YouTube is rolling out a new feature that allows content creators to split long videos into different parts. That should make it easier to find a fragment.
Searching for a particular fragment in a YouTube video was not always an easy task, especially for long videos. You first had to know where the fragment was approximately, and then it was still a matter of constantly fast-forwarding and rewinding to find the right piece. YouTube added a feature yesterday that can make the search a little easier: Video Chapters.
Video Chapters is a feature that the content creators can use themselves. When uploading a new video, they can divide it into chapters if they wish. They also indicate how long each chapter should last, and each chapter also has its own title. That should make it easier for users to navigate long videos if they don’t want to watch them completely. The titles can help you find the fragment you are looking for.
Haptic feedback
The feature was rolled out yesterday after a successful test period in April for both the mobile application in Android and iOS and is now also available for the web version of YouTube. YouTube wants to work with haptic feedback for the mobile version.
It makes users ‘feel’ that a new chapter of the video has started. In addition, on mobile devices and tablets, users can slide their fingers up and down while scrolling without releasing to reveal the scroll bar and see exactly where they place the playhead. Since such features are not supported on a desktop, YouTube will work with a snapping system here.
The number of chapters you see can be affected by the device you use. For example, fewer chapters will be shown if you would view a small screen via the smartphone. If you watch the video in full screen, all chapters are shown in the progress bar. YouTube made this change at the request of users after the test period.
A limited number of videos
At this point, you may have to search for videos that are already using Video Chapters. That is because content creators are given a completely free choice to make the division.
If more content creators use Video Chapters in the long term, it may well make long videos more popular on YouTube. While the content on the video platform has always been very diverse, most users still use it primarily for watching shorter videos.
