ytdl-org/youtube-dl · error · ExtractorError

This video is DRM protected.

Error message

This video is DRM protected.

What it means

Raised by ToggleIE (Singapore mee siguang/toggle.sg) when no downloadable formats were produced and the media metadata Metas list contains Key 'Encryption' with Value '1', which Toggle uses to flag DRM. Marked expected=True: the video exists but cannot be downloaded because it is DRM protected.

Source

Thrown at youtube_dl/extractor/toggle.py:158

                    note='Downloading %s MPD manifest' % vid_format,
                    errnote='Failed to download %s MPD manifest' % vid_format,
                    fatal=False))
            elif ext == 'ism':
                formats.extend(self._extract_ism_formats(
                    video_url, video_id, ism_id=vid_format,
                    note='Downloading %s ISM manifest' % vid_format,
                    errnote='Failed to download %s ISM manifest' % vid_format,
                    fatal=False))
            elif ext == 'mp4':
                formats.append({
                    'ext': ext,
                    'url': video_url,
                    'format_id': vid_format,
                })
        if not formats:
            for meta in (info.get('Metas') or []):
                if meta.get('Key') == 'Encryption' and meta.get('Value') == '1':
                    raise ExtractorError(
                        'This video is DRM protected.', expected=True)
            # Most likely because geo-blocked
            raise ExtractorError('No downloadable videos found', expected=True)
        self._sort_formats(formats)

        thumbnails = []
        for picture in info.get('Pictures', []):
            if not isinstance(picture, dict):
                continue
            pic_url = picture.get('URL')
            if not pic_url:
                continue
            thumbnail = {
                'url': pic_url,
            }
            pic_size = picture.get('PicSize', '')
            m = re.search(r'(?P<width>\d+)[xX](?P<height>\d+)', pic_size)
            if m:

View on GitHub (pinned to 956b8c5855)

Solutions

  1. Verify the same video plays for free on toggle.sg in a browser without a subscription; if it requires login, pass cookies with credentials (yt-dlp --cookies-from-browser / --username)
  2. If it is genuinely DRM protected, no open-source downloader can decrypt it — use the platform's offline feature
  3. Update to yt-dlp for current Toggle/mewatch extraction (site rebranded to mewatch.sg)
  4. In scripts, detect this expected error and mark the item as DRM instead of retrying
Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Try / catch

try:
    ydl.extract_info(toggle_url)
except ExtractorError as e:
    if e.expected and 'DRM' in str(e):
        mark_drm(url)  # undecryptable; do not retry

Prevention

When it happens

Trigger: Extracting a toggle.sg video whose only renditions are PlayReady/Widevine protected (the ISM manifests fail or are skipped, mp4 entries absent), leaving 'formats' empty and the Encryption meta flag set.

Common situations: Premium/licensed Toggle content requiring a subscription; set-top-box exclusive streams; free clips usually serve plain mp4 and never hit this branch.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of ytdl-org/youtube-dl@956b8c5855 (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/23a7390c4aae34bf. Report an issue: GitHub.