, inside WMC) launches & I'm able to navigate the page. No crashes. I'll play some more when the PC is idle.

*** Windows 7 Ultimate, 64-bit [Version: 6.1.7601.24535] ***
*** Windows Media Center [Version: 6.1.7600.16385] is installed. ***
.NET Framework 4.8

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#12

Post by realphoenixe » Wed Jun 29, 2022 7:12 pm

How come this works on your windows 7 pc but not mine?

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d00zah

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#13

Post by d00zah » Wed Jun 29, 2022 7:54 pm

realphoenixe wrote: Wed Jun 29, 2022 7:12 pm How come this works on your windows 7 PC but not mine?
Hard to say. Whatever the problem, it has nothing to do with Win 7, per se.

You say "i have .net framework on it." What version? There were many & there is a minimum requirement. I have the latest/greatest.

Is Win 7 fully up-to-date? Except for a few of the pre-Win 10 "telemetry" hotfixes, mine is, again, latest/greatest.

Everything else working OK, or is there other "odd behavior" not obviously related to this plug-in?

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#14

Post by realphoenixe » Wed Jun 29, 2022 8:03 pm

Windows 7 Ultimate with Service Pack 1
Windows Media Center version 6.1.7601.17514
.net framework 4.8

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d00zah

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#15

Post by d00zah » Wed Jun 29, 2022 8:22 pm

At a glance, you seem to have a "different" version of WMC. Mine is Version: 6.1.7600.16385 & the difference MIGHT offer a clue?

There were updates along the way that had adverse affects on WMC, but that was a long time ago & I have no specific recollection.

The only thing I can offer w/ certainty is that the plug-in does work for me in Win 7. Quite well, I might add. Needs an ad-blocker, tho. :D

As someone else asked, do you see any Application/System/Media Center log msgs in Event Viewer?

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#16

Post by realphoenixe » Thu Jun 30, 2022 2:36 pm

maybe that, but the program does load on my windows 11 pc with media center version 6.3.9600.16384
I honestly have no idea on how to fix this, or how to even downgrade my windows media center version on my windows 7 pc to 6.1.7600.16385
I AM JUST A TEEN!!

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d00zah

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#17

Post by d00zah » Thu Jun 30, 2022 3:06 pm

realphoenixe wrote: Thu Jun 30, 2022 2:36 pm I honestly have no idea on how to fix this, or how to even downgrade my windows media center version on my windows 7 PC to 6.1.7600.16385
Deep breath.

No one said you needed to downgrade, but you've given us very little to work with & that version difference stood out. To help you, we need more data.

You've been asked (twice) to see if there is anything that would provide more insight in the logs (on, or about the time of the failure to start the plug-in). Maybe this video will help?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0WDzktpr5I

Don't get hung up on the author using win server... he DOES mention Event Viewer is in other Win versions. The logs that would most likely have something of interest are:

Application
System
Applications and Services Logs > Media Center

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#18

Post by realphoenixe » Thu Jun 30, 2022 3:15 pm

Here is the data from the Event Viewer:

Application Error

Faulting application name: YouTubeWMC.exe, version: 1.0.0.0, time stamp: 0xdca6f4c7
Faulting module name: KERNELBASE.dll, version: 6.1.7601.24545, time stamp: 0x5e0eb7f5
Exception code: 0xe0434352
Fault offset: 0x0000c5af
Faulting process id: 0x17d0
Faulting application start time: 0x01d88c93cf838e3b
Faulting application path: K:\Program Files\Windows Media Center Apps\YouTubeWMC\YouTubeWMC.exe
Faulting module path: K:\Windows\syswow64\KERNELBASE.dll

.NET Runtime Error
Application: YouTubeWMC.exe
Framework Version: v4.0.30319
Description: The process was terminated due to an unhandled exception.
Exception Info: System.IO.FileNotFoundException
at CefSharp.CefSettingsBase..ctor()
at YouTubeWMC.YouTubeTV..ctor()
at YouTubeWMC.Program.Main()

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d00zah

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#19

Post by d00zah » Thu Jun 30, 2022 3:25 pm

realphoenixe wrote: Thu Jun 30, 2022 3:15 pm Here is the data from the Event Viewer:

Application Error

Faulting application name: YouTubeWMC.exe, version: 1.0.0.0, time stamp: 0xdca6f4c7
Faulting module name: KERNELBASE.dll, version: 6.1.7601.24545, time stamp: 0x5e0eb7f5
Exception code: 0xe0434352
Fault offset: 0x0000c5af
Faulting process id: 0x17d0
Faulting application start time: 0x01d88c93cf838e3b
Faulting application path: K:\Program Files\Windows Media Center Apps\YouTubeWMC\YouTubeWMC.exe
Faulting module path: K:\Windows\syswow64\KERNELBASE.dll

.NET Runtime Error
Application: YouTubeWMC.exe
Framework Version: v4.0.30319

Description: The process was terminated due to an unhandled exception.
Exception Info: System.IO.FileNotFoundException
at CefSharp.CefSettingsBase..ctor()
at YouTubeWMC.YouTubeTV..ctor()
at YouTubeWMC.Program.Main()
It looks like the installed version of .NET is below the required "Ensure you have .NET Framework 4.5.2 installed". You need to update .NET.

https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=2088631
Last edited by d00zah on Thu Jun 30, 2022 3:32 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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#20

Post by realphoenixe » Thu Jun 30, 2022 3:27 pm

That's odd, cuz on my control panel programs, it says that I have .NET framwork 4.8

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