YouTube

YouTube has finally debuted the music streaming app it announced last month. The app helps users find new music to enjoy by allowing them to select from pre-made stations or create their own based on their musical tastes.

YouTube details ‘Project Butter’ initiative for smoother video in Chrome

Jordan Kahn Nov 10 2015 - 8:37 am PT

With YouTube video as the motivation, Chrome recently received some enhancements to make the video experience as smooth as possible across devices. Dubbed “Project Butter” (not that Project Butter), YouTube engineers worked together with Chrome engineers to make optimizations to video playback.

YouTube engineers walked us through their thought process with the optimizations in a blog post:

Your device’s screen redraws itself at a certain frame rate. Videos present frames at a certain rate. These rates are often not the same. At YouTube we commonly see videos authored at 24, 25, 29.97, 30, 48, 50, 59.94, and 60 frames per second (fps) and these videos are viewed on displays with different refresh rates – the most common being 50Hz (Europe) and 60Hz (USA)… For a video to be smooth we need to figure out the best, most regular way to display the frames – the best cadence. The ideal cadence is calculated as the ratio of the display rate to frame rate. For example, if we have a 60Hz display (a 1/60 second display interval) and a 30 fps clip, 60 / 30 == 2 which means each video frame should be displayed for two display intervals of total duration 2 * 1/60 second.

Using that math, the team was able to come up with an algorithm that will allow Chrome to auto adjust to the optimal settings based on the display and the quality of the video being streamed. The improvements were introduced with Chrome 44:

In Chrome 44, we re-architected the media and compositor pipelines to communicate carefully about the intent to generate and display. Additionally, we also improved which video frames to pick by using the optimal display count information. With these changes, Chrome 44 significantly improved on smoothness scores across all video frame rates and display refresh rates… Smooth like butter

YouTube has more on the enhancements for video in Chrome 44 in its blog post here.

Google’s original Project Butter debuted with the announcement of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, as an initiative to make the Android experience smoother and more user-friendly. For its purpose, the project was a success — Android 4.4 went on to become one of the most stable and beloved versions of Android yet, and was succeeded by Lollipop, a complete revamp that reinvented Android from the ground up.

As you may know, the current stable release of Chrome is version 46, and version 44 stable was released a few months ago.

YouTube now supports VR video, app updated with Google Cardboard support

Cam Bunton Nov 5 2015 - 9:44 am PT

YouTube announced today that it’s bringing two new features to its popular video-viewing service. Perhaps the most important of the two updates is that YouTube now supports VR Video. That means people can upload full virtual reality experience videos which have an added depth versus the regular two-dimensional flat video. Objects that are near look close, those further away seem far.

PSA: YouTube Red is now live, and you can sign up for a free trial now

Stephen Hall Oct 28 2015 - 10:08 am PT

Google introduced the world to its curiously-named YouTube Red service just last week, and mentioned that October 28th would be the day that it launched. Well, today is October 28th, and you can now head over to YouTube.com/red to sign up for the service. Google’s kicking off Red with a one month free trial for all users, after which you’ll be charged $9.99 per month…

With YouTube Red, you’ll get access to a completely ad-free YouTube experience (which alone is an enticing offer for those of us that still want to support content creators), you’ll be able to download videos for offline viewing on a variety of devices, and — one feature that has been much-requested since YouTube hit mobile devices — you’ll be able to keep the app running in the background when your screen is off.

The thing that’s confusing to me about this whole ordeal is that there’s so much convergence of content between Google Play Music and YouTube Red. A Google Play Music Unlimited subscription seems to get you a YouTube Red subscription and vice-versa, so now I have to decide which of the two platforms I will use for music streaming. But I guess that’s pretty typical for Google’s products.

I’m not complaining, so don’t get me wrong. I think it’s pretty nice that Google is making these two services just one monthly bill, and I doubt I ever be willing to pay for both. The reason for that is because there’s just so much content overlap, and I guess that’s the same thing that might make this confusing for the average customer. Either way, I get another free month of Google Play Music Unlimited out of this even if I don’t end up sticking with Red, and that’s fine by me.

https://youtu.be/YL9RetC0ook

ESPN forced to pull content from YouTube due to inability to sign YouTube Red deal

Chance Miller Oct 26 2015 - 7:43 pm PT

YouTube announced its new Red ad-free subscription service last week and we’ve slowly been learning the specifics on how content will be affected by it. Disney’s sports network ESPN has now announced that it has pulled all of its content from YouTube due to the YouTube Red subscription service.

