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Thread: solution for saving .flv files with 11.10 and firefox?

  1. #1

    Question solution for saving .flv files with 11.10 and firefox?

    greetings.

    i am continuing to struggle with finding a solution to saving the .FLV videos from a movie site. i am working up hill on two fronts - my computer is slow enough that trying to watch movie-length videos from the web browser doesn't really work, and my internet connection is slow enough that i really can't stream them to begin with! let's assume that neither of these sad conditions can be immediately corrected. :c

    things are further complicated by the site's security denying any plug-in downloaders that would normally be the first solution. they only want to stream their content DIRECTLY through a browser. copying the path to the .FLV video and plugging that into any of several "flash download" plug-ins for firefox has resulted in "hacking attempt logged" pop-up notices and no videos.

    i've seen several threads on here, but none very recently updated, so i thought i would start a new one.

    so far i have followed several threads on my mission...

    i've tried finding the "deleted" cache file in system memory, as suggested in the following two threads. but there are NO files tagged "(deleted)". i have tried this with downgraded flash version 9.x and 10.x. i should note that 9.x DID reveal unlinked files using this method and after viewing You-Tube video content, but that 9.x is apparently too old to pass security mustard for my particular site.
    (http://liori.jogger.pl/2010/11/08/ge...deleted-files/)
    (http://superuser.com/questions/23553...-if-not-in-tmp)


    speaking of downgrading flash, i have tried this as well. following the suggestion in this thread
    (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1690673)

    i have followed a few other threads, among them
    (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1688948)
    (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.p...efox+save+.flv)


    sadly, the FlashVideoReplacer does not work for this particular site.
    (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.p...e+.flv&page=23)

    SO THEN...

    has there been any recent developement in saving .FLV videos through firefox? i am happy to download chrome or any other browser that will fix my problem. all of the threads i have seen are a few months old... and i don't know whether a universal solution was discovered, or whether the community has just given up.

    i FEEL like the solution will lay in tracing the process used by flash to put the video on the screen, and then to somehow save the cache that is being used. but that's just a feeling, i really don't know.

    lastly, i have just tried and had no success with the screen capture route, as the cpu load bogs my machine down enough to render the video choppy and useless.

    thank for reading!

  2. #2
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    Re: solution for saving .flv files with 11.10 and firefox?

    Downloading from you-tube is against their terms and conditions so I will say nothing about that, but flash from some other web-sites can sometimes be downloaded as .flv files using the FF add-on download-helper. I have not tried any other add-ons to do this so can not comment further.
    If that add-on is one you've already tried without success, it is probably because the site you are trying to download from does not allow it to be done in any way at all.

  3. #3

    Re: solution for saving .flv files with 11.10 and firefox?

    thank you for your reply, ajgreeny

    as i stated in my post, i have tried several different "flash downloader" helper type add-ons for firefox. all to no evail as they apparently run afoul of the site's efforts to prevent multiple windows being opened, or bots from downloading the entire site if an account gets compromised. i am only able to view content through a normal web browser... as far as i can tell.

    as for the UAP or T&C for You-tube, i suppose i appreciate any efforts to help keep people informed about the world around them. i specifically said that i was trying to save videos from a different site and only mentioned You-tube in reference to experiments i have done to try and find my solution.

    your concern over the legality of saving my purchased content is certainly commendable in these troubling times, i think your suggestion of simply catagorising as illegal anything which can't be accomplished thru a simple plug-in may be the most prodent advice. however, i have specific subscription rights to the content i'm trying to save for my own personal viewing, so i must struggle on. unfortunately i am hamstrung by a derlict computer and mediocre internet speed :<

    i am looking forward to more technical suggestions from this great forum.

    again, thank you for your input
    Last edited by ijason; March 1st, 2012 at 12:36 AM.

  4. #4
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    Re: solution for saving .flv files with 11.10 and firefox?

    Fully downloaded flash files in firefox are saved @ /tmp. I dunno if that's also true for Ubuntu as I only watch Youtube on Opensuse 11.1 and recently swiched to Ubuntu cause KDE 4 still sucks. (I could as well use Win7 if I wanted a bloated GUI)
    Last edited by Mad Tux; March 1st, 2012 at 12:36 AM.

  5. #5
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    Re: solution for saving .flv files with 11.10 and firefox?

    Hi
    There's information at stream-recorder.com...
    but if you ask generic questions about
    "saving the .FLV videos from a movie site"
    and
    "save videos from a different site"
    nobody there will help you.

  6. #6
    winh8r is offline Iced Almond Soy Ubuntu, No Foam
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    Re: solution for saving .flv files with 11.10 and firefox?

    Apologies in advance if this has not worked for you but I would recommend using the following combination:

    do this first:
    https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/fir...sh-aid/?src=ss

    then these:

    https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/fir...ddon/flashgot/

    https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/fir...ostery/?src=ss

    https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/fir...k-plus/?src=ss

    I had a similar problem when I wanted to save an educational video made by a colleague but was prevented by the server he used to host it on.

    This little combination worked a treat, just make sure you read the documentation for flashgot carefully.

  7. #7
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    Re: solution for saving .flv files with 11.10 and firefox?

    Most likely the server is using rtmp, so you wont be able to find any temporary file and download extensions won't be able to download it.

    You could try RTMPDump

  8. #8

    Re: solution for saving .flv files with 11.10 and firefox?

    Quote Originally Posted by lovinglinux View Post
    Most likely the server is using rtmp, so you wont be able to find any temporary file and download extensions won't be able to download it.

