diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 179aaff57..7fa4a6d46 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ PYTHON ?= /usr/bin/env python3
 SYSCONFDIR = $(shell if [ $(PREFIX) = /usr -o $(PREFIX) = /usr/local ]; then echo /etc; else echo $(PREFIX)/etc; fi)
 
 # set markdown input format to "markdown-smart" for pandoc version 2 and to "markdown" for pandoc prior to version 2
-MARKDOWN = $(shell if [ `pandoc -v | head -n1 | cut -d" " -f2 | head -c1` = "2" ]; then echo markdown-smart; else echo markdown; fi)
+MARKDOWN = $(shell if [ "$(pandoc -v | head -n1 | cut -d" " -f2 | head -c1)" = "2" ]; then echo markdown-smart; else echo markdown; fi)
 
 install: lazy-extractors yt-dlp yt-dlp.1 completions
 	mkdir -p $(DESTDIR)$(BINDIR)
diff --git a/devscripts/make_readme.py b/devscripts/make_readme.py
index 1401c2e5a..fd234bf58 100755
--- a/devscripts/make_readme.py
+++ b/devscripts/make_readme.py
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
 
 helptext = sys.stdin.read()
 if isinstance(helptext, bytes):
-    helptext = helptext.decode('utf-8')
+    helptext = helptext.decode()
 
 start, end = helptext.index(f'\n  {OPTIONS_START}'), helptext.index(f'\n{EPILOG_START}')
 options = re.sub(r'(?m)^  (\w.+)$', r'## \1', helptext[start + 1: end + 1])
diff --git a/devscripts/make_supportedsites.py b/devscripts/make_supportedsites.py
index 0a0d08f56..0403c1ae6 100644
--- a/devscripts/make_supportedsites.py
+++ b/devscripts/make_supportedsites.py
@@ -3,9 +3,8 @@
 import os
 import sys
 
-# Import yt_dlp
-ROOT_DIR = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), '..')
-sys.path.insert(0, ROOT_DIR)
+sys.path.insert(0, os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))))
+
 import yt_dlp
 
 
diff --git a/devscripts/update-formulae.py b/devscripts/update-formulae.py
index 6424f5d9b..a89872c7b 100644
--- a/devscripts/update-formulae.py
+++ b/devscripts/update-formulae.py
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
 
 pypi_release = json.loads(compat_urllib_request.urlopen(
     'https://pypi.org/pypi/yt-dlp/%s/json' % normalized_version
-).read().decode('utf-8'))
+).read().decode())
 
 tarball_file = next(x for x in pypi_release['urls'] if x['filename'].endswith('.tar.gz'))
 
diff --git a/test/helper.py b/test/helper.py
index 81e53ed74..2333ace98 100644
--- a/test/helper.py
+++ b/test/helper.py
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ def gettestcases(include_onlymatching=False):
         yield from ie.get_testcases(include_onlymatching)
 
 
-md5 = lambda s: hashlib.md5(s.encode('utf-8')).hexdigest()
+md5 = lambda s: hashlib.md5(s.encode()).hexdigest()
 
 
 def expect_value(self, got, expected, field):
diff --git a/test/test_InfoExtractor.py b/test/test_InfoExtractor.py
index 173b62920..257ea7dd3 100644
--- a/test/test_InfoExtractor.py
+++ b/test/test_InfoExtractor.py
@@ -1360,7 +1360,7 @@ def test_parse_mpd_formats(self):
         for mpd_file, mpd_url, mpd_base_url, expected_formats, expected_subtitles in _TEST_CASES:
             with open('./test/testdata/mpd/%s.mpd' % mpd_file, encoding='utf-8') as f:
                 formats, subtitles = self.ie._parse_mpd_formats_and_subtitles(
-                    compat_etree_fromstring(f.read().encode('utf-8')),
+                    compat_etree_fromstring(f.read().encode()),
                     mpd_base_url=mpd_base_url, mpd_url=mpd_url)
                 self.ie._sort_formats(formats)
                 expect_value(self, formats, expected_formats, None)
@@ -1551,7 +1551,7 @@ def test_parse_ism_formats(self):
         for ism_file, ism_url, expected_formats, expected_subtitles in _TEST_CASES:
             with open('./test/testdata/ism/%s.Manifest' % ism_file, encoding='utf-8') as f:
                 formats, subtitles = self.ie._parse_ism_formats_and_subtitles(
-                    compat_etree_fromstring(f.read().encode('utf-8')), ism_url=ism_url)
+                    compat_etree_fromstring(f.read().encode()), ism_url=ism_url)
                 self.ie._sort_formats(formats)
                 expect_value(self, formats, expected_formats, None)
                 expect_value(self, subtitles, expected_subtitles, None)
@@ -1577,7 +1577,7 @@ def test_parse_f4m_formats(self):
         for f4m_file, f4m_url, expected_formats in _TEST_CASES:
             with open('./test/testdata/f4m/%s.f4m' % f4m_file, encoding='utf-8') as f:
                 formats = self.ie._parse_f4m_formats(
-                    compat_etree_fromstring(f.read().encode('utf-8')),
+                    compat_etree_fromstring(f.read().encode()),
                     f4m_url, None)
                 self.ie._sort_formats(formats)
                 expect_value(self, formats, expected_formats, None)
@@ -1624,7 +1624,7 @@ def test_parse_xspf(self):
         for xspf_file, xspf_url, expected_entries in _TEST_CASES:
             with open('./test/testdata/xspf/%s.xspf' % xspf_file, encoding='utf-8') as f:
                 entries = self.ie._parse_xspf(
-                    compat_etree_fromstring(f.read().encode('utf-8')),
+                    compat_etree_fromstring(f.read().encode()),
                     xspf_file, xspf_url=xspf_url, xspf_base_url=xspf_url)
                 expect_value(self, entries, expected_entries, None)
                 for i in range(len(entries)):
diff --git a/test/test_YoutubeDLCookieJar.py b/test/test_YoutubeDLCookieJar.py
index 13a4569b2..6280e1f2c 100644
--- a/test/test_YoutubeDLCookieJar.py
+++ b/test/test_YoutubeDLCookieJar.py
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ def test_keep_session_cookies(self):
         tf = tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile(delete=False)
         try:
             cookiejar.save(filename=tf.name, ignore_discard=True, ignore_expires=True)
-            temp = tf.read().decode('utf-8')
+            temp = tf.read().decode()
             self.assertTrue(re.search(
                 r'www\.foobar\.foobar\s+FALSE\s+/\s+TRUE\s+0\s+YoutubeDLExpiresEmpty\s+YoutubeDLExpiresEmptyValue', temp))
             self.assertTrue(re.search(
diff --git a/test/test_aes.py b/test/test_aes.py
index c934104e3..2b7b7cf54 100644
--- a/test/test_aes.py
+++ b/test/test_aes.py
@@ -81,19 +81,19 @@ def test_gcm_decrypt(self):
             self.assertEqual(decrypted.rstrip(b'\x08'), self.secret_msg)
 
