Alleycat Player v2a

Pick a Proxy:  xyss5.herokuapp.com * fathomless-cliffs-85079.herokuapp.com * cors-anywhere.herokuapp.com bypasscors.herokuapp.com api.allorigins.win 35.210.173.135 Local Proxy Server (Kraker) None    Go to Site list or Movie sites or Special Notes or TV & Radio

Install the Local Proxy Server app which is available here. The current version name is "kraker-1c".

CORS Unblocker:  Allow CORS -- Firefox or Chrome-based   CORS Everywhere -- Firefox only

Alleycat Player supports playback of HLS/m3u8 and DASH/mpd videos via these two modules (whitelist accordingly):

cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/hls.js@0.12.0/dist/hls.min.js
reference.dashif.org/dash.js/v3.0.1/dist/dash.all.min.js

Release notes for v2a (January 12, 2020):

Big update for YouTube. Additional video formats are now available with the DASH player and the Kraker Local Proxy Server (version 1c is required). Now, Kraker is indispensable in this process since there are a number of issues involving not just the usual CORS limitations but also the behaviour of the Google video server. In order to access the video file, DASH needs to employ byte ranges. That would normally be fine BUT when the web browser sends an OPTIONS request to test whether byte ranges are permissible, Google answers NO. Bad Google. Byte ranges work fine but you just don't want to allow it. Alrighty then...Kraker will auto-complete the OPTIONS request and green light it.

The role of the Kraker server goes further than that. It also is responsible for creating the mpd file for the DASH player. It retrieves a blank template from the local disk, merges that with data from Alleycat and then makes the file accessible as a remote resource. The point here is that the video is playable with any video player that supports DASH/mpd playback (like SMPlayer or VLC). The video data is held only in the Kraker memory so it goes away if the proxy is shut down. Also, there is a limit of 16 videos available at one time. Note that VLC displays an incorrect progress bar for live streams while SMPlayer only plays the first 5 seconds. VOD works fine on both. This has to do with the fact that the DASH specs are a mess and nobody really knows how it is supposed to work. It cost me three days of trial and error to get the native DASH player to work correctly.

For most videos, all of these formats are available: 360/480/720p in both mp4 and webm. The thing here is that the audio and the video are separate files (which is why the DASH player is needed). For mp4, these are the YouTube tag numbers: #140 (audio), #134 (360p), #135 (480p), #136 (720p). For webm: #251 (audio), #243 (360p), #244 (480p); #247 (720p). Higher resolutions may be available for some videos but Alleycat does not access them (at least, not at this point in time). If the DASH formats are not available (rare), Alleycat will revert to the normal formats. Also, the audio and video are both available for download via the DLoad button.

At this point, there is hardly any need for the additional YouTube sources, which are decidedly unreliable at best. Still, they are sometimes useful for bypassing geo-blocks though that doesn't always work. Oh well.

• New brightness controls with a finer adjustment gradient. Also, ability to clear and restore the settings using the Reset button.
• New source for free movies and TV shows: UniqueStream. Note that the site is in a state of flux since I already have had to update the code before this release. I expect additional changes to occur so be prepared for this site to become inaccessible at some point (will fix in the next Alleycat update).
• VidNode updated because the domain name changed to "vidcloud9.com". Still called VidNode though and the site is still accessible as "vidnode.net".
• OnlyStream, VidCloud and VShare removed. Added ProStream and UpStream.
• Many Internet TV channels changed, removed or added. New Canadian channels: CTV News, CFTO, City TV and TVO. Also, many secondary US channels added or changed. A lot of these secondaries require the Local Proxy Server.

Tips on using Alleycat Player -- these instructions are not meant to be complete. Alleycat Player is primarily designed as a hacking tool. Please experiment to determine the limits and capabilities of the tool.

The original purpose of this tool was to support backdoor access to videos on YouTube for the purpose of downloading or for transferring the URL of a video file to an external viewer for playback. The tool has expanded considerably since the first version and it now supports backdoor access to videos on almost 50 different sites.

There are two ways to play videos embedded in web sites. The first method is to get the ID number of the video if such is available. Enter the ID number in the line below the "Play ID" button and press. The second method is to use the DIG option. In this case, you would copy and paste the URL of a web page in the line beside the "DIG" button and press. For some sites, Alleycat will search the indicated page for the ID number of a video and then apply the ID lookup function. Some sites do not employ video ID numbers so the DIG option is the only way to get the video. Many web sites can be problematic due to small or major differences in page design so this may not always work. Also, sites may sometimes change the page format so that Alleycat can no longer find the video. For this reason, the code is continuously being tested and will be updated accordingly.

