YouTube

YouTube announced that it’s rolling out a newly updated YouTube app for Xbox One today that brings the ability to upload gameplay clips directly from the Xbox’s Game DVR feature. The app will also now support the Xbox One Snap Mode:

YouTube now also supports Xbox One Snap Mode (so you can move it to one side of your screen, where it will continue to run while you do something else on the main part of your screen) ’cause ain’t nobody got time to switch between screens while in the middle of a game. Watch a how-to video while stuck on a board, play an awesome music playlist while you finish a level, or catch up with the guys from TeamCrafted while browsing on your Xbox One.

In addition, users will be able to earn 10 different achievements, such as UUDDLRLRBA for watching more than 5 hours of gaming videos, through the new YouTube for Xbox One app.

You’ll be able to upload new gameplay clips you’ve recorded to YouTube through a new My Uploads option in the app rolling out today on Xbox One. You’ll first have to make sure the feature is enabled by going to Settings and selecting “Share game clips” and “Share on social network.”

Google taking legal action against Turkish government over YouTube ban

Chance Miller Apr 7 2014 - 2:41 pm PT

After first blocking Twitter across the nation, Turkey officials began blocking YouTube last week as well, after Google failed to comply with the prime minister’s request to delete all videos that it deemed critical of government officials. According to a report from the Hurriyet Daily News, YouTube is now taking legal action against the country. The company has reportedly filed a complaint with Turkey’s Constitutional Court protesting the block. Google is also appealing the reinstatement of the ban and is suing to cancel the decision all together.

In a statement to Engadget, YouTube acknowledged that it was taking legal action to restore access to its service in the country and said that it is “obviously very disappointing” that censorship is still taking place in the world today. It didn’t have any further details to share about the court battles, though. Seeing that Twitter successfully won its battle with Turkish officials, however, it seems likely that YouTube will be able to do the same.

Android TV screenshots reportedly leak, show off simplified card-based interface

Chance Miller Apr 5 2014 - 12:28 pm PT

For years now companies have been claiming to that they make the perfect set-top box, with Amazon being the most recent to do so with its FireTV. Notably missing from this arm’s race, however, has been Google. The company was one of the first to offer a set-top box OS with Google TV, but the idea quickly failed and was never widely adopted. Over the past year, reports have started to emerge claiming that Google is plaining a reentrance into the set-top box market with an Android-powered set-top box. The Verge has now published an extensive report on Android TV, with screenshots of the actual interface and much more.

The report, which cites internal Google documents, claims that the idea is far along in development with major app providers already building for the platform as we speak. While Google TV was also based off of Android, this new revision is entirely rebuilt and is something very different. “Android TV is an entertainment interface, not a computing platform,” writes Google. “It’s all about finding and enjoying content with the least amount of friction.” It will be “cinematic, fun, fluid, and fast.”

Report: YouTube’s music streaming service delayed until later this year

Chance Miller Apr 4 2014 - 7:39 pm PT

Last October, Billboard reported that YouTube was planning to launch a music streaming service in late 2013 or early 2014. This evening, however, Billboard has published another report claiming that YouTube’s music streaming platform has been delayed until the second quarter of this year or beyond. According to the report, which cites “an executive briefed on YouTube’s plans”, YouTube is approaching this service with a “get it right” attitude.

The company wants to launch the first version of the service in an incredibly polished form that will help it stand out against competitors like Spotify and Rdio, which have been around for a while and have had several iterations of improvements. “They feel that there’s just too much scrutiny of this product, and that they need to get it right out of the gate,” said a senior label executive speaking to Billboard. This, of course, contradicts the strategy of YouTube’s parent company, Google, which launches services left and right in beta form, many of which get shut down relatively quickly.

YouTube

Report: Yahoo trying to poach YouTube stars for new video service

Jordan Kahn Mar 28 2014 - 3:42 pm PT

According to a report from Recode, Yahoo is toying with the idea of creating its own YouTube-like video service and in the process thinking of ways it could attract some YouTube’s biggest content creators. Recode claims that Yahoo’s strategy for the service will revolve specifically around catering to YouTube creators frustrated with the amount of revenue the service generates.

