Search Results for: youtube

YouTube Go beta brings data-saving video streaming and downloading to Android

It has been a while since Google announced its plans for YouTube Go, a streamlined version of its mobile app with a focus on sharing and minimizing data usage. Now the company has released the first beta on Google Play.

Designed for use in countries with less-than-reliable internet connection, such as India, YouTube Go also allows for the downloading of videos for offline viewing without buffering. The app includes a number of options to help you "maximize your fun without burning up your data," including the ability to preview videos and see the amount of data required to download different quality versions of the same file.

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US companies start to pull ads from Google and YouTube over extremist content controversy

Last week saw the start of a backlash against Google after advertisers voiced concern that their ads were appearing next to extremist content. The Guardian, the BBC and the British government were among the first to start to pull their ads from the network, and the trend has spread to the US.

AT&T and Verizon are among American companies that have now announced that they are boycotting YouTube by pulling their ads. After concerns about being associated with terrorist and other extremist content, an increasing number of big names are calling on Google to make guarantees about ad placement.

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Google attracts criticism for hiding LGBTQ videos in YouTube's Restricted Mode

LGBTQ+ videos are effectively being censored by Google, say a number of high-profile YouTubers. The accusations surround YouTube's Restricted Mode and the belief that this is hiding videos with LGBTQ+ content from view, leading some to suggest that active censorship is taking place.

Google says that this limited mode exists to give people the option to avoid "videos that discuss more sensitive issues." The blocking is supposed to be triggered by "community flagging, age restrictions, and other signals," but YouTubers complain that even "innocent" videos that reference same-sex relationships, "queer perspectives" and other LGBTQ+ topics have been restricted.

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YouTube kills off video annotations in favor of mobile-friendly Cards and End Screens

Things are changing at YouTube. Having previously announced plans to drop 30-second unskippable ads from videos, Google has now also revealed that it will be dropping another annoyance -- the annotations that blight many videos and distract from the actual content.

Annotations have generally been used to link to related material, push merchandize and so on, but there has been something of an issue: annotations are not very mobile-friendly. Google says that Cards (which can be displayed at any point during a video) and End Screens (which, funnily enough, appear at the end) provide the same functionality as annotations, work on mobile, and are more user-friendly.

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The Guardian pulls its ads from Google and YouTube after placement next to extremist material

The Guardian has pulled all of its ads from both Google and YouTube. The British newspaper was unhappy to discover that advertisements for its membership scheme were placed next to extremist material.

It is understood that the positioning was accidental, but the Guardian's chief executive described the situation as "completely unacceptable". Ads appeared next to videos for a "hate preacher", American white nationalists, and other controversial content. Google's AdX, DoubleClick Ad Exchange Service, algorithms are thought to be to blame and, in a letter to Google, the Guardian seeks assurances that the problem will not happen again.

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Google unveils YouTube TV -- live sports, unlimited storage DVR, and affordable price

Cable television is very expensive nowadays, so many people are opting to cut the cord. Depending on where you live, you can sometimes get free over-the-air programming -- this is a great way to save money, but the number of channels is low. Another option is internet-based solutions such as PlayStation TV or Sling TV. The problem with these services, however, is the limitations, such as missing channels and a lack of some live sports.

Today, Google is aiming to be the best internet-based television provider with the all-new YouTube TV. The search-giant's new offering is very affordable, plus it has really impressive features like live sports, local channels, and an unlimited storage cloud-based DVR. You even get access to YouTube Red original shows. Unfortunately, it falls short of perfection.

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People are watching one billion combined hours of YouTube videos every single day

When I was a kid, I watched a lot of television. As soon as I got home from school, I parked my butt on the couch and enjoyed my favorite cartoons and other such programs. Truth be told, I often kept watching until I went to bed. Yeah, I arguably wasted a lot of hours of my life this way.

If you think television watching is wasteful, wait until you get a load of this -- people are watching a combined 1 billion hours of YouTube videos every day. Yes, that is every single day. Sure, some of those videos are educational, but a lot of it is millennials watching people like PewDiePie play video games.

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To celebrate the Oscars, YouTube ranks 'Best Picture' nominated movie trailers by views

The Oscars are this Sunday, and I have seen a grand total of zero of the films nominated for Best Picture. Isn't that a shame? This is because of a few factors -- the theater is too expensive nowadays, and I simply haven't had the time. Not to mention, none of this year's nominated films particularly interest me. Oh well.

