Welcome to Top10Archive!
It’s like a second home to a lot of us, but what do we really know about YouTube?
We’re not talking about its history, but the little tips and tricks that hide within
the coding of one of Google’s finest products.
In this installment, we’re exploring the depths of YouTube for the top 10 of those
little nuggets of fun and convenience.
10.
YouTube Easter Eggs Everybody loves Easter Eggs, so let’s start
things off with some fun, albeit impractical, YouTube secrets.
While you’re watching this Archive, type in the word “Awesome” and watch the progress
bar.
Funky, right?
Now, open YouTube in a new tab and search for any of the following: “Use the Force
Luke,” “Doge Meme,” or “Do the Harlem Shake.”
If you’re not interested in seeing things for yourself (or if you’re really just that
lazy), what you’re missing is the ability to move the screen with the force of your
mouse, some colorful font in the spirit of Doge, and YouTube’s rendition of the Harlem
Shake. 9.
Honing Your Search Skills Tired of having to skim through those unrelated
search results every time you’re on YouTube?
Don’t worry, there’s a way to better define your searches so you only get the results
you’re looking for.
The next time you want to find, say, a video about the Strangest Holes on Earth, type in
“AllinTitle,” colon, and then “Strangest Holes on Earth” in quotation marks.
If you’re not concerned about accuracy and would be happy with videos about strange holes
or just holes on earth, you can search with just commas between your search terms.
8.
Keyboard Shortcuts Some YouTube users are far more comfortable
using their keyboard rather than their mouse, but the video service doesn’t readily advertise
convenient keyboard shortcuts for optimal viewing, so there mustn’t be any, right?
Wrong!
There are actually a few different keys you’ll want to keep in mind the next time you’re
lounging around watching videos.
If you want to pause or play a video, press “k.”
To rewind or fast forward 10 seconds, press “J” or “L” respectively, and to quickly
mute and unmute a video, just press “m.”
If you don’t want to play the whole video, you can skip in increments of 10% by pressing
the 1 to 9 keys.
7.
YouTube Test Tube Love being among the first consumers to get
to try out new products and features, even if they’re not guaranteed to go public?
With TestTube, you’ll be able to toy around with some experimental features that Google
is testing for the future of YouTube.
Over time, the features for testing will frequently change - for example, the only feature available
at the release of this video was the introduction of 4K videos running at 60 fps.
Attached to Test Tube is also the ability to sign up for research studies that come
with the occasional perk and rewards.
6.
Listen on Repeat Ever been so infatuated with a video or a
song you found on YouTube that you wanted to play it over and over again, but hated
the pesky need to keep pressing the “replay” prompt?
There’s a pretty simple trick to repeat a video until you close the window and it
doesn’t require a download of any kind.
Simply go to your video’s URL and delete everything before the word “YouTube.”
Now, just add the word “repeat” before the “.com.”
After pressing enter, you’ll be brought to Listen on Repeat, which will give you the
option to listen or watch your favorite song until you can recite it word for word.
5.
YouTube Video Quality Report We’ve all been there.
You’re in the middle of the latest Francis rage video when, suddenly, the video starts
to buffer.
It’s paused for too long, testing your patience and forcing you to reduce quality and struggle
through 144p quality.
As you deal with a blurry video and the occasional hiccup, you’re left wondering who you should
be cursing out.
Is it an issue with Google or is your ISP delivering subpar service?
Thanks to Google’s Video Quality Report, you can check to see how your ISP is performing
at certain times of the day.
You’re also able to see which providers are best for HD playback and which can only
handle lower definition.
4.
YouTube Regional Bypass There are few things more frustrating than
going to watch a video only to find it restricted in your region.
So, how do you bypass this common annoyance?
You could go the lengthy route of purchasing a VPN or finding a way to download the video,
or you can try a very simple URL edit.
On the video you’re blocked from watching, replace this text
with “/v/” and voila!
Unblocked video.
The method also tends to work with other pesky restrictions, like age restricted videos..
and you heard it here first kids!
We know, great role models we are.
3.
YouTube TV For #8, we discussed the desire some YouTube
connoisseurs have to just use their keyboard, and there’s something out there that caters
YouTube to such users.
Going beyond keyboard shortcuts, YouTube has a feature formally known as YouTube Leanback.
Now known best as YouTube TV, the format is optimized strictly for keyboard-only implementation.
You can scroll through everything using just the arrow keys.
More importantly than just enhancing keyboard usage, YouTube TV allows users to link their
device to a television in order to enjoy their favorite videos on the big screen.
2.
Chronological Ordering Ever come across a new channel that you can’t
help but need to binge watch?
Well, would you believe there’s a means of watching every video the creators ever
published without having to go back and forth to the channel feed or spending the time creating
your own playlist of their videos?
It’s true, and all it takes is a simple addition to the URL.
Go to one of the channel’s videos and paste this string of text at the end of the link
.
When you press enter, the page will refresh and to the right of the video will be a playlist
showing everything the channel’s ever published in chronological order.
1.
Easy GIFs Come across a brief visual segment in a video
that you just have to share with users of 9gag?
For the uninformed, creating a GIF of a YouTube video could be a lengthy ordeal; but it doesn’t
have to be.
All you need to do is navigate to the video you want to create a GIF from and, in the
URL, input “GIF” in front of YouTube.com.
You’ll be redirected to GIFS.com with the video in question ready to be transformed.
The tough part is finding the exact spots you want to start and stop your GIF, but even
that’s just a matter of a few mouse clicks.
Finally, click “Create GIF” and you’re ready to share your animated goodness!