YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLknyzCPtZQ

The annual Coachella music festival kicks off today in Indio, California, but thanks to a partnership with YouTube, music fans everywhere will be able to stream the concerts from the comfort of their home. 2015 marks the fifth year in row that YouTube has streamed Coachella.

YouTube preparing to launch ad-free subscription option, reportedly for $10/mo

Chance Miller Apr 8 2015 - 2:41 pm PT

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Google this evening has sent out an email to YouTube partners revealing details about the upcoming launch of a new subscription-based model for the service. The email states that YouTube viewers will soon have the ability to remove all advertising from the website for a flat monthly rate.

YouTube Kids app “deceptive to children,” say consumer groups in FTC complaint

Ben Lovejoy Apr 7 2015 - 6:39 am PT

The YouTube Kids app, launched in February to provide access to family-friendly videos on both Android and iOS, has been accused by around a dozen consumer groups of being “deceptive to children” in the way it mixes ads into programming. The NY Times reports that a formal complaint to the Federal Trade Commission is expected to be filed today.

[The complaint] argues, in essence, that YouTube is using advertising tactics like “host selling” – having cartoon characters sell products inside their show – that would be illegal if they were on television instead of online.

The groups argue that the app should be held to the same standards that apply to TV shows …
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YouTube experimenting with 4K at 60 FPS, and you can watch a few demo videos now

Stephen Hall Mar 27 2015 - 8:54 am PT

YouTube has been beefing up the capabilities of its video player for quite some time now, and it first introduced 60 FPS support in June of last year. Now, some videos on the site seem to be able to play back not just at 60 FPS, but at 60 FPS in super high-def 4K resolution. It looks to be an experiment that Google is slowly introducing, as only a handful of hand picked videos are capable of this at the moment…

Report: YouTube planning to relaunch live streaming efforts w/ focus on esports

Chance Miller Mar 24 2015 - 7:04 pm PT

According to a report from The Daily Dot, Google is preparing to relaunch the live streaming platform aspect of YouTube with a renewed focus on gaming. YouTube is reportedly looking to take on popular streaming service Twitch and focus on esports and gaming with the refreshed YouTube Live. Google infamously attempted to acquire Twitch last year, but failed as Amazon ended up buying the platform.

App Roundup: Google updates Maps, YouTube, Inbox, Play Music, more

Stephen Hall Mar 19 2015 - 7:55 am PT

Google tends to push several updates to its apps in the middle of the week, and this week has been a particularly eventful one. Updates have landed over the last 24 hours for several apps in Google’s Android inventory, including Inbox, Google Docs (Sheets and Slides, too), YouTube, Quickoffice, Google Maps, and Google Play Music.

You can now play and pause content on Chromecast with a TV remote

Chance Miller Mar 16 2015 - 7:31 pm PT

According to several users on the Chromecast Subreddit, and corroborated by TechCrunch, you can now play and pause video content on the Chromecast with your TV remote. This feature makes it significantly easier to control your content without having to use your smartphone for everything.

YouTube’s new interactive “Cards” arrive for all on desktop & mobile to improve annotations

Jordan Kahn Mar 16 2015 - 8:48 am PT

YouTube is today rolling out a new Cards feature today that allows creators to add interactive, Google Now-like pop ups on videos. YouTube first showed off the feature in preview mode back in June but is today opening it to all on both mobile and desktop.
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YouTube exploring subscription video service, competing with Netflix, Hulu & others

Ben Lovejoy Mar 16 2015 - 4:36 am PT

The subscription-based video on demand market could see a significant shake-up this year as it was reported that YouTube has started to negotiate licensing deals for its own service to compete with services like Netflix and Hulu.

Variety quoted an unnamed YouTube partner as saying that the company not only wanted to discuss a licensing deal, but was extremely aggressive in its approach.

An exec at one YouTube partner says reps from the vidsite reached out late last year about an SVOD licensing deal. But the offer came with a warning: If the partner didn’t agree to the terms of the subscription service, it would be excluded from any future ad revenue — a tactic YouTube has used in dealing with independent music companies that refused to get onboard with Music Key.