    You could try RTMPDump
    thank you for joining this thread... i had all appendages crossed that your replacement plugin would be the solution! good work all the same i have seen some discussion of RTMPDump, but when i followed up a walkthru of it's use, it appeared to be a command line tool that would start a unique "session" to try and request the .flv file from the server - which means it would get denied like all the other firefox add-ons.

    if i am incorrect and it performs differently, then i will happily try and use it. all they can do is ask me (again) for my credentials to be sure i'm not trying to hack them.

  9. #9

    Re: solution for saving .flv files with 11.10 and firefox?

    Quote Originally Posted by Mad Tux View Post
    Fully downloaded flash files in firefox are saved @ /tmp. I dunno if that's also true for Ubuntu as I only watch Youtube on Opensuse 11.1 and recently swiched to Ubuntu cause KDE 4 still sucks. (I could as well use Win7 if I wanted a bloated GUI)
    unfortunately, flash >10.2 no longer saves files of any kind into a temp folder. at best, it is apparently saved and them immediately deleted, although occasionally recoverable.

    thank you for your contribution

  10. #10
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    Re: solution for saving .flv files with 11.10 and firefox?

    Not sure if this will help or not

    Code:
    #copy flash from browser 
    #!/usr/bin/env perl
    # Description:    Copy flash files in your browsers cache
    # Dependencies:    Unix command 'lsof'
    use strict;
    
    ##################################################
    # Setup the variables
    ##################################################
    my $PROGNAME = $0; $PROGNAME =~ s|.*/||;
    
    my $LSOF = 'lsof';
    
    my $FIND = 'flash';    # Find flash files
    my $POST = 'flv';    # Postfix to save to
    
    # Where we save files
    #   %f is $FIND
    #   %d is the next available number
    #   %p is .$POST
    my $DEST = "found%f.%d%p";
    
    ##################################################
    # Usage
    ##################################################
    sub fatal {
       foreach my $msg (@_) { print STDERR "[$PROGNAME] ERROR:  $msg\n"; }
       exit(-1);
    }
    
    sub usage {
       foreach my $msg (@_) { print STDERR "ERROR:  $msg\n"; }
       print STDERR <<USAGE;
    
    Usage:\t$PROGNAME [-d]
     Copies deleted flash files currently open in your browser's cache
     -d             Set debug mode
     -find <str>    What to search for  [default $FIND]
     -post <str>    Postfix for saving files [default $POST]
     -dest <str>    Or just specify full destination [default $DEST]
                    (see the script for meanings of %f, %d, %p)
    
    USAGE
       exit -1;
    }
    
    sub parseArgs {
       usage("You need to be on a system that uses /proc") unless -d '/proc';
    
       my $opt = {
           find => $FIND,
           post => $POST,
           dest => $DEST,
       };
       while (my $arg=shift(@ARGV)) {
           if ($arg =~ /^-h$/) { usage(); }
           if ($arg =~ /^-d$/) { $MAIN::DEBUG=1; next; }
           if ($arg =~ /^-find$/) { $opt->{find} = shift(@ARGV); next; }
           if ($arg =~ /^-post$/) { $opt->{post} = shift(@ARGV); next; }
           if ($arg =~ /^-dest$/) { $opt->{dest} = shift(@ARGV); next; }
           if ($arg =~ /^-/) { usage("Unknown option: $arg"); }
           usage("Too many files specified [$arg and $opt->{file}]") if
    $opt->{file};
       }
    
       usage("You need to specify a destination with -dest")
           unless $opt->{dest};
    
       usage("You need to specify something to search for with -find")
           unless $opt->{find};
    
       $opt;
    }
    
    sub debug {
       return unless $MAIN::DEBUG;
       foreach my $msg (@_) { print STDERR "[$PROGNAME] $msg\n"; }
    }
    
    ##################################################
    # Main code
    ##################################################
    sub findFiles {
       my ($opt) = @_;
       my @found;
       # 'lsof /'  (The '/' just does files, no sockets, and is faster)
       open(LSOF,"$LSOF /|") || usage("Can't run [$LSOF]");
       while (<LSOF>) {
           next unless /delete/i;
           next unless /\Q$opt->{find}\E/i;
           next if /\.adobe/;     # Ignore adobe 'flash' db files
           chomp;
           # procname  pid  user   fd
           usage("Found it, can't parse it [$_]")
               unless /^\S+\s+(\d+)\s+\S+\s+(\d+)/;
           push(@found, [$1,$2]);
       }
       usage("Couldn't find any deleted cached $opt->{find} files")
           unless @found;
       @found;
    }
    
    sub procPath {
       my ($pid,$fd) = @_;
       my $path = "/proc/$pid";
       usage("Couldn't find $path") unless -d $path;
       $path .= '/fd';
       usage("Couldn't find $path") unless -d $path;
       $path .= "/$fd";
       usage("Couldn't read $path") unless -e $path;
       $path;
    }
    
    sub destPath {
       my ($opt) = @_;
       my $p = $opt->{dest};
       $p =~ s/%f/\Q$opt->{find}\E/g;
       $p =~ s/%p/.\Q$opt->{post}\E/g;
       my $num = 0;
       my $path;
       do {
           $path = $p;  $num++;
           $path =~ s/%d/$num/g;
       } until ! -f $path;
       $path;
    }
    
    sub main {
       my $opt = parseArgs();
    
       my @found = findFiles($opt);
       foreach my $found ( @found ) {
           my $src = procPath(@$found);
           my $dest = destPath($opt);
           print "$src -> $dest\n";
           system("/bin/cp",$src,$dest);
       }
    }
    main();
    how to use

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zFOAibVHiU
    Last edited by josephmills; March 1st, 2012 at 01:17 AM.

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