YouTube Creator Blog [UK]

60fps Live Streaming on YouTube in HTML5

Thursday, May 21, 2015

We launched 60fps video playback on YouTube a few months ago, and from game walkthroughs to superbike racing, you’ve found all sorts of brilliant ways to make use of higher frame rates.

Now we want to help you take it even further with something new: 60fps live streaming, launching today as an early preview on HTML5-compatible browsers. When you start a live stream on YouTube at 60fps, we’ll transcode your stream into 720p60 and 1080p60, which means silky smooth playback for gaming and other fast-action videos. We’ll also make your stream available in 30fps on devices where high frame rate viewing is not yet available, while we work to expand support in the coming weeks.

We know high frame rates are especially important for gaming streams, so we’ve worked with Elgato and XSplit on new versions of Elgato Game Capture, XSplit Broadcaster and XSplit Gamecaster that support 60fps live streaming to YouTube, available for download starting today. In addition, any app using our live streaming API can add a new high frame rate flag to enable 60fps streaming.

But wait, there’s more! We’ve also added another long-requested feature for live streaming: HTML5 playback. As of this week, YouTube live streams will use an HTML5 player in supported browsers. And because our HTML5 player supports variable speed playback, you can skip backwards in a stream while it’s live and watch at 1.5x or 2x speed to catch back up.

These are the latest in a series of improvements that we’ve been making to live streaming on YouTube and there are plenty more to come, so stay tuned for more very soon. In the meantime, check out some live streams or create your own!

Alan Joyce, Product Manager, recently uploaded a 60fps playthrough of a terrible NES game.

Make your videos even more interactive with cards

Monday, March 16, 2015

As a creator, you’ve probably been using annotations to engage with your viewers for years. But one of the things that you’ve told us is that you need more flexibility with the info that you share through annotations, and—most importantly—you need it to work across screens and especially on mobile. That’s why today we’re introducing cards.

You can think of cards like an evolution of annotations. They can inform your viewers about other videos, merch, playlists, websites and more. They look as beautiful as your videos, are available any time during the video, and yes, they finally work on mobile.

Right now, you can choose from six types of cards: Merchandise, Fundraising, Video, Playlist, Associated Website and Fan Funding. You’ll find a new “Cards” tab in your Video Editor to create and edit them at any time.

Because cards work across mobile and desktop and give you more flexibility to share what you want, our goal is to have these eventually replace annotations. But this will happen only once they can do everything annotations can do today and more. Until then, we’re looking forward to your feedback on cards, including what you want them to do for you in the future.

Check out these Help Centre articles if you want to find out more.

Muli, Product Manager, recently watched “Karl Johan: Limbo time!”

A new way to see and share your world with 360-degree video

Friday, March 13, 2015

You share incredible videos with your fans every second of the day, but what if you could share even more in that video? Like, sharing the entire moment that you’re filming?

You could let viewers see the stage and the crowd of your concert, the sky and the ground as you wingsuit glide, or you could even have a choose-your-own-adventure video where people see a different story depending on where they look. Only you know what’s possible. That’s why today we are starting to support 360-degree video uploads on YouTube, to continue giving you all the best resources to connect with your viewers.

People can watch your videos on the existing YouTube app for Android, and by moving the phone or tablet around they’ll see all the different angles while the video plays. They can do the same on youtube.com or embedded videos on Chrome by using the mouse to drag the point of view around, and we’re working to bring this to iPhone, iPad and other devices soon.

Creating and uploading 360-degree videos on YouTube

To make it easy for you to create and upload 360-degree videos to YouTube, we’ve been working with companies across the industry. Bublcam, Giroptic’s 360cam, IC Real Tech’s Allie, Kodak’s SP360 and RICOH THETA are 360-degree video cameras compatible with YouTube that are available today or are coming soon. You can find more technical information on the video format, along with a script you need to run on the video file to insert the correct metadata. We’re working to make this automatic, but in the meantime, this script will make sure your video uploads to YouTube as a 360-degree video.

If you’re around the YouTube Space L.A., our Creator Tech team is also hosting a technology showcase from now through April, where you can try out these new cameras and learn new techniques from our staff.

Remember when the vantage point of the fisheye lens blew your mind? Now let’s see what you can do with every possible angle at your recording fingertips.

Sanjeev Verma, product manager, recently watched “Tomorrowland 2015 | 360 degrees of Madness”.

Want your URL to match your channel?

