Google on Wednesday announced it is expanding its live streaming service to more YouTube channels. If your channel has more than 1,000 subscribers, you can apply for the feature now.
To check if you’re eligible, head to your Account Features page. If you see an “Enable” button, you can click it to sign up for YouTube Live. Google says those who do so will be able to live stream whatever they want to the world directly from their channel “in the following weeks.”
Once you get it, here’s what YouTube Live lets you do:
- Real-time transcoding in the cloud, so you only need to send YouTube your highest quality stream. The site makes it instantly available in all resolutions and device formats.
- Show multiple camera angles, add closed captions, plus insert ads and slates.
- Viewers can watch the live stream from any device, get the best quality constantly adjusting to their Internet connection, and can skip back and forth in the live stream.
Naturally, you can also track statistics for your viewers:
Previously, YouTube Live was only available to a small number of individuals and YouTube partners whom Google deemed worthy to test it out. Now that the video site is opening the feature up to more users, its ability (and stability) will be truly be put to the test.
Many see live streaming as the next step in the video consumption world. On-demand content is not going anywhere (and streamed videos will be recorded for later viewing) but it’s simply not as exciting as watching content as it happens live.
The world’s biggest video platform is getting in on the game, letting users both announce live streams in advance as well as push live video feeds to the world on a whim. In the months to come, YouTube will change, and it won’t quite be the same ever again.
See also – New features hit YouTube Live, with real-time analytics & free Wirecast software and Google gives US Congress members ‘enhanced features’ on YouTube, including the ability to live stream video
Top Image Credit: Eric Piermont/Getty Images
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