Official Blog
4K live streaming: Live has never looked so good
Wednesday, November 30, 2016
Back in 2010, we enabled 4K video support for the very first time. Since then, millions of videos have been uploaded at that eye-popping resolution, making YouTube’s the largest library of 4K videos online. Today, we’re proud to say that we’re taking 4K video one step further with the launch of 4K live streaming for both 360-degree videos and standard videos.
Supporting this new format will let creators and partners stream incredibly high-resolution video, and let viewers enjoy the clearest picture possible when watching a live stream on 4K-supported devices. The image quality is just mind-blowing on screens that support it, and in 360 degrees … the clarity can truly transport you. If you want to experience it for yourself, make sure to check out the
Game Awards
tomorrow, December 1 at 9 p.m. EST / 6 p.m. PST on YouTube. The entire show will be live streamed in 4K resolution.
4K video isn’t just a little different from HD video; it’s a giant leap. It shows 8 MILLION pixels total, with an image that has four times more image definition than even 1080p video. What does this mean in real world terms? Live streams look better, show a more detailed, crisper picture, and aren’t as blurry when there’s fast action on screen. Basically, 4K makes everything better to look at. And because we support 4K at up to 60 frames per second, creators can make content that looks silky smooth, and more realistic than ever before.
For creators this means the ability to take advantage of an incredibly clear picture for recorded and now streaming video. It’s the kind of thing that can help to push their hardware (and their talent) to create the most beautiful or just plain crazy-looking images and videos possible. And with 360 4K live streams, the sky is (literally) the limit. Get ready for 360 concert and event streams that look sharper, cleaner, and brighter than ever before. If you want more information on how to stream in 4K, just check out this
Help Center article
.
Today’s an exciting day, and we can’t wait for everyone to experience the beauty of 4K live streams from their favorite creators.
Kurt Wilms, Senior Product Manager, recently watched “
BABY PUG LIVESTREAM!
”
More parental controls available in YouTube Kids starting today
Thursday, November 17, 2016
Since we launched YouTube Kids less than two years ago, we’ve seen families across the globe download the app tens of millions of times and rank it consistently among the top 5 apps in the App Store and give it an overall 4+ ranking on Google Play.
Along the way, we’ve also received helpful feedback from parents on how we can make the app even better. Parents have told us they want more control over how their kids watch content in the YouTube Kids app. Today, we’re rolling out a new feature that continues to put parents in the driver’s seat so they can decide what content is right for their family.
Let’s say you don’t want your little one watching a DIY video that shows them how to make gooey slime, or maybe you want them to take a break from watching certain sing-a-long videos. Well, now you can block videos or channels from their experience by signing into the app.
Block videos using the 3 dot menu next to any video or channel
To sign in you will be asked to send yourself a parental consent email.
And the best part is that because you’re logged in, the videos and channels you block in YouTube Kids will remain consistent across all your devices. And as a parent, if you change your mind, you can unblock all restricted videos or channels at once. It’s that easy! This update will be available in: the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Chile, Peru, Brazil, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Ghana, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Malaysia, Philippines, India, and Singapore.
This new feature follows other ways families can already customize their YouTube Kids experience:
Learn how the app works:
When parents open YouTube Kids, we explain upfront how our systems choose and recommend content and how to flag videos. We also prompt you to make a choice about how broadly you want your child to explore—turn search on to access millions of family-friendly videos, or turn search off to restrict your child’s experience to a more limited set.
Timer:
Let the app be the bad guy with a built-in timer that lets you limit kids’ screen time. The app alerts your child when the session is over, so you don’t have to.
YouTube Kids on the big screen:
Watch YouTube Kids as a family on your big screen. Now YouTube Kids is available on your TV, using Chromecast, Apple TV, game consoles or a smartTV.
Age-based customization:
When you first open the app, you can select from three general age groups (preschool, school age or all kids) making the initial home screen reflect videos that may interest children in that age range.
Stay tuned for more to come and in the meantime happy viewing!
Balaji Srinivasan, father of two girls and YouTube Kids Senior Software Engineer, recently watched "
Hexaflexagons
."
YouTube VR: A whole new way to watch… and create
Thursday, November 10, 2016
We’re inspired every day by the videos people share on YouTube. The idea that anybody, from any part of the globe, can create something that all of us can watch, laugh at, cry to, or relate to. Not only has this turned YouTube into a home for just about any idea imaginable, it’s made it the place where
new video formats
,
new ways to connect
, and
new ways to tell stories
are born.
