YouTube is one of the most-used tools on the internet, but are you getting everything out of it that you can? Here are 5 tips and tricks to help enhance your experience.
Make a GIF
If there’s a video you find particularly amusing or revealing, then why not make a GIF that you can share with your friends? This is surprisingly easy, as we detailed in a previous issue of tech tips. There are various options out there for you to go through, many allowing you to simply drop the YouTube URL into a panel and sit back as the computer works its magic.
However, to make things even more straightforward, simply find the video on YouTube that you want to have turned into a short snappy GIF and type ‘GIF’ into the URL bar right before the word YouTube.
That will take you through to a new site and the rest could not be easier, letting you choose segments and time frames accordingly.
Keyboard shortcuts
Okay, this one is a little new, even for us. There are a collection of keyboard shortcuts that can let you control the play of the video, each using the ‘-’ key as a command for some reason.
So, when you hold – and k, you can pause or play the video. -j rewinds videos by ten seconds, with -l sending the video in the opposite direction. -m will mute it, while – followed by a number will go to a particular point in the video. -1 brings it to 10pc of the way through, -9 up to 90pc.
Hide the comments section
Unless you delight in the mindless, insufferable outrage that dominates the comments section below videos on YouTube, then it’s fair to assume you wish rid of the whole things.
A couple of extensions for browsers doing the rounds do just that, with the simply-named No YouTube comments doing the trick on Firefox. On Chrome, Hide YouTube Comments does a similar job.
The sidebar of suggestions is another visually awful aspect of YouTube when operating on a browser but, unfortunately, that’s probably here to stay.
Play videos on your TV
One of the greatest developments in streaming in recent years is the growing number of devices users can access content from. If you own a smart TV, for example, you can ‘throw’ a YouTube video onto the larger screen from your mobile device.
This also works with a Chromecast, as well as gaming consoles. Your XBox, for example, has the capacity to download the YouTube app and play directly onto your TV, no need for mobile at all.
Enjoy Theatre Mode
Going full screen with YouTube is not always ideal as, given the digital age we’re living in, most people are browsing on multiple tabs, while using multiple tools, all at once.
So, if you want to make the video more prominent on your screen, but still keep a little space to write your emails or look through Asos, Theatre Mode is a good one.
The rectangular button at the bottom of the video, right beside the full-screen option, should sort you out, and then, by bringing up and down the size of the actual browser, the video will adapt accordingly.
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YouTube image via Bloomua/Shutterstock