A complete URL may be entered as the ID number with the caveat that the ID must be the last part of the URL. If a slash (/) or a dot (.) appears within the last 5 characters (like ".html") then the string will be truncated. A character count is used to separate the ID from the rest of the URL. For YouTube, an ID is always exactly 11 characters. For some sites, there is a small range like from 6 to 8 characters. In the event that a known good ID number is rejected, you can force the ID to be accepted by preceding it with an asterisk (*). This is seldom necessary but might be needed for very old videos.

In many cases, you have the option of choosing the resolution of the video. The format/resolution selection box has an odd appearance due to Alleycat's original purpose of extracting YouTube videos. YouTube, unlike every other video storage site, uses its own special coding system for resolutions and formats (because it has so many). For example, #22 refers to mp4-720p and #43 refers to webm-360p. Note that the webm format is only available on YouTube. The checkbox called "Format" applies to m3u8 playback (not mp4 or mpd). If checked, the video track for the desired resolution will be extracted from the master m3u8. Note that this cannot be done if the master file contains an audio track separate from the video.

The button called DLoad is for m3u8 sites. Both the "No Play" and the "Format" options must be checked. The m3u8 format (similar to m3u used for mp3) consists of multiple segments, each about 10 seconds long. In order to convert to another format like mp4, each of these segments must be downloaded. The DLoad button will open a new window with the list of segments. This has limited functionality. You can change the list format to text by changing the value of the variable called "plain_text" inside the Alleycat Player code. At some point, I'll figure out what more I can do with this.

Viewer modes: Raw / Wrapper / Sandbox

Sandboxing (implemented via the HTML iframe tag) is employed by Alleycat Player to prevent Javascript embeds from opening windows or popups for advertising. Some pirate video download sites are unsafe when used without a good popup blocker. However, if you play the URL inside Alleycat Player, these popups are very effectively blocked. Any URL may be inserted, not just videos. The native viewers are sandboxed by default. However, if you employ a window option to open the URL, you need to indicate that you want the window to be sandboxed. Just check the Sandbox option. If you don't want a sandbox but you want to run a non-video URL then check the Raw option. In the default Wrapper mode, there are three selectable options: Wrapper for playing mp4/ogv/webm videos (or whatever video format your web browser supports), M3U8 for HLS/m3u8 files and DASH for DASH/mpd files.

Web browser compatibility notes

Microsoft Edge has native support for m3u8 and mpd. This does not conflict with Alleycat Player. Videos have a strong tendency to pixelate badly. Google Chrome and Brave also have issues with pixelation but to a much lesser extent. Firefox has no such issue. Opera, Maxthon and Vivaldi were briefly tested. They work but pop-up windows do not size correctly.

If the "Allow Multiple" option is not checked, windows are supposed to get re-used or closed as needed. However, I have found two cases where the web browser incorrectly blocks the window close function in Alleycat Player. Edge does not allow a window opened in Raw mode to be closed. Firefox (on Win10 but not on WinXP) blocks in Raw mode if the window is controlled by an extension (such as for m3u8/mpd playback).

Always keep in mind that browsers contain various "security" features that may interfere with Alleycat Player. Consider that Alleycat is able to extract video links from numerous different sites. Your browser has no idea what is trustworthy and what is not (even though the content is just a video). You may need to battle with the site blockers in the browser itself and in whatever add-ons or extensions you may have. Don't blame Alleycat. Your browser is just trying to "protect" you. Normally, a notice of some sort should appear to warn you about blockage. Sometimes not. If a video does not play, check the settings in your web browser or pop-up blocker. 'Nuff said. It isn't too bad overall.

Addendum: Microsoft Edge is hopelessly broken. Videos play with only sound because Edge does not support the CSS filters used for the brightness control. Also, Edge is not allowing connections to the local host (might be an option somewhere but I can't be bothered to find it). To repair the no-video problem, find and comment out this line of code:

vid.style.filter = "brightness(" + lvl + ") contrast(" + con + ") saturate(" + sat + ")";

Special Notes

• Alleycat Player must be saved to your local drive. If you run Alleycat from its download site, it can fail in mysterious ways. The culprit is the HTTP header "Referer" (set by the web browser) which can cause videos to not play. These sites are affected: BitChute, DailyMotion, XHamster.
• Internet TV (IPTV) channels are subject to downtime of a few hours or a day or a week or even forever. Many of the channel links offered here can be found via the associated website. If a channel goes down and you want to recover it then search for the website and extract a fresh link from there. Pirate links are, of course, not easily replaced.
• Internet TV channels marked with a double asterisk (**) are only accessible with the Local Proxy Server. Those marked with a single asterisk (*) are playable with a CORS unblocker. The secondary channels (where available) may or may not need a CORS unblocker or the Local Proxy Server.
• Internet TV channels which are streamed via "ustv.to" (formerly "savitar.tv") are only accessible with the Local Proxy Server or a CORS unblocker. This is only for channels within the United States.
• Only two Invidious sites support live streaming: "invidio.us" and "invidious.snopyta.org".
• Vimeo live streaming (m3u8) is supported. Requires the Local Proxy Server or a CORS unblocker.
• Brighteon videos will play with the Local Proxy Server and also with the two remote proxies marked with an asterisk.
• InfoWars videos play as m3u8 but the mp4 version is available via the DLoad button.
• The above is also true for VidNode but you need the Local Proxy Server to play m3u8. If you are not using the proxy then Alleycat will play an mp4 if it is available but you still need a CORS unblocker.
• For Twitter short links (like "https://t.co/..."), use DIG to get the tweet.