Yahoo has apparently already been approaching certain YouTube creators about the opportunity:
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Turkish government blocking YouTube in Turkey

Zac Hall Mar 27 2014 - 8:06 am PT

via <a href="https://twitter.com/zeynep/statuses/449194998102118400" target="_blank">Twitter</a>

Following the block of Twitter in Turkey by the nation’s prime minister earlier this month, Turkey’s telecommunications authority is now taking steps to block YouTube in the nation, reports The Wall Street Journal.

The move came just hours after a leaked recording published on YouTube purporting to show a conversation where Turkey’s foreign minister, spy chief and a top general appear to discuss scenarios which could lead to a Turkish attack against Jihadist militants in Syria.

This comes just days after Turkey requested that Google remove videos from YouTube that criticize the Turkish government. Google responded by refusing to accommodate the government of Turkey’s request.

Yesterday, a Turkish court ruled that the ban against Twitter should be lifted within 30 days while many users were already using DNS workarounds to access the service.
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Disney is buying YouTube network Maker Studios for as much as $950M

Jordan Kahn Mar 24 2014 - 2:49 pm PT

Reuters reports that Disney is about to buy Maker Studios, one of the largest YouTube networks, for $500 million with the possibility for that amount to rise to $950 million:

Maker, founded in 2009, helps produce and distribute videos to more than 380 million subscribers worldwide across more than 55,000 channels. Its videos now collectively garner some 5.5 billion views every month, according to the source.

The company distributes content through partnerships it has with a long list of YouTube content creators such as the popular PewDiePie gaming channel and also provides a platform that gives creators access to royalty reporting, analytics, and other services to help maximize earnings.

Turkey asks YouTube to remove videos accusing government of corruption, Google declines

Mike Beasley Mar 21 2014 - 10:21 pm PT

The Turkish government sent requests to YouTube for the removal of specific videos that it deemed critical of government officials, according to the Wall Street Journal. Google refused to comply with the request, saying that there was no legal basis for the removal of the videos.

The move by the government comes after a nationwide blackout of Twitter, which officials say is due to what they deem false allegations of corruption being circulated on the network. That block can be worked around by using Google’s DNS server to access the web, though it seems that won’t be necessary to keep accessing YouTube videos critical of the nation’s leadership—unless the entire website is blocked, that is.

Google DNS provides workaround as Turkish government blocks access to twitter

Ben Lovejoy Mar 21 2014 - 4:57 am PT

4 Comments

Photo: @FindikKahve

Turkish citizens, who found access to Twitter blocked yesterday in an apparent attempt by prime minister Recep Erdoğan to stem the spread of corruption allegations against him, have been able to work around the block by switching to Google’s public DNS service.

The Turkish government blocked access to Twitter by requiring local ISPs to change the DNS entries so that twitter.com could no longer be reached. As soon as the method of blocking access was discovered, a campaign started to spread the word that it could be circumvented by changing network settings to use Google’s DNS servers at 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 (update: a comment suggests the Turkish government is blocking these addresses too) …
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Google and Viacom finally settle legal battle over YouTube copyright issues

Benjamin Mayo Mar 18 2014 - 6:10 am PT

In a legal fight which has stretched over seven years, Google seems to have finally resolved their issues with Viacom over copyright violations of videos uploaded to YouTube. Information on the details of the settlement have not been publicly released.

[protected-iframe id=”b8884abfaafa2822dcf63b334747a819-22427743-13611283″ info=”http://media.mtvnservices.com/embed/mgid:arc:video:thedailyshow.com:a29c2c60-ed00-11e0-aca6-0026b9414f30″ width=”512″ height=”288″ frameborder=”0″]

Re/code received this rather bland statement from the two companies.

Google and Viacom today jointly announced the resolution of the Viacom vs. YouTube copyright litigation. This settlement reflects the growing collaborative dialogue between our two companies on important opportunities, and we look forward to working more closely together.

Google encrypting Chinese web searches, plans to do so globally to thwart NSA

Ben Lovejoy Mar 13 2014 - 6:53 am PT

Photo: Li Xin for AFP/Getty Images

The Washington Post reports that Google has begun automatically encrypting web searches carried out in China to defeat government monitoring and censorship, and plans to continue rolling out the program globally to prevent monitoring by the NSA.

