Make reasonable use of information asymmetry to support genuine products.

intro#

Buff stacking: I strongly oppose piracy. Downloaded videos should not be used for commercial purposes or other illegal activities without authorization.

However, the appearance of domestic video platforms is indeed unattractive. VIP viewing, advanced screenings, etc. On mobile phones, you have to pay for them, and you have to pay again on TV. You can't even cast them. Moreover, Netflix is now learning from domestic manufacturers. I used to have a Netflix membership, but now I'm too lazy to have one.
In the past two years, there have been continuous hit dramas in China, often exclusive to a certain video platform. To watch most of the popular dramas, you may need to subscribe to several platforms, but the prices are already high and still rising. So, is there a way to support legitimate content and still be able to watch the plot you want to see? Of course there is!
youku

Information Gap#

Domestic video platforms have always treated domestic audiences with an oppressive attitude. However, on foreign platforms, they are very generous. You can watch for free on YouTube, such as "Kai Dan", "Kuang Biao", "San Ti", and even the bitrate is higher than on its own platform (bitrate can be understood as image quality).

Bitrate

Reset

Three Body

Knockout

Video Analysis#

If you don't have a TV box or a soft router at home and want to watch on TV, you can only download the videos. Sometimes you may want to download videos from Bilibili or other platforms, so I use a convenient analysis website, highly recommended. Of course, there are also some plugins or software with the same function, but I think this analysis website is more convenient, supports more platforms, and does not require downloading software.

However, there is still one problem. When downloading high-definition resources, the audio and video often need to be downloaded separately. If it is a computer, it is fine. Many software supports merging audio and video for playback. But if you want to watch it on TV, you need to merge the audio and video first.

Jiexi

Merge Methods#

Here are two recommended methods. The first one is to use a video editing tool, drag in the materials and then export them. The other method I use is the moviepy library in python.
First, make sure that Python is installed on your computer, and then download the moviepy library.

pip install moviepy

Then paste the following script into Notepad and change the file to .py format.

from moviepy.editor import VideoFileClip, AudioFileClip

def merge_audio_video(input_video, input_audio, output_file):
    video = VideoFileClip(input_video)
    audio = AudioFileClip(input_audio)
    final_video = video.set_audio(audio)
    final_video.write_videofile(output_file)

# Example usage
merge_audio_video('input.mp4', 'input_audio.mp3', 'output.mp4')

Note: You need to change the file names and corresponding paths of input.mp4 and input_audio.mp3 to the ones you downloaded, such as

D:\\video\\threebody\\videoplayback.mp4

Since \ is an escape character, you need to add two \ to the path. You can also use / instead. The output file name output.mp4 is the same. This concludes the tutorial on merging audio and video.

Note#

Whether using video editing software or the moviepy library in python, the export speed is very slow. Friends who often edit videos should have a deep understanding of this. It may be related to the weak configuration of my computer. Therefore, I recommend using a player that can play audio and video separately for viewing.
Regarding the price, a single domestic platform costs several tens of yuan per month. In the past, I shared a Netflix membership for only ten yuan a month, so I personally think it is very cost-effective to spend money on scientific Internet access to watch foreign platforms.
The disadvantage is that you need to have scientific Internet access, and there is no fancy functionality like bullet comments and interactive features on some video platforms. The main focus is on pure viewing. If you like interaction or bullet comments, then this method is obviously not suitable.
Supporting legitimate content is an important part of a healthy commercial cycle, but we can also use some alternative methods to reduce personal costs, whether it is watching on YouTube or borrowing an account, the essence is the same.

Supplement#

Since I have talked about merging audio and video, let me briefly explain how to extract audio from a video. Sometimes I need to use the audio from a video as a ringtone, so this function is very useful to me. The previous tutorial is the same as the merging tutorial, but the code is slightly different.

from moviepy.editor import VideoFileClip

def extract_audio(input_video, output_audio):
    video = VideoFileClip(input_video)
    audio = video.audio
    audio.write_audiofile(output_audio)

# Example usage
extract_audio('input.mp4', 'output.mp3')