You can now watch 360-degree videos on YouTube

Virtual reality is ready to explode in popularity. Every manufacturer under the sun has a VR headset these days, including Samsung, HTC, and even Google. If anything is holding virtual reality back it’s the lack of content. In January Google promised 360-degree videos would be coming to YouTube. Today the feature finally went live, and there are some cool videos to show it off.

The playlist below has 6 videos that can be viewed in 360-degrees. If you view them in a browser you’ll see a d-pad in the upper left corner to control your view, but the real magic happens when you watch on your Android device. Load up one of the videos in the YouTube app and just move your device to look around the scene. It’s really cool. The experience gets even better if you have a Samsung Gear VR or Google Cardboard lying around.

[via YouTube]

Huawei starts MWC 2015 early, posts Huawei Watch promo and design videos to YouTube

Even though Mobile World Congress 2015 doesn’t officially start until March 2nd, Huawei has let the cat out of the bag on their upcoming announcement by posting two new videos on their YouTube channel. Huawei plans on joining the smartwatch race with what looks like a beautifully crafted Android Wear smartwatch or maybe they’re promoting a European Ski vacation. I’m not entirely sure.

From the promo videos, we can tell that this Android Wear smartwatch looks similar to the Moto 360 with it’s metal housing, thin bezels, and heart rate monitor; though the bands attach slightly different with Huawei Watch, Huawei’s offering doesn’t have a “flat tire” at the bottom, and the crown has been moved to the 2 o’clock position.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtDzSMPuoMc

As for the design of the watch, Huawei apparently surveyed both men and women watch enthusiasts and determined that a 42mm body size is the most common. The watch will come in both steel and gold colors, have a variety of stainless steel and leather straps available for both men and women, and come equipped with sapphire glass. Huawei has also packaged their own fine crafted custom watch faces on their watch to enhance the watch’s elegant look and feel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=016WQrGexnE

That’s all we know for now, but we have Rob Jackson and Chris Chavez on the floor at MWC 2015 this week and we’ll try to get more information as well as a hands-on as soon as possible.

What do you think of the Huawei Watch? Let us know in the comments.

 

YouTube is now teasing Android users with 4K 60fps K-pop videos

Technology moves fast and the folks at YouTube are doing their best to stay ahead of the curve. In recent months, we’ve seen Google take new steps to fortify YouTube with a handful of new features and enhancements to keep bleeding edge viewers happy.

By now you’ve heard virtual reality is gearing up to become the next big thing in tech. Although actual VR content is scarce, YouTube recently launch 360-degree 3D videos viewable through the Android app and Chrome web browser. And while most of us are still watching movies/TV shows on our 1080p televisions, love it or hate, we’re now seeing smartphones move to higher-resolution 2K displays. With that, Google added a 1440p option in the YouTube for Android app.

Today, YouTube is now going 1-step above normal 4K steaming, where they’re now experimenting with 4K resolution video running at a blistering 60 frames per second. It’s enough to bring anyone desktop PC to its knees, with our 3 month old MacBook Pro stuttering and freezing like it was on dial up.

Unfortunately for Android users — as with the rest of YouTube’s 60fps content — this is desktop only for now. Not that we would even stream at 4K/60 on our smartphone (the Snapdragon 810 caps at 1080p/120) but 2K would be nice. We’re not sure how much longer this will be the case, but can Android users get a little 60fps love, Google?

Check down below for a few more YouTube videos running at 2160p/60fps (or check out the 6 video playlist here). That Star Citizen video is really impressive.

My pants after watching K-pop in 4K/60fps

YouTube sends notice to content creators about upcoming ad-free subscription service

We’ve heard for quite some time now that YouTube wanted to explore an ad-free subscription service. The concept is simple: you pay money, you don’t get annoying ads at the beginning, end or sometimes middle of a video.

Google has been hesitant come out and confirm anything, but it looks like they’ve finally let the cat out of the bag. Several partnered YouTubers have reported receiving emails from the company informing them of a forthcoming subscription service that will allow their viewers to pay good coin to dodge those annoying ads that play when you watch a video.

The email was scarce on any details about the service such as cost, but Google did note that partners would be able to get in on the new revenue stream (which was the whole reason for them sending this notice — it will create significant changes to the company’s standing terms of service policies).

Google is already providing a similar option in the same ballpark called the YouTube Music Key. It’s a per month service that lets users access music videos ad-free, as well as cache them for offline viewing should an internet connection fail to be available. Extending a similar service for the entirety of the video content on YouTube would be a big deal for those who absolutely loathe having to view ads (even if most of them can be skipped after 5 seconds).