We want to continue to provide you with new ways to engage with the world and with your community, and we believe virtual reality will play an important role in the future of storytelling. More than just an amazing new technology, VR allows us to make deep, human connections with
people
,
places
and
stories
. That’s why we’re committed to giving creators the space and resources they need to learn about, experiment with, and create virtual reality video. In fact, we’ve already started working with some awesome creators, recording artists, and partners who are producing VR videos across a wide variety of genres and interest areas on YouTube.
Want to spend some time with beauty vlogger
Meredith Foster
? Check out an immersive tour of her apartment. More of a foodie?
Tastemade’s
VR cooking videos breathe new life into learning new recipes.
Rooster Teeth
reimagines their gaming comedy “Red vs. Blue” for some fresh laughs. You can even watch breaking news in VR from
HuffPost RYOT
.
We’ve also been working to allow you to have experiences or visit places you might not be able to (or might not dare to!) in real life. Go swimming with sharks thanks to
Curiscope
, get a first-hand look at a living, breathing dinosaur at the
Natural History Museum in London
, travel to Belize with
StyleHaul
, hike a trail a thousand miles away with Daniel and Kelli at
Fitness Blender
, or watch
Tritonal
in concert no matter where you are.
And today you can experience all of this amazing content in a more immersive way with the brand new YouTube VR app,
available first on Daydream
. This new standalone app was built from the ground up and optimized for VR. You just need a Daydream-ready phone like Pixel and the new
Daydream View
headset and controller to get started. Every single video on the platform becomes an immersive VR experience, from 360-degree videos that let you step inside the content to standard videos shown on a virtual movie screen in the new theater mode. The app even includes some familiar features like voice search and a signed in experience so you can follow the channels you subscribe to, check out your playlists and more.
We can’t tell you how inspired we all are after watching the amazing VR videos made by creators on YouTube. We can't wait to see what you dream up next!
Erin Teague, Product Manager, and Jamie Byrne, Director of YouTube Creators, recently watched "
Tour of Man At Arms: Reforged Shop in 360° - The Forging Room!
"
True colors: adding support for HDR videos on YouTube
Monday, November 7, 2016
We believe in the power of video at YouTube. It’s what allows for the creativity, connection, and fun that brings together our community of creators and viewers. And over the last 11 years, we’ve worked hard to push the boundaries of online video. We’ve added product features and made new video and audio formats available to everyone, from HD to 4K video, live streaming, 3D, 360-degree video, and spatial audio.
Today we are adding support for High Dynamic Range (HDR) videos on YouTube. HDR videos have higher contrast, revealing precise, detailed shadows and stunning highlights with more clarity than ever. Support for wide color gamut means colors are more vibrant. Simply put, HDR unlocks the most spectacular image quality we've ever streamed.
Simulated SDR vs HDR comparison (seeing true HDR requires an HDR display)
Starting today, you can watch YouTube videos in HDR on supported devices, such as HDR TVs with the new
Chromecast Ultra
, and soon on all 2016 Samsung SUHD and UHD TVs. If you're using a device that doesn't yet support HDR, don't worry, videos will still play in standard dynamic range. As more HDR devices become available, YouTube will work with partners to enable streaming of the HDR version.
And if you want to watch some amazing content in HDR today, we got you covered. We’ve worked with YouTube creators like
MysteryGuitarMan
,
Jacob + Katie Schwarz
, and
Abandon Visuals
to bring you
great content in HDR
.
Starting today, any creator can upload HDR videos to YouTube. You can learn more about uploading HDR videos
here
. To make sure creators can tell awesome stories with even more color, we’ve been working with companies across the industry. We’ve worked with the
DaVinci Resolve
team to make uploading HDR just as simple as SDR videos to YouTube. We’ve also outfitted the YouTube Spaces in LA and NYC with all the gear needed to produce great HDR content.
HDR adds a whole new dimension of creative freedom and visual spectacle, and we've barely scratched the surface of what this means for storytelling. We can't wait to see the amazing videos you're going to make with HDR.
Steven Robertson, Software Engineer, recently watched “
History of Japan
,” and Sanjeev Verma, Product Manager, recently watched “
Flaming Wire Wool
.”
Google and YouTube can help keep you informed on Election Day
Monday, November 7, 2016
Cross-posted from the
Official Google Blog
It’s Election Day Eve, the day before before millions of people across the U.S. will head to the polls and cast votes for their elected officials. But before you get to the ballot box -- and head out with that sticker! -- check Google to get the information on where to vote and election results.