Monday, November 24, 2014

When Tati joined YouTube, her username was GlamLifeGuru, which made her channel’s URL youtube.com/GlamLifeGuru. But as her channel grew, her fans embraced “Tati” as her brand. So her channel web address – which is often the quickest way for her fans to watch more of her content – didn’t match her channel name and branding.

To make sure that creators like Tati and all of you have a consistent place for new and existing fans to find you, we’re introducing an easier way to pick custom URLs that match your channel names and branding.

From this week, if you’re a creator with at least 500 subscribers, you may receive emails and in-product notifications if your updated custom URL is ready to claim. You’ll see several options waiting for you that are based on your channel’s description, Google identity and associated websites. If you want to select your URL, all you have to do is follow these instructions. Once selected, the new URL will automatically direct fans to your channel.

Not yet reached 500 subscribers? Try these tips to help your channel grow. And don’t worry – in the meantime your current URL will continue to connect people to your YouTube channel.

Laura Rapin, Product Specialist, recently watched Lemonade - Alex Boye

When musicians come together...

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Incredible talent share their music on YouTube every single day. We want to help them do what they love most. This is why we work hard to make sure that musicians and music fans have the best experience on YouTube, and why we built YouTube Spaces in LA, London, Tokyo and New York.

But we want to do even more. We want to bring talented people from all over Europe even closer together to share their music, brainstorm and together make something unique.

So, we’re inviting musicians from across Europe* to the YouTube Space London for a two day musical get-together, to chat with industry experts on how to develop as musicians, drink lots of tea and possibly do a collaboration or two.

If music is your thing, you have more than 50,000 subscribers on your YouTube channel and you live in Europe*, apply now for a spot in this workshop.

Deadline to apply is November 28. The workshop will take place in the YouTube Space London on December 2nd and 3rd. Unfortunately space is limited so we cannot guarantee a place for all -- but we hope to see many of you there.

posted by Anna Gradil, YouTube Spaces team

* Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom

What YouTube’s new music features mean for artists

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

As artists, creators, composers, remixers and directors, you’ve been at the forefront of making YouTube the ultimate home for music. After nine years of unforgettable music moments you’ve created -- Kutiman, Beliebers, “Gangnam Style” and countless others -- we’re more committed than ever to making the music experience on YouTube better for you and your fans. That’s why today we’re launching new music features that will help your fans discover and enjoy more of your music and rolling out the beta of our new subscription service, YouTube Music Key.

Starting today, all music fans will see a new home just for music on their YouTube app for Android, iOS and on YouTube.com. The music homepage will make it easier for fans to find their favorite music videos (including yours!) and discover new ones through personalized recommendations, trending playlists and playlists to perfectly fit their mood. What’s more, starting in the USA, UK, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Finland and Ireland, we’re launching the beta of our new music subscription service, YouTube Music Key, which gives subscribers access to ad-free music, background play and offline viewing. For artists, we believe the easier it is for fans to find and enjoy your music on YouTube -- anytime, anywhere -- the more opportunity you’ll have to build your fan bases and make money from your music.

If you’re wondering if your music is included in the YouTube Music Key beta, you should talk with your record label or distributor. If you're an artist sharing your music directly through YouTube and you’re interested in being a part of the subscription service, you can let us know with this form. We’re excited about this new music experience on YouTube, and we’re continuing to bring on more artists in the coming months.

With all these new features, all our best practices still apply for growing your audience on YouTube. So keep creating great music, curating awesome playlists and mixtapes, and continue to share your music with the world. Because if we’ve learned anything over the past nine years, it’s that your creativity is limitless.

The YouTube Music team recently watched “Michael Jackson - Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' - YouTube Mix.”

Become a master at production

Thursday, November 6, 2014

We know you work hard on your awesome YouTube videos—and it’s our job to get you the resources you need to make them even better. Now you can become a creative master of production with exclusive tips from a professional director of photography in just four free workshops. Join your fellow creators and tune in to a live series on the YouTube Creator Academy channel from 6am-8pm GMT where we’ll cover these topics:

11/13: Technical camera and sound—camera basics and sound recording principles
11/20: Lighting fundamentals—an introduction to lighting sets and subjects
11/27: Cinematography—a more advanced side of shooting beautiful looking films
12/4: Shoestring production—how to create studio quality films on a tight budget

If you attend all of the sessions, you'll not only be a production expert in no time, but you’ll also receive a shiny letter of completion.

Anna Gradil recently watched Wheel of Impressions with Kevin Spacey

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