     def test_decrypt_text(self):
-        password = intlist_to_bytes(self.key).decode('utf-8')
+        password = intlist_to_bytes(self.key).decode()
         encrypted = base64.b64encode(
             intlist_to_bytes(self.iv[:8])
             + b'\x17\x15\x93\xab\x8d\x80V\xcdV\xe0\t\xcdo\xc2\xa5\xd8ksM\r\xe27N\xae'
-        ).decode('utf-8')
+        ).decode()
         decrypted = (aes_decrypt_text(encrypted, password, 16))
         self.assertEqual(decrypted, self.secret_msg)
 
-        password = intlist_to_bytes(self.key).decode('utf-8')
+        password = intlist_to_bytes(self.key).decode()
         encrypted = base64.b64encode(
             intlist_to_bytes(self.iv[:8])
             + b'\x0b\xe6\xa4\xd9z\x0e\xb8\xb9\xd0\xd4i_\x85\x1d\x99\x98_\xe5\x80\xe7.\xbf\xa5\x83'
-        ).decode('utf-8')
+        ).decode()
         decrypted = (aes_decrypt_text(encrypted, password, 32))
         self.assertEqual(decrypted, self.secret_msg)
 
diff --git a/test/test_compat.py b/test/test_compat.py
index 9b185853d..224175c65 100644
--- a/test/test_compat.py
+++ b/test/test_compat.py
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ def test_compat_etree_fromstring(self):
                 <foo><bar>spam</bar></foo>
             </root>
         '''
-        doc = compat_etree_fromstring(xml.encode('utf-8'))
+        doc = compat_etree_fromstring(xml.encode())
         self.assertTrue(isinstance(doc.attrib['foo'], compat_str))
         self.assertTrue(isinstance(doc.attrib['spam'], compat_str))
         self.assertTrue(isinstance(doc.find('normal').text, compat_str))
diff --git a/test/test_http.py b/test/test_http.py
index fb8c9f4e9..664e09ace 100644
--- a/test/test_http.py
+++ b/test/test_http.py
@@ -140,7 +140,7 @@ def do_GET(self):
             self.send_response(200)
             self.send_header('Content-Type', 'text/plain; charset=utf-8')
             self.end_headers()
-            self.wfile.write('{self.proxy_name}: {self.path}'.format(self=self).encode('utf-8'))
+            self.wfile.write('{self.proxy_name}: {self.path}'.format(self=self).encode())
     return HTTPTestRequestHandler
 
 
@@ -167,12 +167,12 @@ def test_proxy(self):
             'geo_verification_proxy': geo_proxy,
         })
         url = 'http://foo.com/bar'
-        response = ydl.urlopen(url).read().decode('utf-8')
+        response = ydl.urlopen(url).read().decode()
         self.assertEqual(response, f'normal: {url}')
 
         req = compat_urllib_request.Request(url)
         req.add_header('Ytdl-request-proxy', geo_proxy)
-        response = ydl.urlopen(req).read().decode('utf-8')
+        response = ydl.urlopen(req).read().decode()
         self.assertEqual(response, f'geo: {url}')
 
     def test_proxy_with_idn(self):
@@ -180,7 +180,7 @@ def test_proxy_with_idn(self):
             'proxy': f'127.0.0.1:{self.port}',
         })
         url = 'http://中文.tw/'
-        response = ydl.urlopen(url).read().decode('utf-8')
+        response = ydl.urlopen(url).read().decode()
         # b'xn--fiq228c' is '中文'.encode('idna')
         self.assertEqual(response, 'normal: http://xn--fiq228c.tw/')
 
diff --git a/test/test_socks.py b/test/test_socks.py
index 546f0d73d..a8b068cdd 100644
--- a/test/test_socks.py
+++ b/test/test_socks.py
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ def test_proxy_http(self):
             'proxy': params['primary_proxy']
         })
         self.assertEqual(
-            ydl.urlopen('http://yt-dl.org/ip').read().decode('utf-8'),
+            ydl.urlopen('http://yt-dl.org/ip').read().decode(),
             params['primary_server_ip'])
 
     def test_proxy_https(self):
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ def test_proxy_https(self):
             'proxy': params['primary_proxy']
         })
         self.assertEqual(
-            ydl.urlopen('https://yt-dl.org/ip').read().decode('utf-8'),
+            ydl.urlopen('https://yt-dl.org/ip').read().decode(),
             params['primary_server_ip'])
 
     def test_secondary_proxy_http(self):
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ def test_secondary_proxy_http(self):
         req = compat_urllib_request.Request('http://yt-dl.org/ip')
         req.add_header('Ytdl-request-proxy', params['secondary_proxy'])
         self.assertEqual(
-            ydl.urlopen(req).read().decode('utf-8'),
+            ydl.urlopen(req).read().decode(),
             params['secondary_server_ip'])
 
     def test_secondary_proxy_https(self):
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ def test_secondary_proxy_https(self):
         req = compat_urllib_request.Request('https://yt-dl.org/ip')
         req.add_header('Ytdl-request-proxy', params['secondary_proxy'])
         self.assertEqual(
-            ydl.urlopen(req).read().decode('utf-8'),
+            ydl.urlopen(req).read().decode(),
             params['secondary_server_ip'])
 