The timing of the announcement might indicate that Google is getting ready to pilot the service this year, though without any hard details your guess is just as good as ours. We imagine any formal announcements will be saved for Google IO so stay tuned!

[via Bloomberg]

Google’s official YouTube app will cease to work on the earliest Google TV devices

Folks still rocking some of the original Google TV devices — such as the Logitech Revue and Sony’s Google TV box — will find themselves out of a YouTube app the next time they go to use their devices. Google has moved on to using their newest YouTube APIs, and only those who can update to certain recent versions of the YouTube app will be supported.

The problem is that many of the devices that haven’t moved on from Google TV software versions 1 and 2 have no way of getting a more recent version of the app. As such, they’ll either need to upgrade to newer devices or use the HTML5 version of YouTube from their web browser. It’s unfortunate, but that’s the sort of stuff you often have to deal with if you aren’t interested in upgrading.

You can check which version of Google TV your device has by heading to Settings > Customer Support > Android Version. If you have 3 or 4, great — head to Google Play and make sure you have the latest YouTube update. Otherwise you should probably start thinking about your options for upgrading to something more contemporary.

[via Google]

YouTube Live will be Google’s answer to Twitch’s video game streaming

Google’s supposed attempt to buy Twitch for close to billion was dashed when Amazon came in and offered them a similar check, but that won’t keep Google from trying to cash in on the video game live-streaming boom. The company is reportedly preparing to launch YouTube Live, a Twitch-like video streaming service that will primarily service gamers (and, by extension, eSports organizations).

We’ve always believed this sort of streaming service was a natural progression for Google and YouTube considering they already have a strong infrastructure, the money, and engineers and the experience necessary to be successful.

Google has prime opportunity to make noise in this space. While Twitch may be the sole owner of first place in games streaming by a large mile, there are still a lot of pain points users have to deal with.

The biggest pain point is a recent change in archived broadcast policies that now limit how long you can store your past broadcasts. The change meant Twitch streamers could no longer maintain a library of content for their fans to check out, and many of them have had no choice but to continue using YouTube to upload their best moments.

If Google can tackle that issue and provide a happy medium between a strong live streaming platform and an archive that lasts forever, they’ve already got themselves a huge one-up on the competition.

They’d also do well to lax the requirements for becoming a streaming partner, give all users (not just those who are partnered) the server backbone needed to stream live video at multiple resolutions, and be a more stable platform overall. Check all those boxes off, and Twitch could suddenly find themselves with a mass exodus on their hands. The Daily Dot says Google is looking to make a reveal right around gaming’s big annual trade show, E3, in June.

Google gets called out for questionable YouTube Kids advertising

In February Google launched a new app called YouTube Kids. This app is specially made for kids to watch YouTube videos, and for parents to feel safe about the videos their kids can find. YouTube Kids highlights videos from top children-focused channels such as Dreamworks, Sesame Street and Thomas & Friends. Sounds great, right? Not everyone is happy about it.

Consumer groups are upset about the way YouTube Kids advertises to children. They claim that the app mixes entertainment and commercials in a way that would not be permitted on regular television. Google says they have a strict screening process for the ads, but the consumer group says they aren’t doing a good job. Here is an excerpt from a letter sent to the FTC:

“Many of the video segments endorsing toys, candy and other products that appear to be ‘user-generated’ have undisclosed relationships with product manufacturers in violation of the FTC’s guidelines concerning the use of endorsements and testimonials in advertising.”

Have you had any experience with the YouTube Kids app? Have you felt the advertising is not suitable for children?

YouTube Kids | Google Play Store

[via Star Tribune]

Watch this cool Avengers fight in 360-degree goodness on YouTube for Android [VIDEO]

While the earliest videos released for YouTube for Android’s new 360-degree viewing experience were cool, we’ve been waiting for a chance to be thrown into the universe of our favorite fictional stories, like the ones which Marvel writes. Thankfully Samsung and Marvel have done just that in order to promote their new Avengers movie.

If you head to this YouTube video on your Android phone or within Google Chrome for Android (it’s also embedded above), you’ll be able to watch the Battle for the Avengers Tower scene in full 360-degree motion. This means you’ll be able to move your phone around and view different parts of the scene, whether that’s behind you, to the left of you, above you or whichever direction of the action you’re hoping to check out.

