Plug-in to easy video sharing
March 27, 2007 on 4:50 pm | In Features |
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you probably have friends that share videos with you from YouTube, Yahoo! Video or Google Video. It’s fun to look at videos but wouldn’t it be better to view them with the friend that shared it with you? Yahoo! Research Berkeley must think so too, because their new Zync plug-in allows you and a friend to watch the same video in sync in the IM window.
Once you and a friend load the Zync plug-in during your IM conversation, you can control video playback with a few basic commands. To play a video from YouTube, Yahoo! Video or Google Video, grab the URL (http://…) from the website and type “watch [video URL]” into your IM text box and send it (ex: watch http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=329037). The video will load and begin playing in the adjoining panel.
The best part about Zync is that when the video is playing, you and your friend see the exact same thing at the same time. This makes it much easier to talk about the video, either over IM or during a voice call. Each of you can control playback through the icons below the video window or by IM’ing text commands like “pause”, “rewind”, and “back” which when followed by a number, will backup as many seconds (ex: “back 10” will take you back 10 seconds in the video). Handy as these text commands are, they can result in a fast-fingered duel for control. So if you’re the one who usually hogs the remote, be prepared to share.
Yahoo! Research Berkeley also created a handy Zync launcher button that allows visitors to your site to click and share a video you posted using the Zync plug-in. If you have a blog or website and frequently embed videos, you can drop some code in below the video window that displays a “Share with Yahoo! Messenger” link.
When clicked, the Zync button launches the plug-in, asks the user which Messenger friend they want to watch the video with and then opens the IM window with the video playing. Most video services only offer you the chance to email a video or grab its URL, but with the Zync launcher, your visitor can jump right into an IM conversation to share the video.
Yahoo! Research Berkeley’s mission is to explore and invent social media and mobile media technology and applications that will enable people to create, describe, share, find and remix media on the web. Head over to the Yahoo! Research Berkeley website to see what else they’re up to.
After you’ve tried the Zync plug-in, leave a comment here on our blog to let us know what you think.
Sarah Bacon
Product Manager
Hi Sarah-
Will this work with the Mac version? When can we expect a new Mac version?
Alex
Comment by Alex Rodriguez — March 27, 2007 #
Nice idea
, Would be cool to have a position slider rather than just rewind and seek? Not sure how the launcher buttons work… but I can’t get them to do anything :”>
Comment by Andy — March 27, 2007 #
Hi Alex and Andy,
Glad you like Zync!
Alex - Unfortunately there is no plugin architecture for Macs at this time.
Andy - Send a note to zync-feedback at yahoo-inc.com about your browser button troubles and we’ll be happy to look into it.
-ayman.
Comment by ayman — March 27, 2007 #
Does seem like a good idea. Mac messenger will probably have a new beta out before long, But from published articles on Beta 2, it will not support plugins.
http://www.otierney.net/articles/2007/01/16/yahoo-messenger-beta-2/
If it weren’t for Mac’s being able to boot Windows now we’d still be pretty SOL as far as yahoo’s concerned. Of course Yahoo Messenger for Windows still isn’t tolerable without addon’s too to fix all the security flaws, bugs, and total lack of privacy and spam protection.
Comment by MysticalOS — March 27, 2007 #
HOW is this helping us we can not get into chat !!!!! your servers are overloaded and huge ammounts of recourses are being wasted on spam why cant you address the spam issue ????????? Sarah look why can this issue not be adressed isn’t the huge chat ads enough revenue for yahoo? seriously you cant go into chat or any of the yahoo team and if you did you would realize how bad it is go in a room any room and see how many people actually use them and tell me what bots/people ratio there is that should be you will be swamped by at least 10 pms on entrance Yahoo chat is dying and you do not seem to care i for one no longer use chat thousands of others don’t the chat rooms will not load you want to know look if you do not address this problem there will be no one in chat it will be 100% bots its already a good 50% and at least 80% in some rooms your laziness is destroying your companies image advertisers will pull out when they realize no one can use your chat service anymore mark my words
Comment by Karl — March 28, 2007 #
Hey, thanks for the insight. That is indeed a neat little plugin I will be using.