 
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ def _get_ip(self, protocol):
         ydl = FakeYDL({
             'proxy': '%s://127.0.0.1:%d' % (protocol, self.port),
         })
-        return ydl.urlopen('http://yt-dl.org/ip').read().decode('utf-8')
+        return ydl.urlopen('http://yt-dl.org/ip').read().decode()
 
     def test_socks4(self):
         self.assertTrue(isinstance(self._get_ip('socks4'), compat_str))
diff --git a/test/test_subtitles.py b/test/test_subtitles.py
index 362b67cef..182bd7a4b 100644
--- a/test/test_subtitles.py
+++ b/test/test_subtitles.py
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ def getSubtitles(self):
         for sub_info in subtitles.values():
             if sub_info.get('data') is None:
                 uf = self.DL.urlopen(sub_info['url'])
-                sub_info['data'] = uf.read().decode('utf-8')
+                sub_info['data'] = uf.read().decode()
         return {l: sub_info['data'] for l, sub_info in subtitles.items()}
 
 
diff --git a/test/test_update.py.disabled b/test/test_update.py.disabled
index 389b8ffe5..73b55cdac 100644
--- a/test/test_update.py.disabled
+++ b/test/test_update.py.disabled
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ class TestUpdate(unittest.TestCase):
         signature = versions_info['signature']
         del versions_info['signature']
         self.assertTrue(rsa_verify(
-            json.dumps(versions_info, sort_keys=True).encode('utf-8'),
+            json.dumps(versions_info, sort_keys=True).encode(),
             signature, UPDATES_RSA_KEY))
 
 
diff --git a/test/test_utils.py b/test/test_utils.py
index 5e220087b..184c39cff 100644
--- a/test/test_utils.py
+++ b/test/test_utils.py
@@ -1759,7 +1759,7 @@ def test_LazyList_laziness(self):
 
         def test(ll, idx, val, cache):
             self.assertEqual(ll[idx], val)
-            self.assertEqual(getattr(ll, '_LazyList__cache'), list(cache))
+            self.assertEqual(ll._cache, list(cache))
 
         ll = LazyList(range(10))
         test(ll, 0, 0, range(1))
diff --git a/yt_dlp/YoutubeDL.py b/yt_dlp/YoutubeDL.py
index de34b8bd7..f9670429a 100644
--- a/yt_dlp/YoutubeDL.py
+++ b/yt_dlp/YoutubeDL.py
@@ -773,9 +773,9 @@ def _bidi_workaround(self, message):
         assert hasattr(self, '_output_process')
         assert isinstance(message, compat_str)
         line_count = message.count('\n') + 1
-        self._output_process.stdin.write((message + '\n').encode('utf-8'))
+        self._output_process.stdin.write((message + '\n').encode())
         self._output_process.stdin.flush()
-        res = ''.join(self._output_channel.readline().decode('utf-8')
+        res = ''.join(self._output_channel.readline().decode()
                       for _ in range(line_count))
         return res[:-len('\n')]
 
@@ -1181,7 +1181,7 @@ def create_key(outer_mobj):
                 value = map(str, variadic(value) if '#' in flags else [value])
                 value, fmt = ' '.join(map(compat_shlex_quote, value)), str_fmt
             elif fmt[-1] == 'B':  # bytes
-                value = f'%{str_fmt}'.encode() % str(value).encode('utf-8')
+                value = f'%{str_fmt}'.encode() % str(value).encode()
                 value, fmt = value.decode('utf-8', 'ignore'), 's'
             elif fmt[-1] == 'U':  # unicode normalized
                 value, fmt = unicodedata.normalize(
@@ -2243,7 +2243,7 @@ def final_selector(ctx):
                 return selector_function(ctx_copy)
             return final_selector
 
-        stream = io.BytesIO(format_spec.encode('utf-8'))
+        stream = io.BytesIO(format_spec.encode())
         try:
             tokens = list(_remove_unused_ops(tokenize.tokenize(stream.readline)))
         except tokenize.TokenError:
@@ -3194,8 +3194,8 @@ def ffmpeg_fixup(cndn, msg, cls):
                     downloader = downloader.__name__ if downloader else None
 
                     if info_dict.get('requested_formats') is None:  # Not necessary if doing merger
-                        live_fixup = info_dict.get('is_live') and not self.params.get('hls_use_mpegts')
-                        ffmpeg_fixup(downloader == 'HlsFD' or live_fixup,
+                        fixup_live = info_dict.get('is_live') and self.params.get('hls_use_mpegts') is None
+                        ffmpeg_fixup(downloader == 'HlsFD' or fixup_live,
                                      'Possible MPEG-TS in MP4 container or malformed AAC timestamps',
                                      FFmpegFixupM3u8PP)
                         ffmpeg_fixup(info_dict.get('is_live') and downloader == 'DashSegmentsFD',
@@ -3700,10 +3700,10 @@ def python_implementation():
 
         # Not implemented
         if False and self.params.get('call_home'):
-            ipaddr = self.urlopen('https://yt-dl.org/ip').read().decode('utf-8')
+            ipaddr = self.urlopen('https://yt-dl.org/ip').read().decode()
             write_debug('Public IP address: %s' % ipaddr)
             latest_version = self.urlopen(
-                'https://yt-dl.org/latest/version').read().decode('utf-8')
+                'https://yt-dl.org/latest/version').read().decode()
             if version_tuple(latest_version) > version_tuple(__version__):
                 self.report_warning(
                     'You are using an outdated version (newest version: %s)! '
diff --git a/yt_dlp/aes.py b/yt_dlp/aes.py
index ba3baf3de..d0e6d7549 100644
--- a/yt_dlp/aes.py
+++ b/yt_dlp/aes.py
@@ -265,7 +265,7 @@ def aes_decrypt_text(data, password, key_size_bytes):
     NONCE_LENGTH_BYTES = 8
 
