Facebook Video gets big changes, but they aren't all good
While YouTube is probably the biggest destination for online video, more and more people are sharing videos on Facebook nowadays too. In fact, with the introduction of Facebook Live, many users have also streamed themselves live on the social network. For example, "Chewbacca Mom" went viral with her Facebook video last year.
Today, Facebook announces that it is enhancing the video-watching experience on its platform, thanks to several new features. The social network is improving the way vertical videos look on mobile, but that is no excuse to shoot them this way, folks -- landscape is still the best way to record! Facebook is even enabling a special picture-in-picture mode so you can simultaneously watch a video while scrolling through your feed. Amazingly, that is not all.
"Videos in News Feed have previously played silently -- you tap on a video to hear sound. As people watch more video on phones, they've come to expect sound when the volume on their device is turned on. After testing sound on in News Feed and hearing positive feedback, we’re slowly bringing it to more people. With this update, sound fades in and out as you scroll through videos in News Feed, bringing those videos to life," says Facebook.
The social network further explains, "today we're announcing a new Facebook video app for TV, which will roll out soon to app stores for Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Samsung Smart TV, with more platforms to come. Our video app for TV is a new way to enjoy Facebook videos on a bigger screen. Last year we rolled out the ability for you to stream videos from Facebook to your TV, and today's announcement expands this capability. With the app, you can watch videos shared by friends or Pages you follow, top live videos from around the world, and recommended videos based on your interests. You can also catch up on videos you've saved to watch later, as well as revisit videos you’ve watched, shared or uploaded."
All of these updates seem great, with the exception of auto-playing audio when videos are displayed on the feed. True, the user can mute their device entirely to avoid these sounds, but what if they forget to do so? This could lead to quite the embarrassing moment -- imagine opening up Facebook at a funeral during a moment of silence, for example, and having audio begin playing. Very awkward! Tapping for audio is clearly a much smarter way to do things; hopefully Facebook does a 180.
What do you think of these new updates? Sound off in the comments below.
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