YouTube is one of the most visited sites on the Internet, which is why there is a wide range of add-ons and third party extensions that extend its functionality.
This post will present three of the most useful new Chrome extensions for YouTube that we’ve found.
Seevl is a music manager for YouTube that adds contextual functions such as music discovery, YouTube Options manages every conceivable option for YouTube videos, and Auto HD plays all YouTube videos that can be played in Hi-Def, in Hi-Def. Let’s take a look at each in turn.
Seevl: add music discovery and social music sharing to YouTube
Seevl is a Chrome extension that, according to the Chrome Web Store page for it, will act as “your personal music assistant for YouTube.” Some of its features include automatic playlist building of videos you like, discovery of new artists, and extra information about each artist or video, known as ‘Liner Notes’ because this info used to be included inside the ‘liner’ or jacket of an album or CD. You can even get suggestions from artists that you like, about what they enjoy viewing and see if it’s for you! Seevl will also connect to your Facebook and make new posts on your timeline about what music you are enjoying on YouTube if you so choose. It will run automatically when you visit YouTube.com or even use an outside link to reach a YouTube video. Handy, easy, and free. Just the way we like our Chrome Apps.
AutoHD: always watch YouTube in HD
AutoHD for YouTube will automatically select the Hi-Def version of any YouTube video you watch, assuming of course that the video is actually available in HD. As with all Chrome extensions it takes moments to install and this one is so focused in its usage that you’ll never really notice it running in the background but its effect is very easy to notice. When connecting to a YouTube video it will attempt to discover if there is a HD version of the video available, either within that particular video link or even, wonder of wonders, on another video of the same content. That feature comes in very handy when the video link you followed doesn’t have Hi-Def options but is available (say, at the original artist’s own YouTube channel) that does offer High Definition viewing.
YouTube Options: customize every single aspect of your YouTube experience
YouTube Options is another handy dandy Chrome extension that does just what it sounds like; it gives you options for nearly all your YouTube viewing needs. It’s basically the last word in options for YouTube viewing and while it doesn’t offer any options that can’t be selected manually within the YouTube pages, per se, it does offer to make sure they are activated on every YouTube video you view. You can see from the screenshots that the options are many and varied, including (but not limited to) such things as disabling unwanted ad bars, disabling annotations (those annoying texts that pop up in the middle of watching) and even support for beta YouTube features! It’s one of the most comprehensive selections of options that I have seen in a YouTube based extension.
So there you are, three great tools to make your Chrome YouTube experience easier, better, and more expansive. One thing though: don’t overload your browser with extensions, is our advice. Install the extension(s) that grabs you!
Until next time, my friends.
