We are happy to announce the release of WhaleDown Desktop version 2024.02.0.

First, we introduced a download function for m3u8 subtitle files. Just turn on Auto Save Subtitles in the downloader's settings options to enable this feature. When a subtitle file exists in m3u8, WhaleDown will try to download it.

Additionally, we have introduced an experimental switch Realtime Merging (m3u8). If you're having trouble that the audio and video don't match during the download process, turn of it and try downloading again.

Options such as Auto Open and Auto Close were removed from the Detector settings view. It was replaced by a new Popup Window.

We've also introduced a range of improvements for the Windows platform. This release mainly addresses the problem of missing progress in DASH stream downloads. You may also have noticed improvements to the title bar in dark mode, as well as fixes to issues such as where the Google Chrome window appears.

This is a very important release. There are also a number of bug fixes not mentioned here. We recommend you try the latest version now.

Recently, we received feedback from some macOS Intel users that they were unable to install the latest updates.

Our developers are sorry for the inconvenience. The solution to the problem is simple, just download the latest version manually,

• https://www.whaledown.com/download/

Problem analysis​

macOS Intel was the first platform supported by WhaleDown. We've been signing with the earliest Apple Developer Certificate for years. It expired until the end of 2023.

Our developers copied the Apple Developer Certificate from the Apple Silicon platform and signed the macOS Intel version. Everything looks great except for the automatic updates.

The update was rejected because the automatic update module discovered that the application package used a different signature, believing that it was from another developer.

Conclusion​

Once again, we apologize for the inconvenience. In the future, we will handle the software release process more carefully to bring you a smooth software usage experience.

We're excited to release the new version 2023.12. This is likely to be the last release in 2023.

In this release, we've introduced support for the MediaDelivery CDN. Therefore, all video sharing websites using the MediaDelivery CDN are supported by WhaleDown.

Additionally, we've improved the optimal resolution selection algorithm, which provides a better experience for downloading videos from sites like YouTube.

At the same time, we've further improved support for Google Chrome and fixed a bug in DASH video stream detection. After a year of development, WhaleDown's support for Google Chrome is very mature. We highly recommend you give this feature a try.

For more details on this update, please refer to Changelog.

We're excited to release the new version 2023.10. This release brings a number of important bug fixes and bilibili support.

First and foremost is a graphical interface rendering bug on the macOS Sonoma (Intel) platform. Thanks to all users for their patience, we finally fixed this bug 20 days after macOS Sonoma was released.

Also, we've actually optimized it for multi-monitors use. In previous versions, when the user used two monitors, the length and width of the built-in browser were too large and required the user to manually adjust each time. Now this annoying bug is gone.

Due to some technical reasons, we've disabled the built-in media player on all platforms. This is a temporary decision. In the future, we will restore the built-in player as soon as the relevant bugs are fixed in the upstream development library.

We recommend all users upgrade to this version. And we would also like to thank the users who have reported bugs to us.

In the just-released version 2023.9.0, we resolved the infinite loop issue with the CloudFlare verification page.

The problem is so serious that our users can't access sites like teachable at all. It is widespread, and you can see many browser developers complaining about CloudFlare on the Internet.

Thanks to our R&D team, who were the first in the world to solve this problem. All you need to do is update WhaleDown to the latest version and launch Google Chrome.

For operation methods, please refer to the document Components/Browser.

We are excited to release the new version 2023.3.0. In this version, we moved the built-in browser to a separate window.

It's an unprecedented attempt. This update unifies the interactive interface between WhaleDown and all browsers (The built-in browser, Google Chrome, and Microsoft Edge). It also provides a reference for future mobile interface design (especially the tablet version).

Future​

In the next small release, we'll be introducing more mobile-inspired interface designs.

We'll further strip the built-in browser. Eventually, we'll be releasing a standalone WhaleDown Browser app.

Introduction​

With the release of 2023.2.0, WhaleDown introduced external browser (Google Chrome) support. This exciting feature is available on both Windows and macOS.

We noticed that the built-in browser can not pass AntiBots check of some websites recently. That is the best scenario of using external browsers.

Usage​

Currently, there is no separate interface entry for launching an external browser. You need to click the Launch Google Chrome button on the blank page of the built-in browser.

If WhaleDown find that Google Chrome isn't installed on your computer, WhaleDown will prompt you to install it.

When a new video item is detected, there will be a floating mini-detector widget at the top-right corner of screen. When you click on it, WhaleDown return to the main window and show the detector view.

Then, you can use it as you did before.

Future​

This is an initial technical validation release. There are still a few missing features. This initial user interface design is a bit simple. It's clear that we'll refine it even more in the future.

The detector widget will be totally redesigned. We will provide a unified user experience for both the built-in browser and the external browser.

We are considering moving the built-in browser into a new window. The built-in web browser will be released as a standalone application eventually. This will reduce the installer/DMG size dramatically.

Acknowledgments​

Thanks to those who suggested to support Google Chrome / Extensions.

We are happy to announce the release of WhaleDown Desktop version 2022.4.0.

In this version, we addressed a critical preformance bug on Windows. We recommend all windows users to update to the latest version.

Facebook and Reddit has been added to the list of free downloading websites. Now, you can download videos from Facebook and Reddit without a license.

Thanks to the feedback from @joanisapro, we added a new context menu item -Convert to MP4. When a m3u8 stream is downloaded, you can use this feature to convert it from .mpg to .mp4.

For more details, please refer to the changlog.

Known Issues​

1. Failed to download live streams on Windows
2. No downloading progress of DASH streams on Windows

We are happy to announce the release of WhaleDown Desktop version 2022.3.0. This version ships with lots of new features and bug fixes.

The most exciting feature is supporting HLS(m3u8) streams which stream videos and audios separately. You may have already noticed that some videos downloaded do not contain audios. From version 2022.3.0, WhaleDown can download and merge videos and audios seamlessly. As a result, the Experimental Downloader option is removed from the downloader's preferences view.

In this version, we add some new interceptor rules to detector to support DASH(mpd) streams. For DASH streams, WhaleDown will download videos and audios sequentially, then merge them after downloading finishes. We also updated the DASH downloader to diplay the downloading progress and status of videos and audios.

There is a new option Download without asking in the detector. When it is checked, WhaleDown will download videos without showing a confirming dialog. And a Download All button will be displayed on the top toolbar of the detector. (Thanks to @Mike_Toasted)

For more details, please refer to the changlog.

We are happy to announce WhaleDown Desktop 2022.2.0 releases today.

What's new​

• [app] Fix 'Load License Error"
• [detector] Display more details about detected videos
• [detector] Update Ads filter rules

For more details, please refer to the changlog.