YouTube Red is Google’s new $10/month ad-free subscription video streaming service

Seth Weintraub Oct 21 2015 - 10:21 am PT

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Not to be confused with (Red) Youtube or RedTube, Google announced a new streaming Netflix competitor today dubbed YouTube Red. The service will also include YouTube streaming music which is also Google Play Music all access which currently carries a $9.99/month price tag so the effective upgrade is $0 for streaming videos and much more…
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HTC posts 9 (yes, nine) YouTube videos showing off the new One A9

Stephen Hall Oct 20 2015 - 9:31 am PT

HTC just announced the HTC One A9, and a new phone means new marketing materials. It looks like the struggling Taiwanese company may have over-delivered in this area, as there are 9 (yes, nine) new YouTube videos on the company’s channel…
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Report: YouTube will place some content behind paywall when subscription service launches

Cam Bunton Oct 19 2015 - 6:52 am PT

We’ve read many times over the past months that YouTube is planning to launch a subscription service. The company itself has announced as such, and is already nearly all the way to getting enough partners onboard with the new monetization method. In return for a low monthly fee, likely $10, YouTube wants to give you access to all the videos and music you can manage, and without showing any ads of any kind. Google is planning announce this new service at an event this Wednesday, October 21st.

What Google has said all along, however, is that customers who don’t pay can still watch all their favorite videos, but with the ads (as normal). What it hasn’t stated publicly, is that it may be holding some exclusive content back, for the eyes of subscribers only. In a report from Re/code, it’s rumored that when YouTube kicks off its new paid service, the streaming site will also place content that it funds behind a paywall. Regular non-payers won’t be able to watch it.

It’s unclear when you’ll be able to see the new programming YouTube is announcing. Sources say some of the stuff YouTube is paying for hasn’t been created yet, and won’t be available until 2016. In September, I reported that industry sources expected YouTube to launch its subscription service near the end of this month, though it could slip past 2015.

The timing of YouTube’s planned subscription service launch is still, clearly, up in the air. But it will be interesting see how the streaming platform delivers the service, and how many long-time YT users sign up. Will YouTube be able to tempt enough people to subscribe with its own funded and exclusive content? Those questions remain unanswered for now. Let’s just hope the launch happens sooner rather than later, if only to satisfy my curiosity.

BlackBerry shows off its PRIV Android slider phone on YouTube [Video]

Stephen Hall Oct 16 2015 - 11:08 am PT

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BlackBerry already made the PRIV official last month, and then followed up with some of the first official images of the device posted to its blog. Not much of what the company has said up to this point though has been new, though. Even the official images it published a couple weeks ago were pretty much the same as the ones we saw four months ago.

And this new video follows in the same vein as that theme. We’ve already seen an in-depth hands-on video with the phone, we’ve seen its specs leaked what feels like a dozen times, pre-registration for the phone opened up a couple of days ago, and just earlier today pre-orders for the phone went live in the UK. I guess it’s just a pretty marketing clip…
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YouTube Gaming update brings Mobile Capture on Android, paid sponsorships, more

Stephen Hall Oct 15 2015 - 10:06 am PT

YouTube has today announced that its Gaming platform is getting a couple of really big updates, just as the service reaches more than 144 billion minutes of gaming videos watched per month. As of today, uers of the newly-updated Android app will be able to stream the games they’re playing on their phones, and certain creators can monetize their viewership with sponsorships…
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First Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X unboxing videos surface online

Cam Bunton Oct 13 2015 - 12:50 pm PT

Google announced the Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X at an official press unveiling just a few weeks ago, right before opening up pre-orders for the two newest stock Android devices. It marks the first year that two different Nexus phones have been released at the same time, and it seems the first lot of devices are already landing in the hands of the early adopters.