Sites accessible with a Brightcove DIG:
 - https://www.stuff.co.nz
 - https://www.nzherald.co.nz
 - https://www.miamiherald.com
 - https://time.com
 - https://www.itv.com/goodmorningbritain
 - https://www.thesun.co.uk
 - https://www.channel4.com/news
 - http://webtv.un.org
 - https://www.express.co.uk

Sites accessible with a Podcasts DIG:
 - https://podcasts.apple.com
 - https://itunes.apple.com
 - https://www.stitcher.com
 - https://radiopublic.com
 - https://overcast.fm
 - https://www.podbean.com
 - https://www.spreaker.com

There are three symbols used to indicate the options available for a particular site. [#] means no DIG option because the video ID is always exposed. [?] means that video ID numbers are not available (you have to DIG). [+] means that both ID numbers and the DIG option are supported.

Here is a rundown of each site, the available video formats and the site URL (link will open a new tab or window):

Site List -- Go to Info viewer or News viewer or Movie viewer

? = unknown or auto-select (m3u8/mpd)
* = user selectable (via format box)
! = use the Sandbox option to embed the video.
KRAK = only accessible with the Local Proxy Server (Kraker)
CORS = only accessible with a CORS unblocker (or Kraker)

Movie Sites -- Go to Movie viewer or Info/News

! on a site url = use caution on these sites due to popup ads
! on Proxy or CORS or KRAK = use the Sandbox option to embed the video.

Note that quality level (example: [720]) may not be the same as resolution.

These sites are supported under XStream:

www.fembed.com
streamhoe.online
myvidis.top

These sites are supported under "General DIG":

www.lunchflix.com (GoUnlimited)
watchmoviesfree.org (XStream)
antmovies.tv (XStream)

Some search sites to get video links from:

ololo.to
crocovid.com
www1.swatchseries.to
www.downloads-anymovies.com
www2.project-free-tv.ag
www.watchepisodes4.com
streamdreams.org
www.online-movies-free.com
www.cinebloom.org
www.primewire.li
two-movies.me

If you want to play embedded videos, make sure that you use the proper embed URL.

For example:

Internet TV  --  TV Guide:  ustv247.tv  ustvgo.tv  watchnewslive.tv

In order to facilitate channel surfing, a new feature has been added. Check the option "Allow Multiple" to activate. This will present the stack as buttons displayed on top of the viewer. Along with that are 12 buttons for previously selected channels. The "Copy" button will show and hide the popup. Also, pausing the video (not in full-screen) will show the popup. You can click a blank entry to hide. All viewers have this feature.

Some channels have two stream sources. This is indicated with a plus sign (+) after the channel name. A double plus indicates that the streams are from different local stations. Select "webm" in the format panel to access the secondary channel.

Internet Radio

You can input your own URL for either an mp4 or an mp3 or whatever your browser supports. To play a YouTube video in audio-only mode, just enter the 11-character video id.

To find some radio station URLs, you can use the AudioRealm DIG tool supplied with the Movie viewer. Also supplied is a stack with links to iHeartRadio and Virtual DJ. These will pop up a window with an embedded web site.

Info + Entertainment  --  Go to News viewer or Site list   |   snap     Youtube.com Genyoutube.net Y2meta.net invidio.us invidious.snopyta.org Youtube DASH     < >     < >      Reset 

Play URL Copy DIG 

Stack 1 Stack 2 Stack 3   BitChute Vimeo InfoWars Misc

News & Propaganda  --  Go to Info viewer or Site list   |   snap     Youtube.com Genyoutube.net Y2meta.net invidio.us invidious.snopyta.org Youtube DASH       < >     < >      Reset 

Play URL Copy DIG 

Stack 1 Stack 2 Stack 3   Fox PBS BBC

FREE Movies & TV  --  Go to Movie Sites or Info/News   |   snap     Youtube.com Genyoutube.net Y2meta.net invidio.us invidious.snopyta.org Youtube DASH       < >     < >      Reset 

Play URL Copy DIG 

Radio Dance   TV US1 TV US2 TV US3   TV UK+ TV Alt   Int'l 1 Int'l 2

Internet Radio