13 YouTube Tricks for True PowerYOUsers

 13 YouTube Tricks for True PowerYOUsers 

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Set Default Video Playback to a Higher Quality

Do you find yourself constantly changing video quality to a higher setting? All you want to do is watch some cat videos on your trusted home broadband connection, so why does it always default to some wimpy 360p resolution? What is this, 2009?

Thankfully, YouTube has a way out of this important problem. Just click on over to youtube.com/account_playback when signed into to either Google or YouTube. Here, you can change the default to always view the best quality for your connection (even to always play HD). Conversely, you can set YouTube to never play higher-quality video if you are using a known sluggish connection. 

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Download YouTube Videos

There are numerous methods for downloading videos from YouTube for offline viewing. Be aware that some methods are fairly dubious and malware-y (or, at least, I've run across ones that caused my Internet spidey sense to spike).

File2HD is one service that I've successfully used in the past and has a solid rep.

Just go to File2HD.com and paste in the URL of the video you wish to download (you can just directly copy and paste from your browser). Be sure to click the Terms of Service box (it won't allow you to download without doing so). You can download many types of files from the site (graphics, links, even CSS code), however if you just want to download a video, be sure click the "movie" button in the filter section (otherwise you'll be inundated with a flood of files options). Then hit the "get files" button and you'll be presented with a number of file links ranging from low to highest quality (and will either be .flv or .mp4 files). Click on the one you want and it will be downloaded to your computer.

Another benefit of using this service: When you download videos all the overlays, ads, and assorted Google nonsense usually won't download with it. 

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Skip Through the Nonsense

The Wadsworth Constant is a common Redditism, which dictates that the first 30 percent of any Web video is crap.

While you could easily eyeball the slider to roughly 30 percent through, YouTube supplies an unnecessarily complicated alternative method. Just add this bit of code to the end of any YouTube url:

&wadsworth=1

So, for example if you were going to watch the July 15 episode of our award-nominatable Web series, PCMag Live, you would enter the following in your browser:

youtube.com/watch?v=OBLauFzdTCA

If you wanted to skip all the informative and witty bladdity-bla in the first third, you'd add the bit of Wadsworth code, thusly (emphasis my own):

youtube.com/watch?v=OBLauFzdTCA&wadsworth=1

This trick is probably of limited use to many users. The Wadsworth code doesn't appear to work when embedding a video (but more on that later). 

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YouTube Repeater

While not an official GoogleTube production, YouTubeRepeater.com allows users to easily set any YouTube video on a constant loop. All you have to do is add the word "repeater" into the video's URL after the world "Youtube."

For example, if you've had one of those days and you want to listen to Chris Isaac's haunting 1991 ditty "Wicked Game" you might choose one of the many unlicensed bootleg versions on YouTube such as:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXmlJQN5Pm8

To enable a constant loop, then just slip in "repeater," like so:

www.youtuberepeater.com/watch?v=XXmlJQN5Pm8

And now you can be thrown into a depressing, soul-searching journey that will last on repeat as long as you keep your browser open. Or, you know, until you go to another website. 

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Take Advantage of Those Key Commands

Are you still using your mouse to control YouTube clips like some kind of amateur? Come on, you're better than that. Here's a list of basic key commands, so you can leave the mouseclicks for yo mama:

Space bar: pause/start
Side arrows: fast-forward and rewind
Number keys: Will send you to different parts of the video. 1 = 10 percent through the video; 2 = 20 percent; etc.
Zero key: Sends you back to the beginning.
Tab key: toggle through various vid commands; the Enter key and up/down arrows will let you control the commands.
Home / End keys: sends you directly to end / beginning.

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Make People Sound Like Drunks and/or Speed Junkies

YouTube's alternative video speeds are probably there to facilitate searching and transcribing. But as it turns out, they're also super fun ways to make people in the videos appear sloppy drunk or completely whacked out on amphetamines.

Under the Settings button (the little gear underneath the video), the pop-up window gives you the option of speeding or slowing a video from the default "normal" speed. The cool thing with this function is that it will change the speed, but not the pitch. So voices won't come out like chipmunks or demons, they just sound like people under the effects of some substance.

