Controlling Youtube playback speed on smart TV?

[triangle]

I have a Roku (TCL) television mostly used to watch a few different streaming channels. Earlier this year, the YouTube App removed the option to play videos at anything other than their normal rate. Sometimes I like to watch content at 1.5x or even 2x speed. I got addicted to that feature to the point that I wished there was a button on the remote to control it in real time instead of digging through the options menu. Periodically I search online to understand more, but I have found nothing indicating that the capability is coming back. It is still supported on the youtube website accessed though a computer browser.

All that introduction to ask the question, has anyone found a good solution, that will enable sped up youtube playback on their TV? Do other smart TVs, ones not powered by Roku support this feature? Apple TV? Has anyone put together some other solution like trying to stream indirectly through a Plex server (not sure how that would be controlled) or given up and put a small computer beside their TV and stream from its browser into the HDMI port of the family TV?

 

[2HOTinPHX]

Could you stream from your phone? I have only done it a couple of times but it seemed to work well.

https://www.livingetc.com/advice/ho...v-a-step-by-step-guide-for-iphone-and-android

 

[FLSUnFIRE]

FIRE TV still has the option... I just wish there was more granularity. I'll use it some with jam tracks/music when messing around with the guitar so I hope it doesn't go away.

 

[EastWest Gal]

If you just need it for audio, try Audacity software. It’s a free download. My son uses it to adjust playback for rehearsal purposes.

 

[Cobra9777]

FIRE TV still has the option... I just wish there was more granularity. I'll use it some with jam tracks/music when messing around with the guitar so I hope it doesn't go away.

Yep, definitely still there on the Fire TV version of YouTube. I'm learning Spanish and I use it to slow-down Spanish language videos. It lacks some of the granularity of the browser version. For example on the slow side, the first option is 0.50 instead of 0.75. I wish they'd just give us a sliding bar for continuous variability. Each video needs a different adjustment. I don't like slowing it down more than I have to to follow the video.

 

[Qs Laptop]

I have a Roku (TCL) television mostly used to watch a few different streaming channels. Earlier this year, the YouTube App removed the option to play videos at anything other than their normal rate. Sometimes I like to watch content at 1.5x or even 2x speed.

Curious, because I just used the increased speed function for YouTube on my HiSense Roku TV. To confirm I just tried it now and it's still there.

To access it on my TV:

While starting to watch a YouTube video (not the ads) press pause.

Once the video is paused use the remote's navigation pad to "arrow up". A submenu will appear.

Use the remote's navigation pad to "arrow right" and select the gear icon.

You will now see the speed selection option. Set to desired speed multiplier.

Press play.

 

[nphx]

off topic a bit but i found the youtube premium eliminating ads and enabling offline viewing well worth the 11.99 / mo for my use cases.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

off topic a bit but i found the youtube premium eliminating ads and enabling offline viewing well worth the 11.99 / mo for my use cases.

And to add to this...I have found the YTTV to be the best streaming service out there. I would guess since they were really the first to the game, they are leaps ahead of others in the fight for "the best". The price may not be great, but I think it's worth the cost.

 

[ERD50]

No answer for you, but it really bugs me that every device seems to have a different interface for youtube.

I get used to features on the desktop/browser version, then when I'm on my tablet, some of those are missing or convoluted or awkward, and the phone is a different set of issues. Android tablet/phone.

I forget the reasons now, but the youtube app on my tablet seemed so awkward that I stick to the browser version. It's a mish-mash.

One example, for desktop/browser I have keys to FW/RW 3 seconds, 5 seconds, and frame-by-frame (very handy in some cases). On the tablet, all I have is a double-tap 10 second jump.

Comments display is a mixed bag as well, but don't get me started - the comments interface is awful, I find it painful to go through them, that weird 'load as you go', the buried/hidden responses, search is difficult, the ordering is weird, etc. Just a mess.

-ERD50

 

[cathy63]

I have the speed option for YouTube on both my Roku stick and the Samsung TV app. The interface is the same on the two apps and it works as Qs Laptop described in #6.

