With more than 30 million visitors each day, YouTube is easily one of the most popular video sharing platforms on the Internet. However, even though people spend hours watching videos or listening to music on YouTube, they barely know all the wonderful features of the platform. Keep scrolling to know some of them that you were missing out on.
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Auto-replay videos
There might be times when you get obsessed with a specific YouTube video or song and would want to watch or listen to it again and again. Instead of hitting replay when the video ends, you can auto-replay the video. First, right-click on the video and choose the auto-replay option from the menu. Then, the video will automatically get replayed until you uncheck the option.
Switch on dark mode
You can switch on dark mode when you want to keep watching YouTube videos but don’t want to strain your eyes. There’s much to learn about how to turn on YouTube dark mode. You can do so from the YouTube app or by logging in to the browser version of the platform. You have to select the Dark Theme and apply it.
Choose a specific point to start a video
Do you want to share a YouTube video but want it to start from a specific point? There are some simple steps to follow. First, pause the video at the point from where you wish your friend to start watching it. Then, right-click on the video and choose Copy Video URL at the Current Time option from the menu. The copied link will open the video, and it will start at a specific time.
You can check the video playing speed
Most YouTube users know the race between the gray and red bars. It stems from slow buffering. However, if you wish to avoid annoyance, you can take a speed test to check if there’s a problem with your Internet connection or the video.
Right-click on the video and choose Stats for Nerds from the menu. An information box will come up on the video screen, and you will know your Internet speed, buffer health, and network activity.
Besides the connection speed, the box will also show you other stats like frames, video IDs, codecs, optimal resolution, etc.
Start playing videos in HD
The video quality is typically set at the lowest definition for most videos on the platform. Therefore, the videos run easily even when your Internet speed is slow. However, if you are confident of your Internet connection’s speed, you can personalize the system and choose to play YouTube videos in HD by default.
You can grab the Magic Actions for YouTube extension for this, and this extension is available for Firefox and Google Chrome. You need to enable the Auto HD option in the extension and choose the suitable resolution for playing the videos. Furthermore, you can set the mouse wheel to scroll up or down to change the volume of the video.
Turn YouTube videos into GIFs
Who doesn’t like GIFs? They are a new way to convey emotions and feelings. But not everyone knows how to create them. You can make GIFs by knowing this little YouTube trick. GIFs can be created from YouTube videos:
- You have to select a video you wish to watch on the platform and find the URL.
- You need to add the word “gif” before the domain name.
- You will be redirected to gifs.com, and your video will already be uploaded here so you can begin editing it.
Here, you will find a timeline bar and a menu of options. For example, you can set the duration of the GIF, add captions, crop its frame, etc.
You need to select Create GIF on the top-right, and a prompt will crop up where you need to provide a GIF title, set of tags, etc. After that, click Next, and you can share your newly created GIFs with people.
Edit or upload a transcript to help people find your video faster
When ranking videos in search, Google and YouTube look at several different factors. They need to understand what the video is about, so a transcript is important. The transcript will provide them with all the information they require.
If you want to add a transcript to your video, you need to open the video on YouTube and find a row of icons below the play button. Then, select the Subtitles/CC icon found on the far right and add the transcript.
The bottom line
These YouTube tricks will help you get the most out of the platform. So, keep these in mind when you watch YouTube videos or want to create GIFs. It will also help if you are trying to establish yourself as a YouTuber.