Will some of you STFU about chat already and get back under the rock where you came from? It’s pathetic and annoying. You’re pissing and moaning like your chat is life support.
Comment by Die Walküre — March 28, 2007 #
New Yahoo! Messenger build out! (v8.1.0.249):
http://download.yahoo.com/dl/msgr8/us/ymsgr810_249_us.exe
Comment by Venom — March 28, 2007 #
Nice feature though I fear how annoying it could become with friends who spam you with messages.
As for saying some people should STFU about the chat issues… um, last I checked Yahoo Messenger is a program whose purpose is for… oh… wait… chatting…
Comment by rotjong — March 28, 2007 #
Sorry you are wrong and over simplifying my statement.
The chat room service is one component of many inside Yahoo Messenger. It is first and foremost an instant messenger. You need to look no further than the official front page. What takes precedence in their advertising of Yahoo Messenger? It is certainly not the chat rooms service. Rather it is in no particular order .1) PC-to-PC calls .2) Instant messenging .3) File sharing .4) Plug-in capabilities. You need to go to the “features” page to see a mention of the chat room service.
I have nothing against people advising Yahoo about problems with one of their services, but we get it, we all get the point, yes the chat rooms have issues apparently, and thousands of you people are in withdrawal and need your fix of heroin chat rooms. Yahoo is aware of this. Spamming the living hell out of this blog isn’t going to cause development to speed up.
If you’re familiar with the ETA of free wares it’s usually, “when its done.”
Comment by Die Walküre — March 28, 2007 #
this looks exciting– could be fun! it’s like an enhanced photo-sharing IMvironment.
i like this blog. i’m impressed that yahoo allows comments on their official blogs, unlike most companies.
Comment by jon — March 29, 2007 #
So why not complain here, Yahoo has no other way to reach them to complain about the chat rooms. Yes the char rooms are just one simple feature here, a tiny part of a larger company. But yet yahell can not fix a simple matter. Eliminate the bots make the chat rooms more simple to get in.
Fine if yahell wants to eliminate chat rooms then fine she should come out and do it. Instead the just do nothing, say nothing, just add more bells and whistles to Yahoo Messenger.
Well I come here every time there is a new post on Sarah Bacon Project Manager of Yahoo Messenger… Damn rights I will… each and every time there is a blog written I will make my voice heard until they do some thing one way or another.
Comment by den — March 29, 2007 #
Well Die Walküre you seem to have it in your head that everyone is addicted to yahoo chat lol everyone of your posts mentions this people do enjoy or should i say did enjoy general use of yahoo rooms the problem with this is??? so you are saying you use messenger and have never been in chat LOL and the pope is a jew. we are not spamming this blog at all we are simply stating our opinions this is what this blog is for right??? the newer yahoo gets the more bulky and usless it becomes its fact you would know this if you used it for a long time yes den you have a great point though the yahoo “help” and general options for complaints are a series of automated messages that either tell you to ignore the chatter or its because of yahoos latest upgrade … upgrades are supposed to be better not worse downgrades more like well im going to recourses hack my messenger and take out all the crap i don’t need
but yea this is the only means of communication with the yahoo team i used to love chat now i don’t bother going into rooms i would like that back it was a good laugh now sadly yahoo is just laughed at and yes posting our concerns here will them more aware than not posting at all right? and Jon yes yahoo allow comments until they are negative they will remove them try it this in itself is pathetic and the latest rumor yahoo is having/moving servers mid may lol this issue will not solve this unless they employ anti spam features spam will continue to dominate chat and fill up rooms it will work for a few months but o well what happen to yahoos blacklist of urls such as http://www.333 if that was typed in chat you would be instantly banned that would crush a huge ammount of spam instantly if the url blacklist was in place.
Comment by Karl — March 30, 2007 #
[…] Plug-in to easy video sharing, Yahoo! Messenger Blog, Sarah Bacon “The best part about Zync is that when the video is playing, you and your friend see the exact same thing at the same time. This makes it much easier to talk about the video, either over IM or during a voice call.” […]
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