eleven YouTube tricks you need to know

Free movies, instant HD, and Easter Eggs galore. Find out how to get them all with our guide to YouTube's hidden features

1. See in HD all the time

YouTube is normally fairly adept at prescribing which resolution you can view your movies. And yet connection discrepancies might mean you’re not suggested all possible formats, like HD. Unlock these by adding a duo of secret codes to the end of a movie URL. Add “&fmt=18” to get stereo sounds and four hundred eighty x two hundred seventy resolution, or “&fmt=22” to get one thousand two hundred eighty x seven hundred twenty resolution.

Still attempting to justify to your spouse why you bought a 4K TV last Christmas? Help is at forearm: YouTube and other websites are now suggesting a giant amount of Ultra High Definition movies at 4K resolution – that’s four times more resolution than 1080p, the previous gold standard for consumer displays. The YouTube library is permanently growing, while an updating list of the best on Vimeo etc can be found here (including some excellent movies shot aboard the ISS). But in June, YouTube also debuted the world’s very first 8K movie.

Entitled Ghost Towns, it was shot on an Crimson Epic Dragon camera, and can be viewed at resolutions up to 4320p. But be warned: unless you have an 4k or 8K monitor/TV, a powerful computer and fat internet connection, the entire thing is going to creak and shudder with the effort. Maybe commence saving for a fresh TV for this Christmas?

Three. See 360º TV

For the accomplish viewing practice, YouTube launched 360º movie support back March – movies where you can rotate the viewpoint yourself. To see it on a computer you’ll need the Chrome internet browser, permitting you to steer the point-of-view with your mouse. But far more immersive is watching it on your phone via the YouTube Android or iOS app. Where, by tilting and swiveling the screen, you can get entire fresh perspectives on everything from the universe to the bottom of the sea to Icelandic pop pixie Björk.

Predictably, in July YouTube permitted 360º adverts too, with Nike’s Neymar movie most likely the least offensive so far. And if you can get your forearms on a pair of Google’s cheap Cardboard VR goggles, all the better.

Four. Download YouTube movies for keeps

Desperate to record Dramatic Chipmunk for posterity in case the internet goes down? Most simply of all, you can just add "ss" inbetween "www." and "youtube" to download the movie you’re watching – no download manager required. Alternatively, the website Keepvid permits you to download movies from over three hundred sites – anything from TED talks to FunnyOrDie sketches. While 4K Movie Downloader does exactly what it says on the tin: enabling downloads of hi-res (and therefore harddrive-filling) movie files.

Five. VJ your party

Oft overlooked in the age of Spotify, YouTube’s music content has receded of late – especially since it retired its Disco music-exploring contraption in 2014. But there are other options for the budding home Pete Tong. With an effortless drag-and-drop system, DragonTape permits you to remix YouTube movies and share your seamless mixtape with friends. While the adventurous can attempt YouTube Doubler – a “mashup helper" that permits you to have joy mashing together two patently unsuitable movies. And if you’re hosting a singalong? Attempt “YouTube Lyrics” for Chrome, Opera or Firefox – an extension that automatically overlays the lyrics to anything you’re playing. For better or worse.

6. Get rid of the clutter

For fans of subhuman idiocy and ferocious bigotry, the YouTube comment boards are the web’s promised land. Everyone else, however, might want to attempt Quietube, a browser bookmarklet that offers a plain white or plain black background to view vids on – free of distractions like the comment boards or the column of suggested movies on the right. Simply install and then hit the "quietube" button after you press play on any YouTube movie for peace and troll-free quiet.

And if your YouTube viewing is taking up too much screen real-estate, attempt Side Witness – a handy Firefox extension that disables ads then plays a smaller version of your movie in the browser’s sidebar. Firefox users can also use YouTube Clever Pause to automatically pause the movie you’re watching when you switch tabs on your browser – invaluable for those impromptu inspections by your boss/spouse. While Chrome users get Floating YouTube – an extension which plays your movie in a separate moveable window, permitting you to theoretically work at the same ti… ok, as if.

7. Edit, then print out, a YouTube Movie

A well-kept secret – but YouTube has a pretty respectable online movie editor that lets you trim, splice, enhance, and add effects and audio tracks to your movies. And if you’re indeed interested in film-making (or merely don’t like trees), then the team over at Labnol have the device for you – a little bookmarklet that stitches any movie into a series of storyboard frames, and then permits you to print it out.