YouTube continues global expansion w/ versions of its site in 7 new locales

Stephen Hall Oct 12 2015 - 9:35 am PT

Google has announced today that the number of countries with local versions of YouTube is growing to 85, with the additional of 7 new territories and countries. As of today, there is now a localized version of the web’s most popular video streaming site in the Adriatics, the Baltics, Bulgaria, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Belarus…

The news comes from Google’s official YouTube blog:

We want to make sure the videos you see when you fire up YouTube are relevant to you, wherever you’re watching. That’s why we’re launching even more local country versions of YouTube, connecting fans with creators in their home countries and giving those creators a way to earn money from their popularity. With the addition of the Adriatics, Baltics, Bulgaria, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Belarus, YouTube now has local versions in 85 countries.

While it’s easy to have a biased perspective on the world when you live in the US, Google says that more than 80% of YouTube’s views come from people outside the US. And with content creators and consumers speaking dozens of languages and creating an unthinkable amount of content, it makes sense to be able to connect to the community in your physical vicinity.

Sundar Pichai appoints three new Google executives following Alphabet restructure

Chance Miller Oct 11 2015 - 1:33 pm PT

Sundar Pichai was given the title of Google CEO as part of the company’s Alphabet restructure and now Pichai has made his first changes according to Re/code. In a company wide email sent out recently, the Google CEO appointed three executives to new roles…

YouTube now uses deep neural networks to pick better video thumbnails

Stephen Hall Oct 8 2015 - 1:18 pm PT

When you upload a video to YouTube, the site processes each frame individually and passes them through an algorithm to try and find a few of the best to be your video’s thumbnail. You get to pick between the ones it chooses, or you can upload your own. And while many YouTube creators opt for the latter option, those who aren’t as dedicated usually just go with whatever frame the site chooses.

Now, thanks to deep neural networks, the algorithm that picks the best frames is much more powerful…
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Google announces a handful of new advertising services coming to YouTube

Chance Miller Sep 29 2015 - 3:05 pm PT

Google today has announced several new services that will enhance the advertising capabilities of YouTube. First off, the company has announced Shopping ads for YouTube. These ads will allow advertisers to show a click-to-buy ad within partner videos on YouTube. Advertisers only pay when a user clicks on the ad, similar to Shopping ads on Google.

Report: YouTube Subscription service to launch next month as 2-in-1 music and video bundle

Cam Bunton Sep 25 2015 - 2:40 pm PT

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According to industry sources who spoke to Re/code, YouTube is aiming to launch its long-awaited subscription service as soon as next month. What’s interesting in this report is that the sources in-the-know stated that the subscription will be sold as a 2-in-1 deal. One monthly fee will purportedly get you access to both music streaming and ad-free videos…

YouTube Gaming will soon let you broadcast straight from your Android phone

Stephen Hall Sep 17 2015 - 8:18 am PT

The YouTube Gaming app launched on Android about a month ago, but now we’re already hearing about a significant update that’s on the way. As was first revealed in a teardown done by Android Police earlier this month, Google has now confirmed that it is preparing to introduce Android game broadcasting straight from the app itself…
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Google makes it harder for Adblockers to block YouTube ads in Chrome

Cam Bunton Sep 7 2015 - 9:23 am PT

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It’s no secret that Google makes the majority of its money from advertising revenue, and has done for a very long time. So, when a product comes along to threaten that major revenue stream, it has to find ways to combat it. That’s seemingly what it’s done with AdBlock Plus, a relatively well-known Chrome extension used to block out ads across the internet. This includes the ads shown before and during video playback on YouTube…

YouTube Gaming app goes live in Google Play, download it now

Tom Maxwell Aug 26 2015 - 8:55 am PT

Good news, fans of live-streamed gaming: YouTube Gaming is now available for Android from Google Play. YouTube announced that it would be releasing a dedicated app for watching gaming-related live streams and videos hosted on the platform several months back, shortly after Amazon acquired competitor Twitch for nearly $1 billion. Downloading the app from the Play Store is limited to US and UK residents initially.