To celebrate the much-anticipated award show, the folks over at Google have created a leaderboard for the nine Oscar "Best Picture" nominated movie trailers. The search giant explains that the rankings are comprised of views "including both studio channels and popular aggregators." The ranking is not at all surprising, with the overall most-watched film trailer getting a lot of hype lately.

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Google to drop 30-second unskippable ads from YouTube

Ads -- be they on TV, on the web or in apps -- can be deeply annoying, hence the prevalence of ad-blocking software. But there are some ads that you can't always avoid, such as those tacked onto the beginning of YouTube videos; not all ad-blocking software is made equal, after all.

If this is a bugbear of yours, there's good news on the horizon. While YouTube is not ditching ads altogether, the 30-second monstrosities which cannot be skipped are being dropped.

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Google exceeds 1 billion captioned videos on YouTube

Around the world, there are many people with hearing impairments. This doesn't mean that they are necessarily deaf -- they may instead have severe hearing loss. Someone in my family, for instance, has to wear hearing aids. For these people, captioning on videos (text displayed on screen) can be a necessity, making it possible to enjoy a TV show or movie. Heck, it can be used by people without hearing issues too; they may need to mute their TV as to not wake family members.

Nowadays, captioning extends to internet videos too, including the very popular YouTube. In fact, today, Google announces that it has exceeded 1 billion captioned videos! While this is certainly an amazing accomplishment, the service's automatic speech recognition can sometimes be very wrong -- even comically so.

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Upload videos to Facebook, YouTube, FTP, S3 with Movavi Share Online

Movavi Share Online is a free application for quickly uploading images or video files to Facebook, YouTube, VKontakte, S3 and FTP.

Choose your upload destination and you’re able to set up authentication as usual: sign in to Google or Facebook, provide your FTP host name, user name and password, and so on.

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YouTube gets in-app messaging and direct video sharing

Google is adding a new social component to YouTube, rolling out in-app messaging and direct video sharing on Android and iOS. The new features are available only in Canada at the time of writing this article, but Google says that they will be (eventually) released worldwide.

Why is Google introducing those features? Simple. In today's landscape, it is no longer enough to let users watch videos and reply back and forth in the comments section. If you look at Facebook, it is also super easy for users to connect after having a conversation, which then lets them privately share content, among other things. The result? They spend more time using the service.

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Google unveils 'Super Chat' earnings scheme for YouTube content creators

Profits made by YouTube creators can vary wildly. One way these people earn money is from views -- every time a viewer watches a video with an advertisement, the person gets a very small sum. On there own, each view is worth less than a penny. This can ad up, however, and some creators -- such as PewDiePie -- can earn millions of dollars each year.

Today, Google is introducing Super Chat, which is a new way for YouTube content creators to generate money. When a creator is hosting a live stream with chat, they can sell a "Super Chat" to viewers. It is essentially a highlighted chat message, allowing the viewer to stand out from the non-paid users. In theory, this will help the viewer get noticed by the streamer, so that they can get a shout-out, or more easily get a question answered.

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Google brings 4K video live streaming to YouTube

While 1080p may look "good enough" to you, once you move to a higher resolution display, it is hard to go back. Prices for both 4K monitors and televisions continue to drop, meaning more and more consumers are buying them. During this past Black Friday, there were many such TVs being offered with big discounts.

Now that there are a healthy amount of these displays in the wild, content creators will be more motivated to release content in that resolution -- movies, TV, and video games. While Google added 4K playback to YouTube years ago, it did not offer live video streaming in that resolution. Today this changes, as the video site finally gets 4K live streaming -- including 360-degree streams. Best of all? Watching the streams won't require Microsoft Edge!

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Watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade 360-degree YouTube live video stream online here!

Thanksgiving is coming this Thursday, meaning friends, family, food, and football. Around the USA, people will be chowing-down on Turkey, stuffing, and all the other popular food side-dishes too. Another popular Thanksgiving tradition is watching The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on TV (if you cannot be there in person). If you aren't familiar, it is a New York City parade featuring many giant inflatable cartoon characters, plus floats carrying celebrities.

Unfortunately, not everyone enjoys watching the parade, leading to fights over the television. This year, however, a TV is not required. If you have an internet-connected device, you can watch it on YouTube in glorious 360 degrees for the first time ever. Best of all, BetaNews has the video ready for you below.

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