8. Lean back and observe

If you’ve lost your computer mouse – or merely want a more relaxed, fullscreen viewing practice – then head to youtube.com/leanback, where you can breathe, recline and use your keyboard to navigate. Now, you can hop back and forward five seconds with the Left and Right arrow; use Home / End to hop to the beginning / last seconds; pause or play with the Spacebar; and hit the letter T to get someone to bring you a nice cup of tea. NB the latter may not always work.

9. Talk about your movies with friends

Having a heated debate about what, undoubtedly, is the best cat Vine collection? SynchTube enables up to fifty people to witness synchronized YouTube movies with a talk window alongside for all your instant banter needs. Just come in the movie(s) you want to observe and then share the URL with your group – or your cat Vine-loving playmate when they’re away on business.

Ten. See utter movies – for free

If you – or your credit card – reject to take out an account on Netflix or Amazon Instant, you can access full-length movies in HD via Youtube as well. Their little-known video-on-demand service, for example, offers fresh(ish) releases for around £10 – you can access it here. But there are hundreds of movies available for free as well, some uploaded ideally legally. We’ve picked the best of them here.

11. Hunt the Easter Eggs

Buried deep in the YouTube source code is many a hidden treat or surprise effect – all unlocked via a secret code. For example:

* Search for “Use the force Luke” – and you can stir the movies around the screen with the force of your mind. Or, well, the mouse pointer.

* Search for “Beam me up Scotty”, and your search results will emerge before you, shimmering as if transported there by portly fake Scot James Doohan himself.

* Search for “doge meme”, and any text shows up in multicolored Comic Sans violated English, like the infamous Japanese two thousand thirteen internet craze. Excite! Etc.

* Search for "do the Harlem Jiggle" and your results will commence hopping around all over the page, to the strains of the two thousand thirteen viral movie hit.

* If your movie is taking a while to stream and you find yourself staring at YouTube’s buffering wheel, relieve the boredom by pressing the left arrow on your keyboard. A primitive arcade-style Snake Game will pop up for you to play.

Related to

The twenty five best films of 2015

From Antichrist to Last Tango: the ten most controversial movies ever made

Beyond Carry On: Sid James's twenty best – and weirdest – films

Has Hollywood ultimately found god?

© Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2015

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eleven YouTube tricks you need to know

Chris Bell twenty nine August two thousand fifteen • 8:00am

Free movies, instant HD, and Easter Eggs galore. Find out how to get them all with our guide to YouTube's hidden features

1. Witness in HD all the time

YouTube is normally fairly adept at prescribing which resolution you can view your movies. And yet connection discrepancies might mean you’re not suggested all possible formats, like HD. Unlock these by adding a duo of secret codes to the end of a movie URL. Add “&fmt=18” to get stereo sounds and four hundred eighty x two hundred seventy resolution, or “&fmt=22” to get one thousand two hundred eighty x seven hundred twenty resolution.

Still attempting to justify to your spouse why you bought a 4K TV last Christmas? Help is at palm: YouTube and other websites are now suggesting a massive amount of Ultra High Definition movies at 4K resolution – that’s four times more resolution than 1080p, the previous gold standard for consumer displays. The YouTube library is permanently growing, while an updating list of the best on Vimeo etc can be found here (including some good movies shot aboard the ISS). But in June, YouTube also debuted the world’s very first 8K movie.

Entitled Ghost Towns, it was shot on an Crimson Epic Dragon camera, and can be viewed at resolutions up to 4320p. But be warned: unless you have an 4k or 8K monitor/TV, a powerful computer and fat internet connection, the entire thing is going to creak and shudder with the effort. Maybe commence saving for a fresh TV for this Christmas?

Three. Observe 360º TV

For the finish viewing practice, YouTube launched 360º movie support back March – movies where you can rotate the viewpoint yourself. To observe it on a computer you’ll need the Chrome internet browser, permitting you to steer the point-of-view with your mouse. But far more immersive is watching it on your phone via the YouTube Android or iOS app. Where, by tilting and swiveling the screen, you can get entire fresh perspectives on everything from the universe to the bottom of the sea to Icelandic pop pixie Björk.

Predictably, in July YouTube permitted 360º adverts too, with Nike’s Neymar movie very likely the least offensive so far. And if you can get your mitts on a pair of Google’s cheap Cardboard VR goggles, all the better.