China’s Great Firewall, as its censorship system is known, has long intercepted searches for information it deemed politically sensitive. Google’s growing use of encryption there means that government monitors are unable to detect when users search for sensitive terms, such as “Dalai Lama” or “Tiananmen Square,” because the encryption makes them appear as indecipherable strings of numbers and letters …
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Chromecast coming to “many more countries” in the next few weeks, millions sold

Ben Lovejoy Mar 10 2014 - 7:52 am PT

Google’s handy Chromecast dongle is to go on sale in “many more countries” in the next few weeks, according to an SXSW keynote speech by Sundar Pinchai reported by TNW.

The speech seemingly majored on ‘vague,’ with no specific countries listed and U.S. sales of the $35 device described only as in the millions.

Google announced a month ago that the UK would be the second market to get access to Chromecast, going on sale in the electrical retail chain Currys at or around the beginning of this month. At the time of writing it was not yet showing up in a search on the company’s website.

Once it does go on sale, buying one is pretty much a no-brainer if you own both a television and an Android device. Chromecast support is available in a wide range of apps, that include YouTube, Netflix, HBO GO, Hulu Plus, Pandora, Plex and many others – with more likely to be joining the list thanks to a Chromecast SDK, making it easier for developers to add support.

Samsung posts (very!) detailed videos for the Galaxy S5 and Gear smartwatches

Ben Lovejoy Mar 10 2014 - 5:57 am PT

2 Comments

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOIGUfAlMY0]

Samsung’s description of a nine-minute video as a ‘quick look’ at the Gear 2 and Gear Fit smartwatches may be about as accurate as its claim that they are everything users “loved” about the original Gear, but if you want to know everything the watches do and how to do it in full detail, this video is your friend.

The Galaxy S5 video (below the fold) is a little shorter, at a touch under eight minutes …
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YouTube tweaks site design, puts more emphasis on playlists in the sidebar

Mike Beasley Feb 20 2014 - 5:52 pm PT

3 Comments

Google launched a few tweaks to its YouTube page design, which brings back a design feature long thought to be gone forever: center alignment. With the last major redesign, YouTube started pushing all content to the left side of the screen, a decision that many found so irritating they created browser extensions to revert the change.

The “What to Watch” feature and subscription list have been given more prominent placements on the home page.

Confused by Chromecast? Struggling with streaming? Google adds official support forum

Ben Lovejoy Feb 20 2014 - 6:29 am PT

With Chromecast supported by an increasing number of apps, Google has created an official support forum for the $35 device.

Judging by the number of posts made on the first day (assuming they’re not all made by Google employees), it looks like it could prove a popular resource. Though a good starting-point for anyone new to the dongle is our own how-to setup guide.

How-to: Setup and Use Chromecast to stream your content from a Mac and Android device

Sarah Guarino Feb 9 2014 - 12:00 pm PT

The Chromecast, Google’s streaming HDMI dongle came out last summer. It is compatible with any Android device running 2.3 or later, iOS devices with iOS 6 or 7, and any Mac or PC. Initially, users were able to stream Netflix or Youtube from an iOS device and Android device, Google Play on Android, or stream websites to a TV using the Chrome browser on a computer. The Chromecast works differently from Apple’s AirPlay system in that you can multitask and do other tasks on the device or you can let it go to sleep while streaming.

Very quickly after its release, Chromecast has received support for Hulu +, Pandora, and HBO GO. Last month a major update added ten new apps including Plex, Vevo, Songza, Red Bull TV, Post TV from the Washington Post, Viki, RealPlayer Cloud, Avia, Revision3 Internet Television, and BeyondPod. The most recent update the Chromecast received allowed users to stream Google Play movies and music directly from the Chrome browser on a computer.

In this How-to, we’ll discuss how to setup the Chromecast, use it with a Mac and Android device, and explore its gaming potentials.

Chromecast to go on sale in UK electrical chain Currys on or around 1st March

Ben Lovejoy Feb 7 2014 - 5:38 am PT

Google has announced that the UK will be the second market to get access to the Chromecast dongle when it goes on sale in the electrical chain store Currys on or around 1st March.

