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YouTube enables captions for live broadcasts
YouTube is making live broadcasts more accessible by giving creators the power to add real-time captions in the English language. They could provide their own if they plan to read off a script or have access to professional captioners that can feed their work to the platform. But YouTube live broadcasts tend to be unscripted and pretty interactive, so creators can also choose to depend on the platform's live automatic speech recognition technology to auto-generate captions.
Essential Phone sends 360-degree live video to Facebook and YouTube
Essential has been racing to improve the (frankly lackluster) camera software on its phone ever since launch, and now those upgrades are showering affection on the handset's signature 360 Camera attachment. Andy Rubin's outfit is delivering an update that adds streaming live 360-degree video to both Facebook Live and YouTube Live. In other words, that add-on just became much more useful -- you can broadcast your adventures in a VR-friendly format just by clipping a camera to your phone.
YouTube improves stream performance and simplifies live chats
YouTube announced a handful of new features available now for its livestream function. The changes, including reduced latency and simpler chat moderation, are aimed at making YouTube Live a more functional and efficient feature for users.
Livestream's Mevo camera can broadcast to YouTube Live
Last year, Livestream's Mevo became the first camera with integrated Facebook Live streaming. Now the video streaming platform is giving its device a few more major upgrades, including support for Android and YouTube Live. The camera can now broadcast to four platforms: its creator's website (Livestream), Facebook Live, Periscope and YouTube Live. Plus, it can do so in 1080p, something it wasn't capable of, since it used to be locked to 720p. So long as you upgrade its software and get the latest version of its iOS app or its new Android app, you can also use it to record 4K videos.
Murders, suicides and rapes: Facebook's major video problem
A nationwide manhunt for Steve Stephens, the 37-year-old from Cleveland who uploaded a video to Facebook of himself shooting an elderly stranger in the head, came to an end today. Stephens committed suicide after a brief car chase with state police in Erie, Pennsylvania. His crime, which took place this past Sunday, sparked outrage not only because of the violence itself, but also the way Facebook handled the situation. It took the social network over two hours to take the video down, although it claims this was because it wasn't flagged immediately by other users. Facebook says Stephens' actions weren't reported until he used the Live feature to stream his murder confession, about an hour and 45 minutes after the shooting video was uploaded. His account has since been suspended.
Google to move Hangouts On Air to YouTube Live
Several years ago when Google+ launched, one of its key features was Hangouts, a video chat program that allowed several people to chat online at once. Hangouts grew so popular that it eventually spun off a public-facing option called Hangouts On Air, where would-be stars could interact with their adoring fans. Indeed, actual public figures like Tyra Banks, Brad Pitt and even the President have taken to Hangouts On Air in the past to answer queries. But come September 12th however, that option will be no longer, at least on Google+. Instead, users will be prompted to use YouTube Live, Google's other live video product, to broadcast in real-time.
YouTube's mobile app will soon support live video streams
Ever since Meerkat bust onto the scene at SXSW in 2015, streaming live video footage from your smartphone has been a huge deal. Twitter's Periscope quickly blew Meerkat out of the water, and Facebook Live has been a huge initiative for the company. Now, YouTube is throwing its hat into the ring: the company just announced that its apps will soon let anyone stream live video to their YouTube channel whenever they want. It's a little surprising that it's taken YouTube so long to get into this business, as the company has supported live broadcasts on the YouTube platform for a long time now. Facebook may have a big advantage, because that's where all of your friends are, but the many creators who have built large and dedicated YouTube followings will surely benefit from this. And it's not hard to imagine plenty of other, less popular users giving YouTube's live video option a shot as well. The company is rolling out the feature today for a small group of its creators, but there's no word yet on when we'll all get a chance to stream live YouTube broadcasts.
YouTube opens live streaming for all verified channels, even yours
What's that, your YouTube channel has fewer than 100 subscribers, but you feel it's a travesty that you can't share your video opus as it happens? Well, start popping bottles: Google has begun rolling out live streaming capabilities to all of its verified users that are in good standing (hopefully that includes you!). Since releasing the feature more widely less than a year ago, the video giant has now given the option to all, putting even the lowliest accounts on equal footing with the site's heavy hitters. Don't start planning a live broadcast of your next quilting bee just yet, though: While the update starts today, YouTube said it'll be a few weeks before everyone gets access.
YouTube opens live streaming to channels with as few as 100 subscribers
Not a YouTube partner? That's okay -- Google's streaming video outfit is letting you access some of its premium features anyway. In a recent blog post, the company announced that it will be lowering the subscriber threshold for live streaming to 100, down from 1,000 in May. The feature should be available to all channels in good standing sometime in the next few weeks, provided users hop into their Account Features page and click on the "enable" button. The blog also reminds users that they can maximize their channel's exposure by uploading custom video thumbnails, compiling videos into playlists and by linking out to associated websites via YouTube annotations. More features for the little guy? We can get behind that.