Starting when the polls close on Election Day, you will be able to find U.S. election results integrated right into your Google searches in over 30 languages around the world. You’ll also be able to see detailed updates and results of the Presidential, Senatorial, Congressional, Gubernatorial races as well as state-level referenda and ballot propositions.
For the past several months, Google has helped people find information about the democratic process: our search results have helped voters
register
and explained the voting process with information on
how to vote
,
who’s on their ballot
, and how to
find their local polling place
in both English and Spanish. Since releasing these in-depth search results, we've seen millions of people engage with these tools on Google -- there's even been a startling 233% increase in traffic for "how to vote" compared with 2012. In addition to “how to vote,” Americans are actively searching for “where to vote” -- particularly in battleground states, as depicted in these county-by-county breakdowns:
Over the past few weeks viewers spent over 20 million hours watching - and rewatching - the presidential debate live streams on YouTube. Tomorrow, YouTube will be live streaming election results coverage from more news organizations than ever before. Starting at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, November 8, tune in to live coverage from
NBC
,
PBS
,
MTV
,
Bloomberg
,
Telemundo
and
The Young Turks
to keep up with all of the action as it happens.
Complex News
will also be delivering live coverage during a special election event from YouTube Space NY. And to close out YouTube’s
#voteIRL
campaign, creators and fans have been posting their
#voteIRL selfie
to mark that they’re going to vote. And tune in to some special voting reminder PSAs starring
POTUS
and some familiar-looking
furry friends
.
Whether you voted early, plan to head to the polls tomorrow, host an Election Night watch party, or live stream the victory speech from America’s new President-Elect, we’re here to help. From the ballot box to tomorrow’s late-night returns, we hope Google’s tools help guide you through Election Day in a simple, clear and informative way.
And one last thing: don’t forget to
vote
. It matters.
Posted by Shashi Thakur, VP Engineering, Google Search
The Clash Royale King’s Cup, live on YouTube Gaming
Thursday, November 3, 2016
Sound the horns! The King has declared a tournament to host the most skilled Clash Royale players in the land. Who among you can beat his champions and take the King’s Cup?
We are proud to present the
King’s Cup Live on YouTube Gaming
, a first-of-its-kind major tournament event featuring the second largest mobile title on YouTube this year, Clash Royale. The tournament will take place on Sunday, November 6, live in Los Angeles with a prize pool of $100,000.
Competitors from all over the world will attend this open event to qualify to play against eight of the top Clash Royale creators from YouTube. Come sharpen your swords and ride your hogs and take down our legendary Clash Royale creators:
Alvaro845
ClashWithAsh
Chief Pat
Ddotty
GamingWithMolt
Godson
Nickatnyte
Orange Juice
Can't battle? No worries! Watch the tournament live exclusively on
YouTube Gaming
and
YouTube
. There'll be awesome gameplay, fun interviews, and even opportunities to win prizes. Running alongside the tournament will be a limited time, in-game “King’s Cup Special Event Challenge” where players can join for free and play with cards they haven’t yet unlocked! This special event will be available on iOS and Android between Friday, November 4, and Sunday, November 6.
Join along with our commentary team for this Royale event in coordination with YouTube, Google Play and Supercell at
https://gaming.youtube.com/kingscup
or
https://www.youtube.com/clashroyale
.
Lester Chen, Head of eSports Content & Partnerships, recently watched the “
2016 League of Legends World Championships
.”
#YTMehrMusik: More music from artists you love on YouTube in Germany
Tuesday, November 1, 2016
Today is a big day for music in Germany. YouTube has reached a landmark agreement with the Germany-based music rights organization, GEMA, meaning that starting today, more music will be available on YouTube in Germany. This is a win for music artists around the world, enabling them to reach new and existing fans in Germany, while also earning money from the advertising on their videos. And for YouTube users in Germany, who will no longer see a blocking message on music content that contains GEMA repertoire, for the first time in seven years.
This agreement reflects a long-held commitment that composers, songwriters, and publishers should be paid fairly, while ensuring fans can enjoy their favorite songs and discover new music on YouTube. That commitment has helped YouTube evolve into an important source of promotion and revenue for musicians. As such, we continue to invest in our rights management system, Content ID, to protect rights owners while continuing to innovate and create new and exciting YouTube features such as VR and 360, that can heighten the music experience on YouTube even more.
From AnnenMayKantereit to Rolf Zuckowski, we heartily welcome German artists and songwriters from A-to-Z to YouTube. And to our YouTube community, enjoy the music!
Christophe Muller, YouTube’s Head of International Music Partnerships, recently watched “
Best Friends Challenge with Justin Timberlake
.”
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