YouTube Gaming, Google’s Twitch competitor, purportedly launching tomorrow

Cam Bunton Aug 25 2015 - 1:36 pm PT

YouTube Gaming, Google’s attempt at taking on Twitch, is allegedly set to launch tomorrow, August 26, according to TechCrunch’s sources. The site will go live at gaming.youtube.com tomorrow in the US and the UK and will act as a central hub where viewers can find and watch people live streaming their own video gameplay.

Google announced that it would be getting in to gaming live-streams a couple of months back and has been working behind the scenes to get its service ready for a public rollout. Once live it will act as a direct competitor to Twitch, an Amazon service which lets gamers stream their gameplay and offer it up to viewers to watch. It’s a huge market to get in to, and one which YouTube clearly has the infrastructure to manage. Just searching through YouTube for game walkthroughs or live-streams should be enough to convince anyone that the game-streaming market is huge.

The questions is: Will YouTube compete with Amazon’s Twitch effectively? Twitch has more than 1.5 million broadcasters and amasses over 100 million visitors every month and cost Amazon nearly $1 billion in September last year. Interestingly, Google itself was an interested party and was bidding in competition with Amazon to buy Twitch last year — at times Google was even believed to have closed the deal. YouTube Gaming will be available to download on Android when it launches.

Sprint Galaxy S6 & S6 Edge receiving Samsung Pay, live broadcasting via YouTube, more

Tom Maxwell Aug 24 2015 - 1:36 pm PT

The service may not be launching until next month, but owners of Samsung’s Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge are now receiving an over-the-air update which includes support for Samsung Pay. The update, which you’ll need approximately 303MB of free storage to install, includes some other additions as well.

For starters, there’s support for live video broadcasting over YouTube, which has been a highly-requested ability from the video hosting platform ever since the launch of the competing Meerkat and Periscope apps. This is possible thanks to WatchMe, an open-source project by Google that allows app developers to integrate with the YouTube Data and YouTube Live Streaming APIs, among others. There’s also higher quality audio output to Samsung headsets (those new Level On headphones, perhaps?), UI updates, and the usual bug fixes.

Samsung Pay is Samsung’s mobile payments app and service that is different from other solutions from Google and Apple because it includes the ability to pay at nearly any credit card terminal. It does this through the use of MST technology, the same thing used in the magnetic strips on the back of all credit and debit cards.

While Samsung Pay is expected to work in far more places than Android Pay and Apple Pay currently do, Verizon Wireless here in the States is still evaluating whether or not to allow the service onto the Samsung devices it sells, according to a representative from the company speaking to 9to5Google.

The update could take several days to hit devices. You can check manually by visiting Settings > About phone > System updates.

How to fix the Galaxy Note 5 and S6 Edge+ YouTube live streaming ‘already enabled’ error

Dom Esposito Aug 21 2015 - 10:54 am PT

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One of the latest and greatest features with Samsung’s Galaxy Note 5 and S6 Edge+ is the ability to instantly live stream from the Camera app via YouTube. It’s pretty neat, but unfortunately I ran into an issue when attempting this for the first time. I’d get the “error message” shown in the above image after the quick sign-in process and nothing else would happen.

I’ve been poking around within the Google Plus and YouTube settings and I’ve come across a working solution for this problem. For those who are new to this thread in the future, here’s a rundown of the issue…

Google Chrome Dev Summit tickets now available

Cam Bunton Aug 11 2015 - 9:46 am PT

Google this morning made tickets available for its Chrome Dev Summit held at the Google Quad building. The event runs for two days between November 17th and 18th and is exclusively designed to help Chrome engineers and developers build better, faster and more attractive web apps. The company warns that places are limited and anyone seeking to go should register for their ticket as soon as they can.

Google’s Chrome Dev Summit will feature short talks, collaborative discussions and code labs among other events. For those who can’t make it in person, Google will stream all presentations live and make them available to watch on YouTube afterwards. Keep an eye on the Google Developers YouTube channel to stay updated during the event.

Tickets to this November’s event are available now from Google’s Chrome Dev Summit home page.

No surprise, Google’s new Alphabet domain is blocked in China

Cam Bunton Aug 11 2015 - 2:37 am PT