     data = bytes_to_intlist(compat_b64decode(data))
-    password = bytes_to_intlist(password.encode('utf-8'))
+    password = bytes_to_intlist(password.encode())
 
     key = password[:key_size_bytes] + [0] * (key_size_bytes - len(password))
     key = aes_encrypt(key[:BLOCK_SIZE_BYTES], key_expansion(key)) * (key_size_bytes // BLOCK_SIZE_BYTES)
diff --git a/yt_dlp/cookies.py b/yt_dlp/cookies.py
index 621c91e86..b06edfc5d 100644
--- a/yt_dlp/cookies.py
+++ b/yt_dlp/cookies.py
@@ -283,10 +283,10 @@ def _extract_chrome_cookies(browser_name, profile, keyring, logger):
 
 
 def _process_chrome_cookie(decryptor, host_key, name, value, encrypted_value, path, expires_utc, is_secure):
-    host_key = host_key.decode('utf-8')
-    name = name.decode('utf-8')
-    value = value.decode('utf-8')
-    path = path.decode('utf-8')
+    host_key = host_key.decode()
+    name = name.decode()
+    value = value.decode()
+    path = path.decode()
     is_encrypted = not value and encrypted_value
 
     if is_encrypted:
@@ -458,7 +458,7 @@ def decrypt(self, encrypted_value):
             self._cookie_counts['other'] += 1
             # any other prefix means the data is DPAPI encrypted
             # https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromium/src/+/refs/heads/main/components/os_crypt/os_crypt_win.cc
-            return _decrypt_windows_dpapi(encrypted_value, self._logger).decode('utf-8')
+            return _decrypt_windows_dpapi(encrypted_value, self._logger).decode()
 
 
 def _extract_safari_cookies(profile, logger):
@@ -521,7 +521,7 @@ def read_cstring(self):
         while True:
             c = self.read_bytes(1)
             if c == b'\x00':
-                return b''.join(buffer).decode('utf-8')
+                return b''.join(buffer).decode()
             else:
                 buffer.append(c)
 
@@ -735,7 +735,7 @@ def _get_kwallet_network_wallet(logger):
             logger.warning('failed to read NetworkWallet')
             return default_wallet
         else:
-            network_wallet = stdout.decode('utf-8').strip()
+            network_wallet = stdout.decode().strip()
             logger.debug(f'NetworkWallet = "{network_wallet}"')
             return network_wallet
     except Exception as e:
@@ -873,7 +873,7 @@ def pbkdf2_sha1(password, salt, iterations, key_length):
 def _decrypt_aes_cbc(ciphertext, key, logger, initialization_vector=b' ' * 16):
     plaintext = unpad_pkcs7(aes_cbc_decrypt_bytes(ciphertext, key, initialization_vector))
     try:
-        return plaintext.decode('utf-8')
+        return plaintext.decode()
     except UnicodeDecodeError:
         logger.warning('failed to decrypt cookie (AES-CBC) because UTF-8 decoding failed. Possibly the key is wrong?', only_once=True)
         return None
@@ -887,7 +887,7 @@ def _decrypt_aes_gcm(ciphertext, key, nonce, authentication_tag, logger):
         return None
 
     try:
-        return plaintext.decode('utf-8')
+        return plaintext.decode()
     except UnicodeDecodeError:
         logger.warning('failed to decrypt cookie (AES-GCM) because UTF-8 decoding failed. Possibly the key is wrong?', only_once=True)
         return None
@@ -939,7 +939,7 @@ def _open_database_copy(database_path, tmpdir):
 
 def _get_column_names(cursor, table_name):
     table_info = cursor.execute(f'PRAGMA table_info({table_name})').fetchall()
-    return [row[1].decode('utf-8') for row in table_info]
+    return [row[1].decode() for row in table_info]
 
 
 def _find_most_recently_used_file(root, filename, logger):
diff --git a/yt_dlp/downloader/external.py b/yt_dlp/downloader/external.py
index 4f9f8f6e5..85c6a6977 100644
--- a/yt_dlp/downloader/external.py
+++ b/yt_dlp/downloader/external.py
@@ -299,7 +299,7 @@ def _make_cmd(self, tmpfilename, info_dict):
                 fragment_filename = '%s-Frag%d' % (os.path.basename(tmpfilename), frag_index)
                 url_list.append('%s\n\tout=%s' % (fragment['url'], fragment_filename))
             stream, _ = self.sanitize_open(url_list_file, 'wb')
-            stream.write('\n'.join(url_list).encode('utf-8'))
+            stream.write('\n'.join(url_list).encode())
             stream.close()
             cmd += ['-i', url_list_file]
         else:
diff --git a/yt_dlp/downloader/f4m.py b/yt_dlp/downloader/f4m.py
index 12ecec008..7b6665167 100644
--- a/yt_dlp/downloader/f4m.py
+++ b/yt_dlp/downloader/f4m.py
@@ -412,7 +412,7 @@ def real_download(self, filename, info_dict):
                     if box_type == b'mdat':
                         self._append_fragment(ctx, box_data)
                         break
-            except (compat_urllib_error.HTTPError, ) as err:
+            except compat_urllib_error.HTTPError as err:
                 if live and (err.code == 404 or err.code == 410):
                     # We didn't keep up with the live window. Continue
                     # with the next available fragment.
diff --git a/yt_dlp/downloader/hls.py b/yt_dlp/downloader/hls.py
index f65f91f4f..2e01c7bac 100644
--- a/yt_dlp/downloader/hls.py
+++ b/yt_dlp/downloader/hls.py
@@ -329,7 +329,7 @@ def pack_fragment(frag_content, frag_index):
                             continue
                     block.write_into(output)
 
-                return output.getvalue().encode('utf-8')
+                return output.getvalue().encode()
 
             def fin_fragments():
                 dedup_window = extra_state.get('webvtt_dedup_window')
@@ -340,7 +340,7 @@ def fin_fragments():
                 for cue in dedup_window:
                     webvtt.CueBlock.from_json(cue).write_into(output)
 