No price has yet been announced, nor is it yet known whether the device will go on sale in other retailers. Chromecast costs $35 in the US, suggesting a likely price of £25 in the UK (Britain rarely gets price parity with the U.S.).

In addition to streaming content from Chrome tabs, Chromecast support is now available in a wide range of apps, that include YouTube, Netflix, HBO GO, Hulu Plus, Pandora, Plex and many others. Google also just announced a Chromecast SDK, making it easier for developers to add support for additional apps.

Via TheNextWeb

Google just made it easier to find music videos with prioritized Youtube search results

Ben Lovejoy Feb 6 2014 - 5:51 am PT

Finding a playable music video can sometimes involve a bit of trial-and-error, where the top link might be only a short clip, or indeed something unrelated that was mislabelled. To solve this, Google is now offering prioritised links to the first playable music video in a separate box above the remaining search results …
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Google ad head Susan Wojcicki to head-up YouTube in bid to boost ad revenues? (Update: Google confirms)

Ben Lovejoy Feb 5 2014 - 4:31 am PT

Photo: makers.com

The Information is reporting that the head of Google’s advertising products team, Susan Wojcicki, is likely to replace Salar Kamangar as the head of YouTube.

The move would send a clear signal that Google CEO Larry Page wants to zero in on the site’s ad products. While YouTube’s growth has continued, the site has struggled to charge more for its ads as the supply of videos continues to outstrip advertiser demand across the Web …
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Google announces changes to YouTube view count validation

Chance Miller Feb 4 2014 - 1:24 pm PT

Google today announced that it will be changing the way it validates the view counts on YouTube videos. In the past, the company would scan views for spam immediately, but starting today, Google will periodically validate a video’s view count and remove fraudulent views as it finds them. Google says it is doing this to keep YouTube views authentic in order to maintain “the trust” of fans and creators.

While in the past we would scan views for spam immediately after they occurred, starting today we will periodically validate the video’s view count, removing fraudulent views as new evidence comes to light. We don’t expect this approach to affect more than a minuscule fraction of videos on YouTube, but we believe it’s crucial to improving the accuracy of view counts and maintaining the trust of our fans and creators.

Google also advises YouTube creators to be hesitant when working with third-party marketing firms, as some offer to sell fake views. You can read Google’s full blog post on its Online Security blog.

Simpsons episode parodies Google Glass (video)

Ben Lovejoy Jan 27 2014 - 6:05 am PT

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKKCTLZDWls]

An episode of The Simpsons poking fun at Google Glass has appeared on YouTube, but as it’s on an unofficial channel, don’t expect it to be there long …

The Hulu version, available in 1 country and on limited platforms is below:

[hulu id=4qhtqlup1znadj_joie4fa width=704]

President Obama hosting ‘Road Trip’ Q&A via Google Hangouts on Friday, January 31st

Zac Hall Jan 23 2014 - 6:49 am PT

Next Friday, January 31st, President Obama will embark on a Presidential Hangout Road Trip promoting his State of the Union address to Congress and responding to questions submitted via Google+ and YouTube.

The Presidential Hangout Road Trip is actually a Google+ Hangouts session allowing the President to respond online to user submitted questions and topics he addressed in Tuesday night’s State of the Union speech.

YouTube will be live streaming both the SOTU address and the Republican response starting at 9pm EST next Tuesday. Check below for how to submit a question to the President during the Hangout Road Trip:
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Google launches “Video Quality Report” to test ISP performance based on YouTube playback

Chance Miller Jan 21 2014 - 3:40 pm PT

Google today announced a new project designed to test the quality and connection speeds of internet service providers. The service, known as Google’s Video Quality Report, will be available in Canada first, though it should expand to more countries as time progresses.

To perform the test, Google uses data related to how well the ISP can handle playing back a high definition YouTube video. The ISPs are graded based on the performance of other providers in a given area. If the ISP is able to load 90% of 720p YouTube videos, then it will be branded as “YouTube HD Verified” for the area and be at the top of the verification scale.

Google updates YouTube for iOS 7 with improved search results and captions

Mike Beasley Jan 7 2014 - 5:23 pm PT