A frontend for youtube frontend that looks just like youtube did in 2009!

[virtue]

Figured this would be right up most of your alleys! Introducing YT2009, a youtube frontend to watch your videos in their natural habitat! I don't have a lot to say about it other than I have been waiting for it for nearly a year now ever since GRIFFEN made their post about it on the spacehey  forums. It is absolutely gorgeous and everything I could have hoped for! It doesn't seem quite fully functional just yet, for instance I can't figure out exactly if/how the account system works and a few buttons don't seem to do anything, but other than the few missing (non-necessary) features, it is an absolute blessing!!! I'll share some screenshots. You can check out the source code here and the public instance here!




What do you think about it? It would use this regularly if it works properly? Which era of youtube's layout/design was your favorite? There's a lot to think about here!

[tarraxahum]

I think you may have the code and the instance links switched up, unless I'm lagging, which could also be true

You know what I find absolutely fascinating? 2008-2009 were like THE years I've started using YouTube daily and such, but I have no memory of it actually looking like this.

And yet I like it a lot, either subconsciously or out of just, you know, preferring to navigate the 00s UIs in general. I've also been curious about this frontend (and I also heard about it on SpaceHey!), but I would've likely missed it being released. So thank you! :D

The account system does seem kinda busted for now - I can log in, but I can't open my channel and my favorites are missing along with my history. But the video watching works great!

You know what I'm also realizing? Like, a couple of days ago I was rewatching videos from my old favorites playlist, the ones that came out in 2008-2009 mostly, and I was thinking, damn, the 240p quality really didn't age well, did it? Probably because we have all that UltraHD stuff to compare it with now, and back then that was all we had.

But now I'm looking at the 2009 YT player and, like. It used to be smaller. No wonder worse quality actually looked kinda okay on that size. Compared to the same vids being stretched and blurry at the modern YT player. Nostalgia glasses definitely play a part, but also there was a technical reason the quality didn't look as jarring back in the day, go figure! Reminds me of that whole thing about pixel games looking different on the old monitors.

[lime360]

there is a similar thing but for the 2005 version

codeberg.org/lime360/yt-2005-watch

the original developer allowed me to continue development on this

[virtue]

The account system does seem kinda busted for now - I can log in, but I can't open my channel and my favorites are missing along with my history. But the video watching works great!

You know what I'm also realizing? Like, a couple of days ago I was rewatching videos from my old favorites playlist, the ones that came out in 2008-2009 mostly, and I was thinking, damn, the 240p quality really didn't age well, did it? Probably because we have all that UltraHD stuff to compare it with now, and back then that was all we had.

But now I'm looking at the 2009 YT player and, like. It used to be smaller. No wonder worse quality actually looked kinda okay on that size. Compared to the same vids being stretched and blurry at the modern YT player. Nostalgia glasses definitely play a part, but also there was a technical reason the quality didn't look as jarring back in the day, go figure! Reminds me of that whole thing about pixel games looking different on the old monitors.

So!

Thing #1: It looks like the account system is purely superficial at the moment, its only pretending for aesthetic purposes like screenshots and whatnot. It just takes whatever credentials you put in regardless of their validity to anything. For that matter, be careful what you put your google passwords into! It sounds like you implied you did that, which to be fair, I did to (with my alt I dont care about) but you never know if somebody messed with the code to store data or something so its probably worth playing it safe.

Thing #2: I actually usually watch my videos in 144-360p on a daily basis and barely ever notice. The only time I ever notice is if there's some small text I need to read, but you'd be shocked how much HD doesnt really matter if you don't stay used to it. I strongly recommend trying watching your stuff on a CRT for a while if you have one, or setting your youtube frontend to default to 240p quality for a few weeks, you'll be surprised how little you'll notice it after a bit! Great if you have slow or limited internet!

[PurpleHello98]

Thanks so much! I really like using this now—I always thought the problem with Vidlii/Bitview/etc. was that I never really liked most of the videos on those sites. Now I can have the old (better) interface and the videos I like. And no pervasive ads, as well. :)

[Cobra!]

Wow! This is amazing! Thank you so much for sharing!

You can check out the source code here and the public instance here!

By the way, you got the two urls the wrong way around.

[virtue]

By the way, you got the two urls the wrong way around.

LMAO sorry, I fixed it now! Thanks for letting me know.

[virtue]

Thanks so much! I really like using this now—I always thought the problem with Vidlii/Bitview/etc. was that I never really liked most of the videos on those sites. Now I can have the old (better) interface and the videos I like. And no pervasive ads, as well. :)

I mean... the central problem with Vidlii is that the original creator handed ownership to a nazi and now the website is literally just youtube but for nazis. I used to post my videos on Liivid, but the nazis from vidlii harassed the moderators so badly that it got shut down. Lack of moderation is the central issue on Vidlii/Bitview by miles, lol.

[PurpleHello98]

BTW for anyone reading this, I think there is a sort of account function (syncing watchlists, playlists, history, etc.) but it's not actually password-protected, since it just accepts whatever password you put in. I'd advise against putting your actual YouTube password in there for safety purposes (not that I distrust the developer, but better safe than sorry) but I have found a use to the accounts here.

[Bakartridge]

lowkey wanted something like this for a while

[virtue]

lowkey wanted something like this for a while

I have as well!!! Ever since using stuff like Liivid (Rest in piece) and Bitview, I've desperately wanted something that would let me watch youtube as god fuckin intended!

[Bakartridge]

I have as well!!! Ever since using stuff like Liivid (Rest in piece) and Bitview, I've desperately wanted something that would let me watch youtube as god fuckin intended!

Damn straight, I used to use Vidlii but it got taken over (like basically every Youtube alternative does) by racist far-right weirdos, so sorta been SOL on that regard for a while until I heard about this, although the frontend is down rn as I'm typing this, might come back up soon though.

[virtue]

Damn straight, I used to use Vidlii but it got taken over (like basically every Youtube alternative does) by racist far-right weirdos, so sorta been SOL on that regard for a while until I heard about this, although the frontend is down rn as I'm typing this, might come back up soon though.

As far as I can tell there's currently no functioning public instances. Someone else must take it upon themselves to host it! I can host it on my website if you want to use it! Though my website doesn't have perfect uptime, it's definitely better than nothing.