YouTube live-streaming now available to channels with over 1,000 subscribers
Initially, YouTube's live-streaming service was limited to select partners and special events, but that's about to change. Starting today, all channels in good standing with over 1,000 subscribers will be able to sign up for this broadcasting option. When using YouTube Live, account holders can insert ads, display multiple camera angles and add closed captions. Meanwhile, viewers can control a broadcast stream's playback by rewinding and skipping (previously aired content, of course) ahead à la Google Hangouts On Air. To add YouTube Live to your channel, visit your Account Features page and click the "Enable" button in the Live Events section. Google notes that eligible accounts will start gaining access in the coming weeks, which hopefully gives you enough time to save up for a teleprompter.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 has YouTube livestreaming built-in on 360, PS3 and PC, not on Wii U
Competitive multiplayer games, such as industry standard Call of Duty, are what make the world of e-sports a reality. And livestreaming of those games is the lifeblood of that community, primarily done through PCs and various online services (YouTube, Twitch.tv, etc.). Activision clearly knows this, as the next entry in its annual franchise, Black Ops 2, is adding YouTube livestreaming to its Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC versions -- the game is also headed to Wii U, but won't have the functionality built-in. "Wii U will not have this feature at this time, but it is being evaluated for a future update," an Activision rep told us. The streaming service works in concert with Call of Duty Elite, allowing viewers and gamers alike to delve into all the thrilling numbers behind each online game. The game launches this coming Tuesday on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC, with the Wii U version launching soon after alongside Nintendo's next console, sans streaming.
YouTube live streaming this year's London Paralympics in the US and Canada
Now that the Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps show in London is well behind us, it's time for this summer's Paralympics to get started -- in fact, they've been underway since this past Wednesday, August 29th. But in case you've been missing out on all the action due to shortage of viewing options, YouTube just announced it'll be streaming over 500 hours of live competitions to folks in the US of A and Canada. The real-time streams are being brought to you via the ParalympicSportsTV channel, which will also offer more than 1000 hours of on-demand content, such as daily highlights, behind-the-scenes footage and athlete interviews. The only thing left to do now is grab some popcorn and hope your country of choice leads that glorious medal count -- so far, it's China with the celebrated number one spot.
YouTube gives live video streamers better production tools, ways to make money
It's been about a year since YouTube took the beta tag off of its live video streams and to celebrate it's flipping the switch on a few new features. One major way to pull in better content is to allow its publishers to profit from it, and now they can either by charging viewers pay-per-view-style or through instream ads. On the backend they have improvements like a guided flow to follow before events go live and real time data breaking down their viewership by geography and format. Finally, Google is also provided Wirecast for YouTube Live free of charge, a bit of software that it says allows partners to do all the production (capture, switching between sources, live effects and overlays and more) necessary for "professional looking" live events. There's more information available after the break, but as long as this means we never have to see another jump cut vlog then we're all for it.
YTLive web app lets you watch YouTube Live broadcasts on your iOS device
YouTube entered the live video streaming market with the launch of its YouTube Live service earlier this month. The high-profile video site is competing against similar live stream services, such as Ustream and Justin.tv. Unlike its competitors, YouTube Live uses only Flash technology to deliver its live stream. As a result, iOS owners are unable to watch these live feeds on their mobile devices. Coming to the rescue is a web app, YTLive, which lets you copy the URL of a YouTube Live feed and paste it into their web-based player. The player converts the live stream to a format compatible with iOS and lets you watch a broadcast within Mobile Safari. As long as YTLive's servers can handle the load of streaming video to millions of iOS devices, then we may have a winner. [Via Engadget]
YouTube Live now streams to iOS, courtesy of YTLive web app
Watching YouTube on an iOS device can be a pleasant experience, unless you're trying to view the service's Live content. YouTube Live -- its answer to Ustream, Livestream, and other streaming video services -- was recently launched after months of limited trials. Wonderful news, of course, but there is just one catch: it uses Flash to provide the streaming instead of HTML5. At first, this meant iOS users were left uninvited to the party, but a savvy developer sensed the coming frustration and built YTLive, a web app enabling YouTube Live streams on Safari. Find and copy the link to the live stream you want, go to the app, and paste it in the box provided. Then, let your hearts be gladdened as you delightfully devour as much video as you can handle. Head to our source link below to find the app.
Watching Coachella live on YouTube would be a great use for Google TV -- if it worked (Updated)
While waiting for hardware, sped up software and access to the Android Market's apps, early Google TV adopters looking to mix up their internet and TV viewing got some bad news (again) this weekend while trying to access YouTube's live broadcasts of the Coachella music festival. Despite the event being promoted on the official blog, owners of all three Google TV devices reported the stream would not load for them. We couldn't pull it up on our Sony Internet TV, getting only a loading bar and then the black screen shown above even though other YouTube Live broadcasts and many live Flash video streams work without a problem. At this time we haven't heard back from Google on the issue and a check of support forums came up empty too so for now a laptop with an HDMI cable is still the simplest way to get this internet video on your HDTV. Update: The @GoogleTV Twitter account just reported the team is "looking into it" so hopefully there's a chance of resolution before the event is over, we'll keep an eye out. Until then, we're hearing that the stream is working on the Boxee Box (Thanks @EricHulen) so that may be an option as well.
YouTube starts up live streaming trial, could turn into LiveTube if all goes well
Sure, we've all seen sprinklings of live content on YouTube, but now Google's video arm is finally threatening to really flex that content streaming muscle. Today and tomorrow, chosen partners will participate in a trial of a new live streaming platform, and so long as the traffic doesn't burn down too many server farms, the feature should be progressively rolled out to a wider audience in the near future. Alas, it sounds like Google intends to limit the capability to content partners only and not allow its masses of regular users the pleasure of livestreaming their cats' latest acts of mischief out to the world. Oh, such a shame.