 

[Qs Laptop]

No answer for you, but it really bugs me that every device seems to have a different interface for youtube.

I get used to features on the desktop/browser version, then when I'm on my tablet, some of those are missing or convoluted or awkward, and the phone is a different set of issues. Android tablet/phone.

I forget the reasons now, but the youtube app on my tablet seemed so awkward that I stick to the browser version. It's a mish-mash.

One example, for desktop/browser I have keys to FW/RW 3 seconds, 5 seconds, and frame-by-frame (very handy in some cases). On the tablet, all I have is a double-tap 10 second jump.

Comments display is a mixed bag as well, but don't get me started - the comments interface is awful, I find it painful to go through them, that weird 'load as you go', the buried/hidden responses, search is difficult, the ordering is weird, etc. Just a mess.

-ERD50

I have noticed this as well. I wonder if there is some patent protection in play? Maybe one entity has a patent on a particular user interface for PCs while someone else has one on mobile devices. Just speculating as it doesn't make sense to have significantly different appearing user interfaces across the same application.

Then again, I assume Google would buy up competing patents if they were out there.

 

[triangle]

FIRE TV still has the option... I just wish there was more granularity. I'll use it some with jam tracks/music when messing around with the guitar so I hope it doesn't go away.

I will look into the Fire Stick. After using a Roku dongle on my old TV, I almost prefer that approach, as my smart TV has the smarts of a 30 year old MSDOS PC....in that if one wants to change focus for just a short time they have to exit out of one application and reload the next one. With the dongle plugged into a different input it was possible to pause the app/video and check the score of a live TV broadcast without losing one's place. Not possible with built-in Roku.

Yep, definitely still there on the Fire TV version of YouTube. I'm learning Spanish and I use it to slow-down Spanish language videos. It lacks some of the granularity of the browser version. For example on the slow side, the first option is 0.50 instead of 0.75. I wish they'd just give us a sliding bar for continuous variability. Each video needs a different adjustment. I don't like slowing it down more than I have to to follow the video.

I couldn't agree more. Depending on the content one wants to vary the speed at a finer granularity.

Curious, because I just used the increased speed function for YouTube on my HiSense Roku TV. To confirm I just tried it now and it's still there.

To access it on my TV:

While starting to watch a YouTube video (not the ads) press pause.

Once the video is paused use the remote's navigation pad to "arrow up". A submenu will appear.

Use the remote's navigation pad to "arrow right" and select the gear icon.

You will now see the speed selection option. Set to desired speed multiplier.

Press play.

I have the speed option for YouTube on both my Roku stick and the Samsung TV app. The interface is the same on the two apps and it works as Qs Laptop described in #6.

That is curious as my TV only provides options as seen in the attached photo. The interface lost that option earlier this year, I think around March.

 

[triangle]

And to add to this...I have found the YTTV to be the best streaming service out there. I would guess since they were really the first to the game, they are leaps ahead of others in the fight for "the best". The price may not be great, but I think it's worth the cost.

I have been considering youtube premium, as I watch more youtubers than any other video content. But the advertising that is delivered is unobtrusive when compared to broadcast TV. Regular TV is hard to watch due to the ads, poor content, and handicapped Roku remote.

I did see from internet searches that the playback speed option was not made a premium feature.

 

[cathy63]

That is curious as my TV only provides options as seen in the attached photo. The interface lost that option earlier this year, I think around March.

I see a bunch of posts about YouTube apps on different Roku devices in the Roku community forums. It seems kind of random which devices have the speed control and which don't.

Google is responsible for developing and publishing YouTube apps, so it may be that they have decided they can't/won't support this feature on some of Roku's platforms.

 

[triangle]

Google announced a new Chromecast dongle in the past couple of days, a 1K and 4K version. A cynic might wonder if they are trying to steer people to using this for their smart TV experience.

Google now offers a cheaper, 1080p version of the Chromecast with Google TV
https://www.engadget.com/chromecast-with-google-tv-hd-1080p-hdr-remote-130016962.html

9 years later, Chromecast has way more — at a lower price
https://blog.google/products/chromecast/chromecast-google-tv-hd/