This is the same approach YouTube was said to have taken to persuade independent music labels to sign-up for the company’s subscription music service …
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YouTube adds support for 360-degree video on mobile & web

Jordan Kahn Mar 13 2015 - 11:22 am PT

[youtube=https://youtu.be/7IaYJZ2Usdk?list=PLbsGxdAPhjv_tgCNWGaGvSnlIMZNkmnrM]

YouTube is adding support for 360-degree video uploads alongside a new viewing experience for the video format on both mobile and the web.

Users viewing the 360-degree video (like the one embedded above) will be able to do so by dragging with their mouse in Chrome on the web or by physically moving their Android device (and soon iPhone and iPad) in the mobile app:
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Google shares new, watch-focused Android Wear ad ahead of Apple Watch event

Stephen Hall Mar 9 2015 - 9:33 am PT

Google has published an Android Wear commercial to its YouTube channel this morning, and it fittingly features the company’s smartwatch platform on the day Apple is scheduled to kick off their “Spring forward” event—which is widely assumed to be Apple Watch-focused.

Google pushing ‘Be together. Not the same.’ at MWC, shares ‘Young Together’ Android ad

Stephen Hall Mar 2 2015 - 8:16 am PT

Google made its Mobile World Congress presence clearly known this morning in the form of a Sundar Pichai interview (which included some really interesting tidbits), but that’s not the extent of the company’s involvement this year. The Mountain View, California company is very much pushing its “Be together. Not the same.” mantra at MWC in many of ways (like they did at CES 2015 with the pins), and those Androidify characters are popping up left and right…

Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked press event is now available for replay on YouTube

Stephen Hall Mar 2 2015 - 6:23 am PT

Samsung made several big announcements yesterday, including its new flagship smartphones, but in case you were busy over the weekend or simply forgot to tune in, the Korean company has now uploaded a video of the Galaxy Unpacked event to YouTube for your viewing enjoyment. Among other announcements, Samsung told the world about the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 Edge, as well as its upcoming Samsung Pay service.

Check out the video below…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqYsIRU5rQU

Google enabling new video-trimming feature in YouTube app for Android

Stephen Hall Feb 27 2015 - 10:08 am PT

When uploading a video to YouTube, especially from a mobile device, it’s pretty common not to want to upload a clip in its entirety. Now, Google says that it is updating the YouTube app for Android to fix this problem—you can now use a new video-trimming feature to cut off the beginning or end of your clip prior to upload.

We’re proud to introduce a new video-trimming feature and inline video previews for our app. Now you can select the exact frame where the video starts and ends, giving you precise control of your trims in a simple, intuitive way. Additionally, there is now an inline video preview before the video is uploaded. And with faster upload capability, it’s never been easier to upload your YouTube videos on-the-go!

Simply drag the frame on both ends of the video to trim it where you’d like, as you can see above, and you can touch and hold the frame to get a closer view of where the video is being trimmed. Then you can tap “got it” when you’re done, and then the app will let you preview what your video will look like prior to publish.

The latest version of the app can be downloaded from the Play Store, but it’s not actually an app update that’s bringing this feature. Users who have already downloaded the YouTube app should see the feature turned on server-side. Notably, it doesn’t look like the iOS app has this feature quite yet.

WSJ: YouTube planning new ad-targeting system after earning $4B in 2014 without profit

Chance Miller Feb 25 2015 - 1:46 pm PT

According to a new report out of The Wall Street Journal, Google’s YouTube unit posted a revenue of nearly $4 billion in 2014, but did not earn a profit of any kind. The $4 billion in revenue during 2014 is up from $3 billion in 2013. YouTube accounted for about 6 percent Google’s overall sales last year.

In an effort to remedy remaining unprofitable, YouTube is planning to launch a new ad-targeting system later this year, the WSJ says, though details remain unclear. …

YouTube
Kids

Google preparing kid-friendly version of YouTube app for Android for launch next week

Mike Beasley Feb 19 2015 - 5:58 pm PT

Google revealed last year that it was working on versions of YouTube, Chrome, and other products specifically designed to be kid-friendly. Now it seems the service, called YouTube Kids, is finally ready to make its public debut next week. YouTube is preparing an Android app specifically targeted at kids looking to browse its collection of videos.

