Tag Archives: video player

YouTube intros Leanback; supports 4K video; updates mobile site

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Over the course of the last few days Google made a number of exciting announcements concerning its popular video site YouTube.  Read on for all the juicy details.  And make sure to peek after the break where you’ll find two brief videos that outline Leanback and YouTube Mobile with the help of visuals.

YouTube Leanback: Leanback is a new way to watch videos on YouTube.  It makes the whole experience of watching Internet video feel more like you’re watching television.  Here’s how.  When you head over to  www.youtube.com/leanback, you are asked to login to your YouTube account.  Once that’s done, you enter the Leanback portal which instantly promotes minimalism.  A video instantly begins to play from a folder called “Your Feed.”  The videos found in this group are all based on your YouTube account settings, preferences, subscriptions, and previously watched videos.  And if you happen to have your YouTube account connected to your Facebook account, videos your friends are watching and sharing will find a home there too.  In addition to “Your Feed”, you can also browse all of the popular YouTube categories that include Comedy, Education, Entertainment, Music, News & Politics, and more.  If you have any uploaded videos in your account, they will show up at the end of this list.  Videos will automatically stream at their highest quality (HD if available).  Everything in Leanback is controlled with the four arrow keys, the space bar, and the enter button on your keyboard.  For now, mouse control is not supported.  The lowest level of the UI is the content categories I just described.  If you click the up arrow, the usual playback controls pop up (play/pause, rewind/fast-forward, previous/next).  If you click the up arrow once more, a search bar appears.  When you search a term, all related content will show up in its own folder next to “Your Feed” down below.  And that’s it, really.  Leanback is all about video playback first, control second.  The concept is neat; login to your account and presto–video (that should be) tailored for you begins to play and you can quickly and easily scrub through it.  Google calls it “effortless viewing.”  So watcha waiting for?  Have at it!

4K video support: Chew on this: “At 4096 x 2304 pixels, 4K is over four times the size of 1080p.”  So if you thought HD was good, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.  Anyway, now YouTube supports “original video resolution from 360p all the way up to 4K.”  When a 4K video is played, you will have the option to select “original video” to view it at its highest quality.  But don’t get too excited just yet.  You need the proper monitor to view such high grade video; even Google claims that the ideal screen size to view 4K content is 25 feet.  Watching 4K footage also requires extremely fast bandwidth.  Since 4K camcorders and projectors are very expensive they have yet to make it into the mainstream.  But you know what?  I think it’s a great move on Google’s part to start supporting it today in preparation for tomorrow.  Feel free to check out some of the first 4K videos to hit the site.  Just beware of the bandwidth limitations and the fact that you most likely cannot view these videos at their proper resolution just yet.

YouTube Mobile: The mobile version of YouTube (http://m.youtube.com) was launched back in 2007.  Since then, we have become more reliant on cell phones and other portable devices, and users are demanding a more broader YouTube experience when they’re on the go.  That was Google’s cue to revamp the mobile site with updates too appease their most loyal fans.  Let’s run down the most important updates, shall we?  It’s speedier; the user interface incorporates more touch-friendly elements; many features from the .com site have transferred over including search query suggestions, the options to create playlists, and the ability to designate “favorite,” “like” or “unlike” videos; and unlike YouTube apps (ie. iPhone’s YouTube portal), the mobile site will see improvements on a more constant, regular basis.  Click here from your device to check out all the new features and options now available at your fingertips.

[Via YouTubeBlog, here, here & here]   Continue reading YouTube intros Leanback; supports 4K video; updates mobile site →

Hulu intros new video player: updated design, new features

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Today Hulu gave their video player a much needed refresh that brings with it a slightly updated look and a bunch of new features.  You can watch a brief guided tour about all the updates in the video embedded above, but I’ll run through some of them here.  The base video player is now 720×404 pixels large, that’s 25% more surface area than the old player.  When you’re watching a video and the mouse is at rest, the player is control-free, meaning on all-screen controls and menus are hidden from view.  There are new player controls that are now streamlined across all videos: normal player, fullscreen player, pop-out player, and embedded player.  New features include adaptive bitrate streaming (as your bandwith fluctuates, you can make it so the player chooses the resolution of the streaming video based on your current speed); ad volume normalization (the player analyzes the volume of your streaming video and normalizes the volume of the ad breaks to match what you’re watching); and seek hover preview (when you hover your mouse over any spot in the video, you will see a small thumbnail preview of what’s going on at that specific point in time).  Scrub through the video above to learn about some other neat features.  Overall, all the new features and the updated design combine to make a welcome, streamlined refresh of the Hulu video player.  Now about bringing Hulu to mobile devices…

[Via Hulu; Engadget]

Watch the latest Lost episodes online with cast/crew commentary

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This is pretty slick.  Check it– So you all know that Lost airs Tuesdays at 9PM on ABC.  You are also probably aware that before each episode (at 8PM) ABC airs the previous week’s episode in “enhanced” form, meaning it’s a repeat of the episode that includes scrolling text at the bottom of the screen that reveals hidden easter eggs and the like that you may have missed during your first viewing.  ABC is going one step further this season; now you can watch Lost episodes online that feature cast and crew commentary along the way.  Think it of as DVD commentary, but it’s text based and scrolls alongside the video player.  So far the premiere episode (LA X, parts 1 & 2) features commentary by Daniel Roebuck (Dr. Artz) and “What Kate Does” features Rob Kyker, Lost prop master.  For all you crazy Lost fans out there, this is quite a treat.  Now you can watch the episode as it airs on Tuesdays, watch the enhanced version the following week, and following along with cast and crew commentary online.  Click here to access the Lost video player.  You’re welcome.

Concept: Microwave with built-in YouTube player

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The Castoven is designed by researchers at Japan’s Keio University.  Besides being a conventional microwave, the Castoven sports a 10.4 inch LCD screen on the door and internal speakers.  Crunchgear breaks it down for us:

The main idea is to display a YouTube video whose length depends on the time you need to heat up what’s inside the Castoven. Say, you want to prepare a lunch box that takes 3.30 minutes to be ready. The Castoven would then automatically pull a video from YouTube with that length and display it on the screen until the meal is finished.

So the future of microwaving a Poptart is watching YouTube videos, huh?  I’ll take it.  Additional images below and a video of this in action after the break.

[Via Gizmodo; Crunchgear]

Continue reading Concept: Microwave with built-in YouTube player →