The video website has launched an optimized version for living–room screens.
Watching YouTube videos from your sofa with your computer connected to your main TV screen can be frustrating. It is difficult to distinguish from a distance just where you have to guide the cursor, and even worse, you have to stand up to change your viewing choice. The largest video website on the net has launched a service which seeks to make watching YouTube on the box much easier.
YouTube XL, the big-screen version of this popular site is already available, and seeks to adapt web content for viewing from a normal television set. In YouTube XL everything is simpler, searching, watching or changing videos with just a couple of clicks.
The changes are not drastic, but they are enough for a far more functional screen. Just a single click is needed to move from one video to another in the list of related videos or favorites, while menus are larger and easier to find. Bothersome elements have been eliminated and there are no comments or advertising spaces, it is hope that an application to control this new feature from iPhone or a remote control connected via Bluetooth or Wi-fi can be developed
The launch of YouTube XL was brought about by the need to enter into the televised internet competition which are currently dominated by sites such as Boxee or Hulu, and which offer content with copyright from broadcasting corporations such as NBC or FOX, and which are presently only available in the USA.
Despite the possibilities, one of the main challenges of this new project will be the site’s ability to deal with more content, and according to expert Jason Kincaid from the Techcrunch website. "It is fun to see interesting videos created by people on your computer, however if I’m sofa surfing YouTube I want to access slightly more sophisticated content".
Source: El País
