There are plenty of ways to get the most out of YouTube, whether you're visiting Chrome Extensions 7 Chrome To Make YouTube Awesome 7 Chrome Extensions To Make YouTube Awesome YouTube is the king of video services, but not all it is perfect . However, there are some awesome Google Chrome extensions to fix these common annoyances once and for all. Read More the browser, on your iPad How to get more from YouTube on your iPad How to get more from YouTube on your iPad While Google's official YouTube app offers a really solid video experience on iPad, there are a few key features that are missing You may be able to find somewhere else. Read More The YouTube TV app is designed with savvy viewers in mind, but with a few tips and tricks, you can squeeze in even more.
When you use YouTube on your TV, you get a stripped-down, TV-friendly interface with helpful categories, access to your subscriptions, playlists, viewing history, and easy access to live TV. The categories included are:Recommended, Music, Food, Beauty, Trending, Comedy, Entertainment, News, Sports, Technology, Live, Games and Family.
The interface makes it easy to find content that fits perfectly into these categories, as well as recommended content. If you find they're inaccurate, you can reset your YouTube recommendations. Fed up with irrelevant YouTube recommendations? What do you need to do for irrelevant YouTube recommendations? Here's what you need to do YouTube recommendations can eventually start to malfunction, suggesting weird videos that have nothing to do with your interests. When that happens, here's what you can do to deal with it. Read more.
One of the really useful features of the YouTube TV app is the ability to see what's live right now. Live videos are one of thirteen categories at the top of the page. The Live tab is divided into categories:news, technology, animals, live mobile broadcasts, sports and games. You can also see a list of recent and upcoming broadcasts.
This feature is particularly useful when there is a large public event that you know will be broadcast live on YouTube. If there are multiple live streams of the event, you'll often find them in the Live category.
While we're on the subject of live content, you'll find several news channels under the Live tab in the YouTube TV app, which you can watch for free. This is yet another reason to consider cutting the cable. Should you cut the cord or keep cable TV? Should you cut the cord or keep your cable TV? If you're still stuck with your cable subscription, but are debating whether it's time to make a switch, we're here to help. This guide will help you decide. Read More News channels listed on the Live tab in the YouTube TV app include Al Jazeera English, Sky News, and Bloomberg. Other news services you can stream live on YouTube for free include BBC News, CNN, and MSNBC.
And of course, many local news channels also stream live on YouTube, and you can add them to your subscription list for easy TV viewing.
When you play a video in the YouTube app, if you leave it playing, related videos will continue to play, essentially giving viewers a playlist on the go. This is a great way to discover additional content that you might not otherwise have seen.
You're only warned, if you hit the back button or stop playing the video, you won't be able to resume the related content you were watching, which can be a bit annoying.
On the flip side, if you're not a fan of autoplay, or if you find it sends you a rabbit hole of YouTube videos you never planned on watching, you can always turn the setting off. Go to Settings and uncheck Auto-play .
Even if you don't have access to YouTube on your TV, you can use this interface on your computer with the YouTube web app on your TV. This interface is identical to what you'll get on your TV, right down to the sound effects as you scroll through videos and categories.
The interface can be a bit buggy, but it definitely helps to use the arrow keys to move around the screen and also use the following keyboard shortcuts:
If more than one person keeps track of YouTube on your TV, you may want to consider creating a family account. Unfortunately, the YouTube app doesn't make it easy to switch between accounts, so creating a TV or family account means other people's viewing habits won't ruin your personal YouTube experience. Each family member can add their subscriptions and the TV account can become a mix of each person's interests.
Let's admit it. The search function in the YouTube TV app is not great. Instead of scrolling through the on-screen keyboard, you can use your phone or computer to search for videos and then stream them to your TV. This will, of course, require you to have a compatible device or TV. These include:
If you search for videos on your computer or phone, you can also take advantage of YouTube's advanced search operators, which don't work very well in the TV app.
For example, searching for “beyonce, playlist” will return search results including only playlists. Amit Agarwal of Digital Inspiration has put together an extensive list of search operators that you can use on YouTube.
You can find more information on how to sync your TV with your phone or computer in the video below:
This may seem like a no-brainer, but YouTube playlists will come in handy when using the YouTube TV app. Accessible from the menu, under Library, you can see playlists that you can easily create on your computer. If you're using a family account, this also means that each family member can create custom playlists just for them.
There are definitely a few things missing when it comes to the YouTube TV experience. Chief among them is support for multiple accounts and a more robust search function.
Until YouTube adds those features, you can avoid this by using a shared account and taking advantage of YouTube's ability to connect your phone or computer to your TV.
What are your favorite features of the YouTube TV app? What tips and tricks do you use to get the most out of the YouTube TV app? Please let us know in the comments below.