You have the option to slow a video down to half speed (0.5) and quarter speed (0.25). Unfortunately the sound mutes at quarter speed, but half speed will totally makes people sound like they are halfway through last call.

Conversely, you can send people the other way on the chemical train through a quarter-speed faster (1.25), half-speed faster (1.5), and double speed (2.0). Quicken up the pace to listen to anyone sound like a truck driver on the last leg of a cross-country trip

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Link to a Specific Time in a Video

Similar to the previously mentioned Wadsworth function, you are able to tweak a URL to start in the middle of the video. But rather than settle for some arbitrary 30 percent mark, you can link to a specific timestamp. All you have to do is add the following code to the back of the code:

#t=XmXs

In this case the "m" stands for minute and the "s" for seconds. So, if you want to send someone a link for the video of Guns N' Roses' "November Rain" (I'm old, I know!), but skip ahead to the kickass Slash solo (which happens to take place 7 minutes and 5 seconds into the video) you would use the following link:

youtu.be/8SbUC-UaAxE?t=7m5s

Notice that in this case, there is a question mark before the time code. In some instances, you would use a question mark (?) or ampersand (&) in place of the hashtag. If you aren't sure when to use which character (I'm not even always sure), YouTube makes it simple to autogenerate a timestamp link. To do that, scroll down to the bottom and click on the "Share" tab (next to "About"), and click the "Start at:" box and the correct email-able code will be generated.

You can also use the code ?t=425s (i.e. the number of seconds in 7 minutes and 5 seconds). And for those really long videos, you are able to use the 'h' (hour) signifier as well. Note that this particular code does not work for embedding, we'll get to that in a bit... 

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Embed a Video

You are probably aware that YouTube autogenerates embed codes to bring video into your website. We'll be playing with that in a bit, so for those who don't know, here's a basic primer—scroll to the bottom to the "Share" tab. Below that, click on the "Embed" tab. It will create auto-generated code that you can use to plop the video directly on your site. It will automatically be set at 560 wide and 315 long, but you can add a custom size in the in the "Video size:" field. 

 

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Embed to a Specific Time

If you wish to start an embedded video at a particular time, add in the following bit of code:

&start=XXXX

Just place the above phrase at the end of the YouTube URL each time it appears in the code. Note that this code only works with seconds, so you'll have to convert minutes (or hours) directly to seconds. For example, in the above video we embedded at the best moment of Google's recent two-and-a-half hour I/O keynote address, 8,874 seconds in.

Note: This seemed to only work using the "old embed code" option (that utilized the "object" code rather than "iframe").

 

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Disable Related Content in Embedded Posts

Also for those who embed. If you want to nix the related videos at the end of a clip, you can disable them by adding the following code to the end of the embedded URL:

?rel=0

Instead the video just ends on the final frame. So, in the above video of the famous sneezing panda, the video does not automatically start playing another video. Annoyingly, this function doesn't appear to work when watching the videos directly on YouTube's site.

Alternatively, when using the embed code autogenerator, just unclick the "Show suggested videos when the video finishes" box, and it will automatically include the no-related-content code.  

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YouTube-Curated Playlists

Many music-streaming services include the ability to create playlists based on a single song or artist. YouTube has a similar, if little-known, function. Just click through to youtube.com/disco and enter a song or artist (does not yet work with albums or genres). 

 

 

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TV on the YouTube

If you have a connected TV (or a Chromecast), you should take advantage of YouTube TV. It's a cleaner, remote-control friendly way to peruse the YouTubiverse (but is available through any computer). Additionally, you can use the site to pair any connected device to your TV, if they are using the same Wi-Fi network). This allows you to control what videos are shown on your TV with your phone, tablet, or laptop. Just click the little gear in the left column, "pair device," and follow the directions. 

 

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YouTube Easter Eggs

Being an engineer at Google must be hella boring, because those people go friggin' nuts creating April 1 pranks and other unnecessarily elaborate Easter Eggs. Here are a few YouTube eggs that are still functioning. If you're curious, enter the following phrases into YouTube's search box.

"Use the force luke search" (your mouse moves things around)
"Beam me up Scotty" (search results "transport" on the page)
"Doge meme" (all comic book sans)
"Do the Harlem shake" (the page literally does the Harlem shake—with soundtrack)

http://www.pcmag.com