These 2 Free Digital Tools will help you take control of your video viewing
These two free Chrome extensions put the power in your hands
Hey!
It’s been a minute. Or rather, it’s been two weeks. Great to be back in your inbox. And big old FDT shoutout and welcome to all the folks who have joined us since our last issue went live.
If you enjoy getting 2 free digital tools in your inbox every 2 weeks, I bet you know at least 2 other folks who would as well. Share the love with them today and let’s keep this community growing.
Today we’re looking at 2 free Chrome extensions that I use all the time to gain better control over my browser-based video consumption.
SpeedUp
Tool type: Chrome Extension
Unless the host or speaker is a seriously fast talker, I listen to podcasts at 1.8x speed. I watch YouTube tutorials at 2x. I even prefer to watch Stephen Colbert’s monologue at double speed. Same amount of laughs, half the time.
Years ago, Netflix flirted with rolling out a way to control video speed. The “industry” got mad and it was scrapped.
But if you - like me - prefer to get the same great content in half the time, then SpeedUp is for you!
SpeedUp only does one thing, but it does it perfectly.
You can use it with Netflix, Prime, YouTube, or any other browser-based video you are looking to… get through.
It won’t ask you at what setting you want to watch a particular video. It’s set universally to your browser and will simply remain at whatever speed you last set it. This can occasionally be annoying, but pin it to your browser and you are never more than 2 clicks away from re-setting your speed as needed.
Once you open it, here’s what you’ll see:
You can then pick one of their simple pre-sets or drag the bar to pick whatever speed you want.
You can go as slow as .02x
Haaaaaarrrrrdddddd. Toooooo. Iiiiimmmaaaggggiiiiinnnneeee.
Or as fast as 5x.
Justashardtoimaginewhatwaitdiditsayahwhereisthepausebuttonarrrrggghhhh.
I typically jump to 2x when just trying to get through something. Though depending on the speaker, will often find myself pushing it a bit faster.
And of course, if someone is going too fast for you, you can just as easily slow them down a bit.
A few final caveats before you download this extension: it will break your ability to change the speed of a video directly in YouTube. Which might be annoying… for a minute or two until you get used to it. But once you are used to it, it’s great. Because while YouTube will let you go from .25x-2x, SpeedUp can go even further!
It can also do weird things if you’re trying to watch video live online. But set it to 1x and you’ll be good to go.
FREE or FREEmium: FREE!
This extension is totally free.
Mute Tab
Tool type: Chrome Extension
We’ve all been there - you’re scrolling some social channel on your computer and suddenly some video comes on blaring for all to hear.
Or you accidentally unplug your headphones mid-stream and everyone in the room can hear your YouTube tutorial on baking fluffier banana bread (not a real example, but insert your own embarrassing memory here).
No more.
With the Mute Tab extension, you can stop scrambling for the pause button, and simply mute any tab with a single click.
This is another one that’s pinned to my browser. I keep Facebook — and all other social channels — on mute by default.
When I want to add sound to a video, I simply pop to the top of my browser and unmute. When I’m done, the tab goes back to mute.
It takes an extra second or so to start watching, but saves me from accidentally streaming audio from some random video on a chat with a client. So for me, it is well worth it.
This tab is not muted.
With one click, now it is.
That’s it. That’s the whole tool.
And I love it. And use it almost every day.
FREE or FREEmium: FREE!
This extension is totally free.
Enjoy your videos at whatever speed you want, and never again get caught listening to Harry Potter fan-fiction when you’re supposed to be working thanks to these 2 simple free digital tools.
Enjoy!
Are you on TikTok? Let’s connect!
See you in a fortnight!
Josh
joshklemons.com