-                return output.getvalue().encode('utf-8')
+                return output.getvalue().encode()
 
             self.download_and_append_fragments(
                 ctx, fragments, info_dict, pack_func=pack_fragment, finish_func=fin_fragments)
diff --git a/yt_dlp/downloader/http.py b/yt_dlp/downloader/http.py
index d590dbfbd..9b7598b1c 100644
--- a/yt_dlp/downloader/http.py
+++ b/yt_dlp/downloader/http.py
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ def establish_connection():
                     ctx.resume_len = 0
                     ctx.open_mode = 'wb'
                 ctx.data_len = ctx.content_len = int_or_none(ctx.data.info().get('Content-length', None))
-            except (compat_urllib_error.HTTPError, ) as err:
+            except compat_urllib_error.HTTPError as err:
                 if err.code == 416:
                     # Unable to resume (requested range not satisfiable)
                     try:
@@ -158,7 +158,7 @@ def establish_connection():
                         ctx.data = self.ydl.urlopen(
                             sanitized_Request(url, request_data, headers))
                         content_length = ctx.data.info()['Content-Length']
-                    except (compat_urllib_error.HTTPError, ) as err:
+                    except compat_urllib_error.HTTPError as err:
                         if err.code < 500 or err.code >= 600:
                             raise
                     else:
@@ -268,7 +268,7 @@ def retry(e):
 
                     if self.params.get('xattr_set_filesize', False) and data_len is not None:
                         try:
-                            write_xattr(ctx.tmpfilename, 'user.ytdl.filesize', str(data_len).encode('utf-8'))
+                            write_xattr(ctx.tmpfilename, 'user.ytdl.filesize', str(data_len).encode())
                         except (XAttrUnavailableError, XAttrMetadataError) as err:
                             self.report_error('unable to set filesize xattr: %s' % str(err))
 
diff --git a/yt_dlp/downloader/ism.py b/yt_dlp/downloader/ism.py
index 82ed51e88..0aaba8c15 100644
--- a/yt_dlp/downloader/ism.py
+++ b/yt_dlp/downloader/ism.py
@@ -151,7 +151,7 @@ def write_piff_header(stream, params):
         sample_entry_payload += u16.pack(0x18)  # depth
         sample_entry_payload += s16.pack(-1)  # pre defined
 
-        codec_private_data = binascii.unhexlify(params['codec_private_data'].encode('utf-8'))
+        codec_private_data = binascii.unhexlify(params['codec_private_data'].encode())
         if fourcc in ('H264', 'AVC1'):
             sps, pps = codec_private_data.split(u32.pack(1))[1:]
             avcc_payload = u8.pack(1)  # configuration version
diff --git a/yt_dlp/downloader/mhtml.py b/yt_dlp/downloader/mhtml.py
index 8a6619960..f999fca78 100644
--- a/yt_dlp/downloader/mhtml.py
+++ b/yt_dlp/downloader/mhtml.py
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ class MhtmlFD(FragmentFD):
     def _escape_mime(s):
         return '=?utf-8?Q?' + (b''.join(
             bytes((b,)) if b >= 0x20 else b'=%02X' % b
-            for b in quopri.encodestring(s.encode('utf-8'), header=True)
+            for b in quopri.encodestring(s.encode(), header=True)
         )).decode('us-ascii') + '?='
 
     def _gen_cid(self, i, fragment, frag_boundary):
@@ -151,7 +151,7 @@ def real_download(self, filename, info_dict):
                 length=len(stub),
                 title=self._escape_mime(title),
                 stub=stub
-            ).encode('utf-8'))
+            ).encode())
             extra_state['header_written'] = True
 
