Youtube Archives - Page 2 of 5

How to make full-screen YouTube videos always fill the entire screen

Posted on July 8, 2025

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Do you enjoy watching YouTube videos on your smartphone or tablet?

If so, you’ve probably noticed how some videos don’t fill the entire screen even when you’re watching them in full-screen mode.

Most videos are formatted to cover the entire screen, but the ones that aren’t show up with black bands on at least two sides.

You can always use the “pinch and zoom” technique to expand the video to fill the screen, but there’s a simple setting in the YouTube app that will automatically force oddly formatted videos to cover the entire screen by default. [Read more…]

Q&A: How can I watch YouTube videos in slow motion?

Posted on May 14, 2025

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Question from Gloria: Hi, Rick. I have a question for you. Is it possible to watch YouTube videos in slow motion?

I’m taking a dance class and every week we are assigned a set of instructional dance videos to watch on YouTube.

The problem I’m having is the dancers move so quickly that I have trouble following (and learning) the steps. One of the hazards of getting older I guess.

I usually watch these videos on my desktop computer, but I occasionally watch them on my phone as well.

Is there some way to slow YouTube videos down to make them easier to follow? [Read more…]

Q&A: How can I watch YouTube while working in another program?

Posted on March 28, 2025

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Question from Rhonda: I have a question for you. How can I keep a YouTube video playing in the corner of my computer screen even when I’m working with other programs?

I subscribe to a channel that features inspirational videos and I’d love to be able to watch them while I’m working.

I know this can be done because I’ve seen it, but the person who did it is no longer with the company so I can’t ask them how to do it. [Read more…]

How to block adult-oriented videos on YouTube

Posted on January 17, 2024

As you probably know, YouTube hosts billions of videos on pretty much every topic under the sun, and the vast majority of them can be viewed at any time for free.

This is why I wrote a post a while back explaining why YouTube is one of the best sites on the Internet for helping you quickly learn how to do something you’ve never done before.

As you also probably know, many of the videos on YouTube contain some type of “adult” subject matter that you might not want to see – or allow your kids to see.

(Yes, as a Google property YouTube has a minimum age requirement but we all know how well those work in practice.)

Luckily, YouTube has a “Restricted Mode” setting that will block the vast majority of videos containing adult subject matter to prevent them from being viewed on any device that you have it enabled on. [Read more…]

Q&A: Are Chromebooks good for watching YouTube videos?

Posted on January 2, 2024

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

Question from Kyle: I have a high-end MacBook Pro that I currently use for both work and pleasure.

The “pleasure” part consists almost exclusively of watching YouTube videos, and I watch a LOT of them.

I’d like to purchase a good, but cheap 2nd laptop just for watching YouTube, and I need some advice.

A friend recommended that I skip Windows this time and get a Chromebook instead. I’d love to have your opinion on that. [Read more…]