TwitchAdSolutions/README.md

TwitchAdSolutions

This repo aims to provide multiple solutions for blocking Twitch ads.

Recommendations

M3U8 proxies (or full proxies / VPNs) are currently the most reliable way of avoiding ads. More proxy hosts would be ideal (see #8).

• There currently aren't any public M3U8 proxies...

Alternatively:

• dyn-skip / dyn-skip-midroll-alt are decent.
• Alternate Player for Twitch.tv consistently updates with new ad-blocking methods.
• ttv_adEraser somewhat fixes the purple screen issue of ttv-ublock.
• ttv-tools (firefox) has nice features.

Current solutions

These solutions generally aren't compatible with other Twitch ad blockers. e.g. ttv-ublock will break dyn-skip (and others).

• dyn-skip (ublock / userscript)
  • Notifies Twitch that ads were watched before requesting the main live stream.
  • Falls back to mute-black if this fails (use an alternative solution if it always fails for you, as it adds additional load).
  • Midroll ads are muted/blacked out. See dyn-skip-midroll-alt for an alternative solution.
• dyn-skip-midroll-alt (ublock / userscript)
  • A mix of dyn-skip / dyn. During midrolls this plays a low resolution stream instead of nothing - might be a little glitchy but should always play something.
  • If you see a Waiting for ads to finish banner without midroll in the banner text, you should be able to just refresh the page to get a regular stream.
• dyn-skip-midroll (ublock / userscript) (not recommended)
  • The same as dyn-skip, but attempts to fully skip midroll ads (I'm not sure if this has ever actually worked - infinite reload).
  • This requires the script to work perfectly, otherwise the player will hit a reload loop.
• dyn-video-swap (ublock / userscript)
  • Ads are replaced by a low resolution stream for the duration of the ad.
  • Similar to dyn, but skips closer to 20 seconds when switching to the live stream.
  • You might see tiny bits of the ad.
  • Audio controls wont work whilst the ad is playing.
• dyn (ublock / userscript)
  • Ad segments are replaced by low resolution stream segments (on a m3u8 level).
  • Skips 2-3 seconds when switching to the live stream.
  • Stuttering and looping of segments often occur (during the ad segments).
  • NOTE: Removing segments doesn't notify Twitch that ads were watched (aka more served ads).
• low-res (ublock / userscript)
  • No ads.
  • The stream is 480p for the duration of the stream.
• mute-black (ublock / userscript)
  • Ads are muted / blacked out for the duration of the ad.
  • You might see tiny bits of the ad.
• proxy-m3u8 (ublock / userscript) (proxy currently points to a dead url)
  • Uses a proxy server to fetch an ad-free stream.
  • Currently only the initial m3u8 is proxied, so there shouldn't be any additional latency.
  • Assumes the proxy server acts in good faith and maintains a good uptime.

Applying a solution (uBlock Origin)

• Navigate to the uBlock Origin Dashboard (the extension options)
• Under the My filters tab add twitch.tv##+js(twitch-videoad).
• Under the Settings tab, enable I am an advanced user, then click the cog that appears. Modify the value of userResourcesLocation from unset to the full url of the solution you wish to use (if a url is already in use, add a space after the existing url). e.g. userResourcesLocation https://raw.githubusercontent.com/pixeltris/TwitchAdSolutions/master/dyn/dyn-ublock-origin.js
• To ensure uBlock Origin loads the script I recommend that you disable/enable the uBlock Origin extension (or restart your browser).

Applying a solution (userscript)

• Viewing one of the userscript files should prompt the given script to be added.

Other solutions / projects

For a more detailed description of the following please refer to this.

• https://github.com/odensc/ttv-ublock (extension - purple screen may display every 10-15 mins)
• https://github.com/Nerixyz/ttv-tools (Firefox extension)
• https://github.com/LeonHeidelbach/ttv_adEraser (extension)
• https://github.com/instance01/Twitch-HLS-AdBlock (extension)
• https://github.com/Wilkolicious/twitchAdSkip (UserScript + FrankerFaceZ)
• https://gist.github.com/simple-hacker/ddd81964b3e8bca47e0aead5ad19a707 (UserScript + FrankerFaceZ(optional))
• https://greasyfork.org/en/scripts/415412-twitch-refresh-on-advert/code (UserScript + FrankerFaceZ(optional))
• Alternate Player for Twitch.tv - code (extension)

---

• https://github.com/streamlink/streamlink (desktop application)
• https://github.com/nopbreak/TwitchMod (android app)
• https://twitchls.com/ (external site - purple screen may display every 10-15 mins)
• Use a VPN targeting a region without ads

NOTE/TODO

NOTE: Many of these solutions could do with improvements.
TODO: Test midroll ads.
TODO: More testing in general.