         for i, fragment in enumerate(fragments):
diff --git a/yt_dlp/downloader/niconico.py b/yt_dlp/downloader/niconico.py
index 0e6c177b7..5947446b1 100644
--- a/yt_dlp/downloader/niconico.py
+++ b/yt_dlp/downloader/niconico.py
@@ -51,4 +51,4 @@ def heartbeat():
                 with heartbeat_lock:
                     timer[0].cancel()
                     download_complete = True
-            return success
+        return success
diff --git a/yt_dlp/downloader/websocket.py b/yt_dlp/downloader/websocket.py
index eb1b99b45..727a15828 100644
--- a/yt_dlp/downloader/websocket.py
+++ b/yt_dlp/downloader/websocket.py
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ def real_download(self, filename, info_dict):
         async def call_conn(proc, stdin):
             try:
                 await self.real_connection(stdin, info_dict)
-            except (BrokenPipeError, OSError):
+            except OSError:
                 pass
             finally:
                 with contextlib.suppress(OSError):
diff --git a/yt_dlp/downloader/youtube_live_chat.py b/yt_dlp/downloader/youtube_live_chat.py
index 7f06dfb48..448660725 100644
--- a/yt_dlp/downloader/youtube_live_chat.py
+++ b/yt_dlp/downloader/youtube_live_chat.py
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ def parse_actions_replay(live_chat_continuation):
                     replay_chat_item_action = action['replayChatItemAction']
                     offset = int(replay_chat_item_action['videoOffsetTimeMsec'])
                 processed_fragment.extend(
-                    json.dumps(action, ensure_ascii=False).encode('utf-8') + b'\n')
+                    json.dumps(action, ensure_ascii=False).encode() + b'\n')
             if offset is not None:
                 continuation = try_get(
                     live_chat_continuation,
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ def parse_actions_live(live_chat_continuation):
                     'isLive': True,
                 }
                 processed_fragment.extend(
-                    json.dumps(pseudo_action, ensure_ascii=False).encode('utf-8') + b'\n')
+                    json.dumps(pseudo_action, ensure_ascii=False).encode() + b'\n')
             continuation_data_getters = [
                 lambda x: x['continuations'][0]['invalidationContinuationData'],
                 lambda x: x['continuations'][0]['timedContinuationData'],
@@ -183,7 +183,7 @@ def download_and_parse_fragment(url, frag_index, request_data=None, headers=None
                     request_data['context']['clickTracking'] = {'clickTrackingParams': click_tracking_params}
                 headers = ie.generate_api_headers(ytcfg=ytcfg, visitor_data=visitor_data)
                 headers.update({'content-type': 'application/json'})
-                fragment_request_data = json.dumps(request_data, ensure_ascii=False).encode('utf-8') + b'\n'
+                fragment_request_data = json.dumps(request_data, ensure_ascii=False).encode() + b'\n'
                 success, continuation_id, offset, click_tracking_params = download_and_parse_fragment(
                     url, frag_index, fragment_request_data, headers)
             else:
diff --git a/yt_dlp/extractor/dplay.py b/yt_dlp/extractor/dplay.py
index 54f95a44a..5c4f3c892 100644
--- a/yt_dlp/extractor/dplay.py
+++ b/yt_dlp/extractor/dplay.py
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
     ExtractorError,
     float_or_none,
     int_or_none,
+    remove_start,
     strip_or_none,
     try_get,
     unified_timestamp,
@@ -311,7 +312,7 @@ class DPlayIE(DPlayBaseIE):
     def _real_extract(self, url):
         mobj = self._match_valid_url(url)
         display_id = mobj.group('id')
-        domain = mobj.group('domain').lstrip('www.')
+        domain = remove_start(mobj.group('domain'), 'www.')
         country = mobj.group('country') or mobj.group('subdomain_country') or mobj.group('plus_country')
         host = 'disco-api.' + domain if domain[0] == 'd' else 'eu2-prod.disco-api.com'
         return self._get_disco_api_info(
diff --git a/yt_dlp/extractor/generic.py b/yt_dlp/extractor/generic.py
index 340161a42..0d0e002e5 100644
--- a/yt_dlp/extractor/generic.py
+++ b/yt_dlp/extractor/generic.py
@@ -1030,20 +1030,6 @@ class GenericIE(InfoExtractor):
                 'filesize': 24687186,
             },
         },
-        {
-            'url': 'http://thoughtworks.wistia.com/medias/uxjb0lwrcz',
-            'md5': 'baf49c2baa8a7de5f3fc145a8506dcd4',
-            'info_dict': {
-                'id': 'uxjb0lwrcz',
-                'ext': 'mp4',
-                'title': 'Conversation about Hexagonal Rails Part 1',
-                'description': 'a Martin Fowler video from ThoughtWorks',
-                'duration': 1715.0,
-                'uploader': 'thoughtworks.wistia.com',
-                'timestamp': 1401832161,
-                'upload_date': '20140603',
-            },
-        },
         # Wistia standard embed (async)
         {
             'url': 'https://www.getdrip.com/university/brennan-dunn-drip-workshop/',
diff --git a/yt_dlp/extractor/youtube.py b/yt_dlp/extractor/youtube.py
index 1c6e20510..907b079ec 100644
--- a/yt_dlp/extractor/youtube.py
+++ b/yt_dlp/extractor/youtube.py
@@ -3173,7 +3173,8 @@ def _extract_formats(self, streaming_data, video_id, player_url, is_live, durati
             # Eg: __2ABJjxzNo, ySuUZEjARPY
             is_damaged = try_get(fmt, lambda x: float(x['approxDurationMs']) / duration < 500)
             if is_damaged:
-                self.report_warning(f'{video_id}: Some formats are possibly damaged. They will be deprioritized', only_once=True)
+                self.report_warning(
+                    f'{video_id}: Some formats are possibly damaged. They will be deprioritized', only_once=True)
             dct = {
                 'asr': int_or_none(fmt.get('audioSampleRate')),
                 'filesize': int_or_none(fmt.get('contentLength')),
@@ -3222,6 +3223,8 @@ def _extract_formats(self, streaming_data, video_id, player_url, is_live, durati
         skip_manifests = self._configuration_arg('skip')
         if not self.get_param('youtube_include_hls_manifest', True):
             skip_manifests.append('hls')
+        if not self.get_param('youtube_include_dash_manifest', True):
+            skip_manifests.append('dash')
         get_dash = 'dash' not in skip_manifests and (
             not is_live or live_from_start or self._configuration_arg('include_live_dash'))
         get_hls = not live_from_start and 'hls' not in skip_manifests
diff --git a/yt_dlp/postprocessor/common.py b/yt_dlp/postprocessor/common.py
index 1d11e82a2..addc46e5b 100644
--- a/yt_dlp/postprocessor/common.py
+++ b/yt_dlp/postprocessor/common.py
@@ -93,10 +93,10 @@ def write_debug(self, text, *args, **kwargs):
             return self._downloader.write_debug(text, *args, **kwargs)
 
     def _delete_downloaded_files(self, *files_to_delete, **kwargs):
-        if not self._downloader:
-            for filename in set(filter(None, files_to_delete)):
-                os.remove(filename)
-        return self._downloader._delete_downloaded_files(*files_to_delete, **kwargs)
+        if self._downloader:
+            return self._downloader._delete_downloaded_files(*files_to_delete, **kwargs)
+        for filename in set(filter(None, files_to_delete)):
+            os.remove(filename)
 
     def get_param(self, name, default=None, *args, **kwargs):
         if self._downloader:
diff --git a/yt_dlp/postprocessor/xattrpp.py b/yt_dlp/postprocessor/xattrpp.py
index 065ddf963..f822eff41 100644
--- a/yt_dlp/postprocessor/xattrpp.py
+++ b/yt_dlp/postprocessor/xattrpp.py
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ def run(self, info):
                 if value:
                     if infoname == 'upload_date':
                         value = hyphenate_date(value)
-                    write_xattr(info['filepath'], xattrname, value.encode('utf-8'))
+                    write_xattr(info['filepath'], xattrname, value.encode())
 
         except XAttrUnavailableError as e:
             raise PostProcessingError(str(e))
diff --git a/yt_dlp/socks.py b/yt_dlp/socks.py
index 56fab08ab..34ba1394a 100644
--- a/yt_dlp/socks.py
+++ b/yt_dlp/socks.py
@@ -149,11 +149,11 @@ def _setup_socks4(self, address, is_4a=False):
 
         packet = compat_struct_pack('!BBH', SOCKS4_VERSION, Socks4Command.CMD_CONNECT, port) + ipaddr
 