Four. Download YouTube movies for keeps

Desperate to record Dramatic Chipmunk for posterity in case the internet goes down? Most simply of all, you can just add "ss" inbetween "www." and "youtube" to download the movie you’re watching – no download manager required. Alternatively, the website Keepvid permits you to download movies from over three hundred sites – anything from TED talks to FunnyOrDie sketches. While 4K Movie Downloader does exactly what it says on the tin: enabling downloads of hi-res (and therefore harddrive-filling) movie files.

Five. VJ your party

Oft overlooked in the age of Spotify, YouTube’s music content has receded of late – especially since it retired its Disco music-exploring device in 2014. But there are other options for the budding home Pete Tong. With an effortless drag-and-drop system, DragonTape permits you to remix YouTube movies and share your seamless mixtape with friends. While the adventurous can attempt YouTube Doubler – a “mashup helper" that permits you to have joy mashing together two patently unsuitable movies. And if you’re hosting a singalong? Attempt “YouTube Lyrics” for Chrome, Opera or Firefox – an extension that automatically overlays the lyrics to anything you’re playing. For better or worse.

6. Get rid of the clutter

For fans of subhuman idiocy and ferocious bigotry, the YouTube comment boards are the web’s promised land. Everyone else, however, might want to attempt Quietube, a browser bookmarklet that offers a plain white or plain black background to view vids on – free of distractions like the comment boards or the column of suggested movies on the right. Simply install and then hit the "quietube" button after you press play on any YouTube movie for peace and troll-free quiet.

And if your YouTube viewing is taking up too much screen real-estate, attempt Side See – a handy Firefox extension that disables ads then plays a smaller version of your movie in the browser’s sidebar. Firefox users can also use YouTube Brainy Pause to automatically pause the movie you’re watching when you switch tabs on your browser – invaluable for those impromptu inspections by your boss/spouse. While Chrome users get Floating YouTube – an extension which plays your movie in a separate moveable window, permitting you to theoretically work at the same ti… ok, as if.

7. Edit, then print out, a YouTube Movie

A well-kept secret – but YouTube has a pretty respectable online movie editor that lets you trim, splice, enhance, and add effects and audio tracks to your movies. And if you’re truly interested in film-making (or merely don’t like trees), then the team over at Labnol have the instrument for you – a little bookmarklet that stitches any movie into a series of storyboard frames, and then permits you to print it out.

8. Lean back and see

If you’ve lost your computer mouse – or merely want a more relaxed, fullscreen viewing practice – then head to youtube.com/leanback, where you can breathe, recline and use your keyboard to navigate. Now, you can hop back and forward five seconds with the Left and Right arrow; use Home / End to hop to the beginning / last seconds; pause or play with the Spacebar; and hit the letter T to get someone to bring you a nice cup of tea. NB the latter may not always work.

9. Talk about your movies with friends

Having a heated debate about what, undoubtedly, is the best cat Vine collection? SynchTube enables up to fifty people to observe synchronized YouTube movies with a talk window alongside for all your instant banter needs. Just inject the movie(s) you want to witness and then share the URL with your group – or your cat Vine-loving fucking partner when they’re away on business.

Ten. Witness total movies – for free

If you – or your credit card – deny to take out an account on Netflix or Amazon Instant, you can access full-length movies in HD via Youtube as well. Their little-known video-on-demand service, for example, offers fresh(ish) releases for around £10 – you can access it here. But there are hundreds of movies available for free as well, some uploaded flawlessly legally. We’ve picked the best of them here.

11. Hunt the Easter Eggs

Buried deep in the YouTube source code is many a hidden treat or surprise effect – all unlocked via a secret code. For example:

* Search for “Use the force Luke” – and you can stir the movies around the screen with the force of your mind. Or, well, the mouse pointer.

* Search for “Beam me up Scotty”, and your search results will emerge before you, shimmering as if transported there by portly fake Scot James Doohan himself.

* Search for “doge meme”, and any text shows up in multicolored Comic Sans violated English, like the infamous Japanese two thousand thirteen internet craze. Excite! Etc.

* Search for "do the Harlem Jiggle" and your results will commence hopping around all over the page, to the strains of the two thousand thirteen viral movie hit.

* If your movie is taking a while to geyser and you find yourself staring at YouTube’s buffering wheel, relieve the boredom by pressing the left arrow on your keyboard. A primitive arcade-style Snake Game will pop up for you to play.

Related video: