Support our independent tech coverage. Chrome Unboxed is written by real people, for real people—not search algorithms. Join Chrome Unboxed Plus for just $2 a month to get an ad-free experience, access to our private Discord, and more. Learn more about membership here.
START FREE TRIAL (MONTHLY)START FREE TRIAL (ANNUAL)
One of my favorite features on Youtube is “video chapters”. This method of segmentation splits up a video into digestible and navigable pieces so that users can skip around to information that’s more relevant to them. I’ve adapted to them so much that I can’t stand when a podcast or news-style video doesn’t use them, and they’re definitely the way of the future.
Until now, however, this tool has not been available on game consoles or smart TVs. Now, Team Youtube is fixing that with an update that should already be rolled out. In a new tweet this week, the developers dropped the news that they would begin rolling out video chapters on newer TV models as well as devices like the Playstation 5, Xbox Series X, and so on. With these, you can use your gamepad or TV remote to jump around in a video without having to manually scrub the seeking bar blindly.
Even though this is now a thing across virtually all places where Youtube is available, the uploader will still need to manually integrate video chapters into their content via the creator dashboard. Google does offer an automation tool that runs on AI and machine learning, but it’s always better if the Youtuber does this by themselves to ensure accuracy and so that it’s tailored to their audience’s expectations.
Note: Not all videos are eligible for automatic chapters, and not all eligible videos will have automatic chapters. If the channel has any active strikes, or if the content may be inappropriate to some viewers, the video chapters feature won’t be available.
YouTube Help
At the end of the day, having a consistent experience across all of your devices as a consumer means that you will be able to seamlessly watch videos in the same way no matter where or how you choose to do so, and that’s a big win. Until this news arrived, I didn’t even really realize that video chapters weren’t available on my living room TV, but now that they are, I don’t think I’ll be able to live without them. Let me know in the comments if you agree, or if you will even use them when they become available to you.
SUBSCRIBE TO UPSTREAM
Get Chrome Unboxed delivered straight to your inbox
Upstream is our flagship, curated newsletter with the top stories, most click-worthy deals, giveaways, and trending articles from Chrome Unboxed sent directly to your inbox a few times a week. Join 31,000+ subscribers.