Google debuts Chinese version of its developer YouTube channel

Mike Beasley Feb 16 2015 - 6:14 pm PT

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObvaD7EcDGM]

Google today launched a new version of its developer-focused YouTube channel, continuing the company’s expansion into the Chinese market. Ironically, YouTube is still blocked by China’s nationwide firewall, so users interested in taking advantage of the channel will need to find other ways to access its content.

The English-language version of the channel contains resources for developers creating Android apps, web content, and other software projects. The Chinese channel currently only features two introductory channels, but will likely contain localized versions of new videos from the English channel.

Google testing a new logo for YouTube that matches mobile apps

Stephen Hall Feb 13 2015 - 6:24 am PT

Google is testing a new logo on YouTube.com, bringing the simpler round-rect icon with a play button to the desktop interface. If you use any of the YouTube mobile apps, you may find this icon to be very familiar.

Here’s a look at the current mobile app icons—the Android version of YouTube is on the left, while the iOS version is on the right:

Notably, the new icon being tested on YouTube.com is very similar—with the exception of some minor details—to the icon for the Android version. Google has yet to actually roll out the new icon to the YouTube website, but you can find more images of the experiment at Google Operating System.

This is what the current version of the YouTube.com logo looks like in comparison:

YouTube experiments w/ non-stop radio stations based on current video

Jordan Kahn Feb 11 2015 - 7:59 am PT

YouTube appears to be experimenting with a new feature dubbed “YouTube Radio” that expands on its current “YouTube Mix” playlist feature to offer non-stop radio station based on the currently playing video (via Google Operating System).

The feature, as pictured above, is described as “a non-stop radio station based on the current video.” Users will be able to customize the experience somewhat with options to “like, dislike and dismiss videos to tailor your Radio Station to your taste.”
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Google’s search and YouTube expert Udi Manber announces departure

Chance Miller Feb 10 2015 - 12:41 pm PT

Google’s Udi Manber

Google this afternoon has announced that Udi Manber, a computer scientist who worked on search and YouTube, is leaving the company. Manber says that he will be joining the National Institutes of Health.

“I had a wonderful nine years at Google and YouTube, but I could not resist the amazing opportunities at NIH,” Manber said in a statement obtained by The Wall Street Journal. “Improving access to medical knowledge can have a big impact. I hope to help.”

Google introduces new set of “Be together, not the same” ads featuring furry “Android BFFs”

Chance Miller Feb 5 2015 - 6:29 pm PT

Google this evening has uploaded six new Android ads to its YouTube channel. The ads all follow the same “Be together, not the same” marketing campaign that the company introduced a few months ago and had its partners heavily promote at CES 2015.

Google makes its 24-minute space documentary available on YouTube

Mike Beasley Jan 27 2015 - 7:35 pm PT

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[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=OkivPFtLOj4]

Google has debuted its space documentary Back To The Moon for Good — The New Space Race on YouTube today following its national tour in planetariums last year.

The short film features narration by Tim Allen and was created with the intent of promoting Google’s Lunar XPrize competition. The documentary takes a look at the history of mankind’s exploration of the moon, and provides a hopeful look at the future of space travel.

You can check out the complete film on YouTube (embedded above) for free right now.

Five years after introducing the feature, Google makes HTML5 default on YouTube

Stephen Hall Jan 27 2015 - 1:09 pm PT

Google has announced today, five years after introducing a test version of the feature, that HTML5 video on YouTube is now the default setting for video playback. Before today, Adobe Flash was used for playing YouTube videos, and users needed to go to YouTube.com/HTML5 (pictured above) to toggle the HTML5 player (if your browser supported it).

Official NFL YouTube channel launches w/ highlight reels, video in Google Search ahead of Super Bowl XLIX

Stephen Hall Jan 26 2015 - 7:43 am PT