YouTube TV now has a resizable PiP-style miniplayer on Android. It’s movable and adjustable, which could be a big improvement for some users. What’s your take on this update?
Finally, some parity between YouTube and YouTube TV apps… but this miniplayer is the worst. It’s buggy, always shows an old video, and just gets in the way.
Sam said:
Finally, some parity between YouTube and YouTube TV apps… but this miniplayer is the worst. It’s buggy, always shows an old video, and just gets in the way.
I think it’s great! The old tiny bar was useless. Now I can move and resize the player however I want, even make it fullscreen while browsing subscriptions.
@Vic
But how often do you actually use it like that? I usually just watch videos in a playlist. This setup seems like something I’d use once a month, but the rest of the time, I’d be constantly closing it.
@Sam
I use it all the time! It’s perfect for looking for the next video while the current one finishes or building a queue while watching.
I thought this was about resizable PiP on Android TV at first. Got really confused for a minute.
Lennox said:
I thought this was about resizable PiP on Android TV at first. Got really confused for a minute.
Totally off-topic, but I miss the old Google TV PiP. You could have a browser video playing in the corner while using another input, like playing on Xbox. It was awesome for countdowns during E3.
@Sam
The current setup is frustrating. If I PiP something, it’s because I want to watch it while doing something else. But on Android TV, starting another video makes the PiP window vanish. It’s so annoying.
Lennox said:
I thought this was about resizable PiP on Android TV at first. Got really confused for a minute.
YouTube, YouTube TV, Android, Android TV, Google TV… too many names! Just scrap it all and start over.
I hate it. Can’t restore or fullscreen it easily. It’s just clunky.
Greer said:
I hate it. Can’t restore or fullscreen it easily. It’s just clunky.
Same! I’ve had this for a while, and it’s terrible. Also, swiping down in fullscreen now loads the next video instead of minimizing. Why?
Greer said:
I hate it. Can’t restore or fullscreen it easily. It’s just clunky.
Especially annoying when it’s almost off-screen but not dismissed entirely. Such a bad design choice.
Why does everyone love PiP so much? The old YouTube app had a small bar at the bottom for browsing videos, and it worked great. Now this bulky PiP window just gets in the way and is harder to control.
If you have an Android TV, just use SmartTube. Way better.
Oh wow, YouTube TV just discovered technology we had on TVs back in 1994. Amazing.