Just try not to get too freaked out when you find yourself waking up with Ironman standing right next to you. Oh, and those should be an especially cool experience for those with virtual reality headsets such as the Samsung Gear VR, so be sure to try watching it with that if you have it!

YouTube app for Android finally adds 60fps option for everyone and it’s wonderful [VIDEO]

It’s finally here. After launching 60fps 4K videos back in March for Chrome on the desktop, we had a feeling it was just a matter of time before the higher frame rate eventually made its way to mobile apps. That time is now, with the folks at YouTube officially announcing that 60fps video playback is now finally possible in their Android and iOS apps.

Also known as HFR (high frame rate), the resulting video is something that almost looks surreal, especially on our mobile devices. While the verdict is still out on whether or not this improves the cinema experience, it’s flipping awesome for watching anything that has to do with video games. Providing they’ve been uploaded in 60fps, of course. To be clear, this update doesn’t enable 60fps 4K videos, that’s something we probably wont see for a long while and besides, most desktops can barely handle it without melting.

Watch this video in the YouTube app on your Android device

Users will find that when watching a video in the YouTube app where 60fps is available (the above video for example), it should default to the higher frame rate on HD, providing you have a fast connection. In other words, don’t worry about having to change any settings to enable it. If you can stream HD, you’ll be streaming the higher frame rate. If for whatever reason it doesn’t, you can always press the 3-dot menu button followed by the little gear icon to change the quality.

We’re not sure what the impact on battery life will be, but we watched a few trailers on our Nexus 6 and it seemed to work without a hitch. No slow downs, judder, or any overheating. Just silky, smooth video. Check it out for yourself.

[Twitter]

 

Google announces 3 new initiatives for promoting eyewitness news video on YouTube

Nearly everyone has a smartphone with a camera these days, so when something big goes down in the world you can expect more on-the-scene footage than a news crew could ever hope to gather on their own. Much of that footage gets uploaded to YouTube, so Google feels like it’s time to start putting an emphasis on it.

They’ve announced 3 new initiatives for those who find themselves seeking out every bit of footage they can about local and world happenings.

Firstly is the YouTube Newswire, which is a curated feed of videos from the events Google feels are most interesting. The stories would all be validated and verified by Storyful, a social news agency in cahoots with El Goog.

Next up is more for journalists. They call it the First Draft Coalition, a movement that will help educate journalists on using eyewitness video in their stories. The main benefit will be a site ready-made for journalists that will train them on how to verify an eyewitness video, including showing them the tools to do so and the research needed to facilitate such a task.

Finally, the WITNESS Media Lab promotes human rights movements by giving activists a platform to share their story. YouTube and WITNESS will produce ongoing video series about several issues, with the first being the exploration of the impact bystander eyewitness videos have on delivering justice in police brutality cases.

All of this comes at a very interesting time where other companies are beginning to latch onto the trend. Twitter curiously has their own curated eyewitness news platform coming up, details of which were just revealed for the first time today. Their angle is that you can follow specific topics and events — the Baltimore riots, for instance — and get quick and easy access to Tweets, photos and live video coverage through Periscope and short user-recorded videos.

The difference? We don’t have to wait for YouTube and Google’s project — it’s already waiting for your curious minds to explore. Use the links straight ahead to check it all out!

• YouTube Newswire


• First Draft Coalition


• WITNESS Media Lab

[via YouTube]

Google introduces YouTube Gaming, Twitch doesn’t seem too worried about it

Rumors of Google creating a Twitch competitor have finally been confirmed today. YouTube Gaming is Google’s latest app/website that will focus purely on streaming video game related content. The service — which is set to go live this summer in both the US and UK — will be separate from YouTube in that it’s dedicated to games and nothing else. That means searching for something like “Call” will immediately pull up results for “Call of Duty” and not the hit single “Call Me Maybe” or some other viral video.

Google says that over 25,000 games will get their own page, highlighting streams related to that specific title. While uploading pre-recorded videos is still doable, it’s YouTube gaming’s live streaming capabilities that is likely what we’ll be seeing content creators focusing on. Even though Twitch has a huge head start, with 60fps video recently creeping its way into YouTube, we think YouTube Gaming could have a fighting chance. Twitch’s response? They don’t seem to be too worried about it.

. @YouTubeGaming Welcome Player 2. Add me on Google+. #kappa

— Twitch (@Twitch) June 12, 2015

You can sign up to be notified about YouTube Gaming when it launches this summer via the link down below.

[YouTube Gaming]