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Save streaming videos for later with YTD Video Downloader

YTD Video Downloader is a great little piece of freeware for downloading and converting video...if you can ignore the aggressive upselling and multiple browser add-on bundling offers. It quickly downloads video from YouTube, Vimeo, Blip.tv, Vevo, and more than 60 other supported video sites, converts video to the standard formats for iPad, iPhone and PSP (MP4); iPod (MOV); cell phone (3GP); Windows Media Video (WMV); Xvid MPEG-4 (AVI) and MPEG Audio Layer 3 (MP3), and also plays back videos in a very basic player.

YTD Video Downloader automatically loads whatever URL you've got saved to your primary … Read more

Preload YouTube videos with Wi-Fi for better mobile playback

Update, 2:02 p.m: It looks like this feature is missing from some of the Android 4.0 tablets. Hopefully it'll be added in the next update so everyone can take advantage of this tip.

The YouTube app on Android lets you watch and discover awesome videos while you're away from the computer. However, if your connection is slow in certain areas of your city -- or wherever you wander to -- the experience may not always be a pleasant one.

If you're interested in avoiding those buffering patches while watching a video, you're in … Read more

YouTube breaks records with 4M Creative Commons videos

YouTube topped all records today by tallying up 4 million Creative Commons-licensed videos in its trove -- more than any other video hosting company in the world.

This means that users have literally millions of choices for snipping bits of footage, adding scenes, and building onto videos they're making. Everything in this collection comes branded with the Creative Commons Attribution license, meaning users don't have to get explicit permission to use the content from the creators.

YouTube launched its Creative Commons video library last year and since then it said its users have added in "40 years' … Read more

YouTube gently prods users to go by their real names

YouTube thinks that maybe all those cutepuppies99 and origamiboys1981 might be ready to grow up. Google's online video platform is now giving users the option to start using their real names on its service, along with hooking up their Google Plus profile up with their YouTube channel.

"One Google-wide identity was something that proved popular with new YouTube users when we began offering it in March, so we are now extending it to existing users," YouTube software engineer John Fisher wrote in a recent blog post.

Here's more on how Fisher describes how it works:

This … Read more

Use YouTube Feather beta for low-bandwidth connections

When you load a video on YouTube, you're getting a lot more than just something to watch. There's an information panel that goes along with the video mentioning credits, keywords, and other interesting tidbits. Below the video and top comments, you'll find video responses to the one you're watching. On the right-hand side of the page, you'll see a long list of suggested videos that might be related to the one you're watching. All of these things, along with less obvious ones like buttons that interact with each comment for thumbs up/down, are … Read more

YouTube Remote controls playback from afar

In an obvious effort to turn YouTube into more of a TV-like experience, Google has created the YouTube Remote app for Android devices. With this free download, you can pair your mobile device with a desktop computer or YouTube-ready television, and use Android to share control of your YouTube playlist.

As great as the concept is for YouTube Remote, in practice, I see some things that need to be ironed out. My biggest gripe is that the device pairing process is not as simple as it should be. You must first navigate to YouTube.com/leanback on your computer or … Read more

YouTube on your phone (or tablet)

YouTube, the world's most popular video site, is available via native Android app. It comes preloaded on most (if not all) Android phones, and using it is a lot more convenient than navigating to YouTube from a browser. Note: if you're not running Android 4.0 or higher, some of the YouTube app's features may not be available on your device.

The beauty of the newest version of YouTube for Android is the quick-draw sliding navigation panel on the left side of the screen. Tap the YouTube icon at the top to bring it out, revealing links … Read more

YouTube Real Time shows instant comment reactions

Launched yesterday, YouTube Real Time is a new site that lets you watch a YouTube video alongside a stream of its timestamped video comments. This means that right as big, LOL-worthy moments unfold before you, you can simultaneously see what people said about them.

As an example, let's take the classic viral video David After Dentist. Watch it on YouTube Real Time, and you'll see streams of comments trickle in at specific moments of hilarity. And when you hit 0:59, you'll see exactly how the masses felt about little David's Super Saiyan freak-out moment.

All … Read more

Get a sneak peek at the new YouTube video page

The Internet is ever-changing, and YouTube is no exception. With Google's switch to a more minimal homepage design, it comes as no surprise that YouTube will be following that path as well. The changes aren't too dramatic, but they seem to help streamline user interaction with each video page. So instead of waiting for the newest YouTube remodel, why not take a look at it now? Here's how to get started:

Note: The following instructions have only been tested for Chrome, Firefox, Opera, and Internet Explorer.

Step 1: Open your browser of choice and open any video … Read more