-        username = (self._proxy.username or '').encode('utf-8')
+        username = (self._proxy.username or '').encode()
         packet += username + b'\x00'
 
         if is_4a and self._proxy.remote_dns:
-            packet += destaddr.encode('utf-8') + b'\x00'
+            packet += destaddr.encode() + b'\x00'
 
         self.sendall(packet)
 
@@ -192,8 +192,8 @@ def _socks5_auth(self):
             raise Socks5Error(Socks5Auth.AUTH_NO_ACCEPTABLE)
 
         if method == Socks5Auth.AUTH_USER_PASS:
-            username = self._proxy.username.encode('utf-8')
-            password = self._proxy.password.encode('utf-8')
+            username = self._proxy.username.encode()
+            password = self._proxy.password.encode()
             packet = compat_struct_pack('!B', SOCKS5_USER_AUTH_VERSION)
             packet += self._len_and_data(username) + self._len_and_data(password)
             self.sendall(packet)
@@ -216,7 +216,7 @@ def _setup_socks5(self, address):
         reserved = 0
         packet = compat_struct_pack('!BBB', SOCKS5_VERSION, Socks5Command.CMD_CONNECT, reserved)
         if ipaddr is None:
-            destaddr = destaddr.encode('utf-8')
+            destaddr = destaddr.encode()
             packet += compat_struct_pack('!B', Socks5AddressType.ATYP_DOMAINNAME)
             packet += self._len_and_data(destaddr)
         else:
diff --git a/yt_dlp/update.py b/yt_dlp/update.py
index eea08ce43..8dcf260f5 100644
--- a/yt_dlp/update.py
+++ b/yt_dlp/update.py
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ def calc_sha256sum(path):
 
     # Download and check versions info
     try:
-        version_info = ydl._opener.open(JSON_URL).read().decode('utf-8')
+        version_info = ydl._opener.open(JSON_URL).read().decode()
         version_info = json.loads(version_info)
     except Exception:
         return report_network_error('obtain version info', delim='; Please try again later or')
@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@ def get_sha256sum(bin_or_exe, version):
             {}).get('browser_download_url')
         if not urlh:
             return None
-        hash_data = ydl._opener.open(urlh).read().decode('utf-8')
+        hash_data = ydl._opener.open(urlh).read().decode()
         return dict(ln.split()[::-1] for ln in hash_data.splitlines()).get(filename)
 
     if not os.access(filename, os.W_OK):
diff --git a/yt_dlp/utils.py b/yt_dlp/utils.py
index 8b2c1c75a..62dc412a8 100644
--- a/yt_dlp/utils.py
+++ b/yt_dlp/utils.py
@@ -737,8 +737,8 @@ def extract_basic_auth(url):
         parts.hostname if parts.port is None
         else '%s:%d' % (parts.hostname, parts.port))))
     auth_payload = base64.b64encode(
-        ('%s:%s' % (parts.username, parts.password or '')).encode('utf-8'))
-    return url, 'Basic ' + auth_payload.decode('utf-8')
+        ('%s:%s' % (parts.username, parts.password or '')).encode())
+    return url, f'Basic {auth_payload.decode()}'
 
 
 def sanitized_Request(url, *args, **kwargs):
@@ -1339,7 +1339,7 @@ def http_response(self, req, resp):
             location = resp.headers.get('Location')
             if location:
                 # As of RFC 2616 default charset is iso-8859-1 that is respected by python 3
-                location = location.encode('iso-8859-1').decode('utf-8')
+                location = location.encode('iso-8859-1').decode()
                 location_escaped = escape_url(location)
                 if location != location_escaped:
                     del resp.headers['Location']
@@ -2309,7 +2309,7 @@ def setproctitle(title):
         # a bytestring, but since unicode_literals turns
         # every string into a unicode string, it fails.
         return
-    title_bytes = title.encode('utf-8')
+    title_bytes = title.encode()
     buf = ctypes.create_string_buffer(len(title_bytes))
     buf.value = title_bytes
     try:
@@ -2351,13 +2351,13 @@ def base_url(url):
 
 def urljoin(base, path):
     if isinstance(path, bytes):
-        path = path.decode('utf-8')
+        path = path.decode()
     if not isinstance(path, compat_str) or not path:
         return None
     if re.match(r'^(?:[a-zA-Z][a-zA-Z0-9+-.]*:)?//', path):
         return path
     if isinstance(base, bytes):
-        base = base.decode('utf-8')
+        base = base.decode()
     if not isinstance(base, compat_str) or not re.match(
             r'^(?:https?:)?//', base):
         return None
@@ -2557,49 +2557,48 @@ def get_exe_version(exe, args=['--version'],
 
 
 class LazyList(collections.abc.Sequence):
-    ''' Lazy immutable list from an iterable
-    Note that slices of a LazyList are lists and not LazyList'''
+    """Lazy immutable list from an iterable
+    Note that slices of a LazyList are lists and not LazyList"""
 
     class IndexError(IndexError):
         pass
 
     def __init__(self, iterable, *, reverse=False, _cache=None):
-        self.__iterable = iter(iterable)
-        self.__cache = [] if _cache is None else _cache
-        self.__reversed = reverse
+        self._iterable = iter(iterable)
+        self._cache = [] if _cache is None else _cache
+        self._reversed = reverse
 
     def __iter__(self):
-        if self.__reversed:
+        if self._reversed:
             # We need to consume the entire iterable to iterate in reverse
             yield from self.exhaust()
             return
-        yield from self.__cache
-        for item in self.__iterable:
-            self.__cache.append(item)
+        yield from self._cache
+        for item in self._iterable:
+            self._cache.append(item)
             yield item
 
