So I watched a video that was age restricted on Youtube itself since I couldn't be bothered to download it and couldn't watch it on invidious. Holy fucking shit, the experience is unbearable, there was nothing but lag and buffering just like back when I tried watching Youtube back in 2008 when my internet was garbage. Difference is that my internet now is fine, and everything else works super fast, it's only Youtube that barely works when I try watching videos on it directly. I eventually caved and just downloaded the video in 360p, had no issues and despite it being a big ass video it was downloaded in maybe 15 seconds. Invidious works fine even when I try to watch videos in higher qualities, but whatever Youtube is doing on their end, probably some AI upscaling in realtime, it is absolutely unwatchable even in 720p. Note that I am using adblockers, so I got the "better" experience than most people since I didn't have to watch thru 5 ads back to back just to start the video and then watch another 2 every 5 minutes.
I hope whoever is doing this gets cancer, I want to laugh at them when their condition gets critical and their family starts grieving for them. I have absolutely no tolerance for those who break something that works just fine, especially if they make a habit of doing so time and time again.
