Of course, if you just go to YouTube and click
"Play," you're missing out on some great features. Let's take a look at
some tricks that could change how you use the service.
1. YouTube on your TV
Turning your TV into a computer monitor isn't hard,
but it can make some common programs and websites a little harder to
use. You have to deal with small type, icons that are harder to see from
a distance and you won't always know exactly where that small mouse
cursor is.
YouTube has a simple solution. Head over to https://www.youtube.com/tv
to load an interface designed just for TVs. You can easily navigate
videos using the keyboard arrow keys, "S" to search and "G" to open the
left-column guide.
2. Turn off annotations
You know when you're watching a video and
little clickable messages pop up over the video blocking what you want
to see? Most YouTube creators use these sparingly, but some go overboard
and it can ruin the video.
To turn these off, click the gear icon at the lower
right of the video player, and next to "Annotations" click "Off."
However, that's only going to be for that one video.
To turn off annotations across the site by default,
click your profile icon in the upper right corner of YouTube. Then click
the gear icon to visit your YouTube settings. In the left column,
select "Playback" and under "Annotations and interactivity" uncheck
"Show annotations ..." Then click the "Save" button. Easy.
3. Change your video speed
Have you ever been watching a YouTube video and
something amazing happens really fast? It would be nice if you could
slow the video down to see what really happened.
There are entire YouTube channels devoted to slow-motion videos, like this one that shows what happens when a CD shatters. However, you don't need a high-speed camera to slow things down.
On any video, click the gear icon in the lower-right
corner of the video player and click the drop-down box next to "Speed."
You can drop the video speed to half or a quarter of the normal playing
speed.
Or, if you want, you can speed the video up by a
quarter, half or double. Speeding up a video is a good way to condense a
long instructional video, or just a fun new way to listen to favorite
song.
4. Get smoother streaming
YouTube is fairly smart when it comes to picking
video quality settings. It adjusts the quality based on your Internet
connection speed so you don't get too much buffering (i.e. waiting
around for the video to load).
Unfortunately, if you have an unstable Internet
connection that speeds up and slows down, it can throw YouTube for a
loop. When your connection speeds up, YouTube will try to push you to a
higher video quality setting, and then you're stuck buffering when the
connection slows down again.
Fortunately, if that starts happening, you can take
control. Click the gear icon in the lower-right corner of the video
player and look at the number next to "Quality."
Try dropping it down one setting and see if that
smoothes things out. So if it's 1080p, make it 720p. If you're still
having trouble, drop it down another level until the buffering stops.
You can also use this to force YouTube to a higher
quality setting than it would normally go for your connection. You'll be
waiting longer for the video to start playing, but it should be smooth
once it gets going.
Of course, continual buffering might actually indicate a problem with your Internet connection or Wi-Fi. Here are three tricks that can improve your streaming speed.
5. Share a video at the right time
You found a hilarious video you want to share with a
friend. Unfortunately, it doesn't get good until three minutes in. The
first part is boring and you don't want your friend to stop watching.
Cue up the video to the start of the section you want
your friend to see. Then right-click the video and select "Get video
URL at current time." Copy the link that appears and paste it into an
email or on Facebook. When someone clicks on the link, the video will
start at the exact spot you wanted.
Handy hint: Copying the link using the CTRL+C
command doesn't always work. If you test the link and it doesn't start
the video at the right time, do this instead: Right-click the video and
select "Get video URL at current time." Then right-click on the link and
select "Copy." Then paste it and it should work.
Bonus: Autoplay
Just recently, YouTube added an autoplay feature that
advances you to a new video when your current video is done. It bases
the next video off of related videos and what you've watched in the
past.
But what if you want to stay on the same video? Just
click the gear icon in the lower-right corner of the video player, and
next to "Autoplay" click "Off." You can also turn it on and off from the
"Up next" area of the right-hand column next to the video.