-    def __exhaust(self):
-        self.__cache.extend(self.__iterable)
-        # Discard the emptied iterable to make it pickle-able
-        self.__iterable = []
-        return self.__cache
+    def _exhaust(self):
+        self._cache.extend(self._iterable)
+        self._iterable = []  # Discard the emptied iterable to make it pickle-able
+        return self._cache
 
     def exhaust(self):
-        ''' Evaluate the entire iterable '''
-        return self.__exhaust()[::-1 if self.__reversed else 1]
+        """Evaluate the entire iterable"""
+        return self._exhaust()[::-1 if self._reversed else 1]
 
     @staticmethod
-    def __reverse_index(x):
+    def _reverse_index(x):
         return None if x is None else -(x + 1)
 
     def __getitem__(self, idx):
         if isinstance(idx, slice):
-            if self.__reversed:
-                idx = slice(self.__reverse_index(idx.start), self.__reverse_index(idx.stop), -(idx.step or 1))
+            if self._reversed:
+                idx = slice(self._reverse_index(idx.start), self._reverse_index(idx.stop), -(idx.step or 1))
             start, stop, step = idx.start, idx.stop, idx.step or 1
         elif isinstance(idx, int):
-            if self.__reversed:
-                idx = self.__reverse_index(idx)
+            if self._reversed:
+                idx = self._reverse_index(idx)
             start, stop, step = idx, idx, 0
         else:
             raise TypeError('indices must be integers or slices')
@@ -2608,35 +2607,35 @@ def __getitem__(self, idx):
                 or (stop is None and step > 0)):
             # We need to consume the entire iterable to be able to slice from the end
             # Obviously, never use this with infinite iterables
-            self.__exhaust()
+            self._exhaust()
             try:
-                return self.__cache[idx]
+                return self._cache[idx]
             except IndexError as e:
                 raise self.IndexError(e) from e
-        n = max(start or 0, stop or 0) - len(self.__cache) + 1
+        n = max(start or 0, stop or 0) - len(self._cache) + 1
         if n > 0:
-            self.__cache.extend(itertools.islice(self.__iterable, n))
+            self._cache.extend(itertools.islice(self._iterable, n))
         try:
-            return self.__cache[idx]
+            return self._cache[idx]
         except IndexError as e:
             raise self.IndexError(e) from e
 
     def __bool__(self):
         try:
-            self[-1] if self.__reversed else self[0]
+            self[-1] if self._reversed else self[0]
         except self.IndexError:
             return False
         return True
 
     def __len__(self):
-        self.__exhaust()
-        return len(self.__cache)
+        self._exhaust()
+        return len(self._cache)
 
     def __reversed__(self):
-        return type(self)(self.__iterable, reverse=not self.__reversed, _cache=self.__cache)
+        return type(self)(self._iterable, reverse=not self._reversed, _cache=self._cache)
 
     def __copy__(self):
-        return type(self)(self.__iterable, reverse=self.__reversed, _cache=self.__cache)
+        return type(self)(self._iterable, reverse=self._reversed, _cache=self._cache)
 
     def __repr__(self):
         # repr and str should mimic a list. So we exhaust the iterable
@@ -2850,9 +2849,9 @@ def _multipart_encode_impl(data, boundary):
     for k, v in data.items():
         out += b'--' + boundary.encode('ascii') + b'\r\n'
         if isinstance(k, compat_str):
-            k = k.encode('utf-8')
+            k = k.encode()
         if isinstance(v, compat_str):
-            v = v.encode('utf-8')
+            v = v.encode()
         # RFC 2047 requires non-ASCII field names to be encoded, while RFC 7578
         # suggests sending UTF-8 directly. Firefox sends UTF-8, too
         content = b'Content-Disposition: form-data; name="' + k + b'"\r\n\r\n' + v + b'\r\n'
@@ -4741,7 +4740,7 @@ def write_xattr(path, key, value):
             'Couldn\'t find a tool to set the xattrs. Install either the python "xattr" or "pyxattr" modules or the '
             + ('"xattr" binary' if sys.platform != 'linux' else 'GNU "attr" package (which contains the "setfattr" tool)'))
 
-    value = value.decode('utf-8')
+    value = value.decode()
     try:
         p = Popen(
             [exe, '-w', key, value, path] if exe == 'xattr' else [exe, '-n', key, '-v', value, path],
@@ -4820,7 +4819,7 @@ def iri_to_uri(iri):
             net_location += ':' + urllib.parse.quote(iri_parts.password, safe=r"!$%&'()*+,~")
         net_location += '@'
 
-    net_location += iri_parts.hostname.encode('idna').decode('utf-8')  # Punycode for Unicode hostnames.
+    net_location += iri_parts.hostname.encode('idna').decode()  # Punycode for Unicode hostnames.
     # The 'idna' encoding produces ASCII text.
     if iri_parts.port is not None and iri_parts.port != 80:
         net_location += ':' + str(iri_parts.port)
@@ -5063,9 +5062,9 @@ def jwt_encode_hs256(payload_data, key, headers={}):
     }
     if headers:
         header_data.update(headers)
-    header_b64 = base64.b64encode(json.dumps(header_data).encode('utf-8'))
-    payload_b64 = base64.b64encode(json.dumps(payload_data).encode('utf-8'))
-    h = hmac.new(key.encode('utf-8'), header_b64 + b'.' + payload_b64, hashlib.sha256)
+    header_b64 = base64.b64encode(json.dumps(header_data).encode())
+    payload_b64 = base64.b64encode(json.dumps(payload_data).encode())
+    h = hmac.new(key.encode(), header_b64 + b'.' + payload_b64, hashlib.sha256)
     signature_b64 = base64.b64encode(h.digest())
     token = header_b64 + b'.' + payload_b64 + b'.' + signature_b64
     return token
diff --git a/yt_dlp/webvtt.py b/yt_dlp/webvtt.py
index 4c222ba8e..b8974f883 100644
--- a/yt_dlp/webvtt.py
+++ b/yt_dlp/webvtt.py
@@ -346,7 +346,7 @@ def parse_fragment(frag_content):
     a bytes object containing the raw contents of a WebVTT file.
     """
 
-    parser = _MatchParser(frag_content.decode('utf-8'))
+    parser = _MatchParser(frag_content.decode())
 
     yield Magic.parse(parser)