Beating the Blues of Overly Green: A Mac Video Editor’s Handbook

How to Fix the Green Screen on YouTube on Mac

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

When you are watching YouTube, you might notice that the video is green while the sound keeps playing. This can be quite frustrating when you are watching something interesting and the YouTube green screen comes up.

There are various reasons as to why you have a green screen while watching videos on YouTube such as some problem with the GPU of Mac. No matter what the instance is, it can be quite overwhelming.

In case the YouTube green screen video issue while watching videos is bothering you and you are looking for a permanent fix to solve it, keep reading. In this guide, you can learn about the various issues that lead to the green screen problem on YouTube and how you can fix it.

But first, let’s take a look at the various issues that are causing the YouTube videos to turn green.

● Outdated Graphic Card Drivers: The issues associated with the graphics card can be a serious factor responsible for the green screen you are seeing while playing YouTube videos on your Mac device. This happens when the graphic drivers are outdated and can no longer support efficacious processing and playing of videos on the device. Graphics Card Drivers rendering is just the use of graphics cards for all rendering of functions such as videos. In case the drivers are outdated as the operating system, you will see a green screen error.

● Unreliable Third-Party Software: Any software from another source when used on Mac can lead to system errors. This will lead to green screen videos. It is more so when malware finds its way into the system when you are downloading the third-party software. This can even be a virus that comes with the software.

● Other Factors: Other factors might be responsible for the green screen videos such as a corrupt operating system.

How to Prevent Green Screen on YouTube on Mac?

In order to solve the YouTube video playing issue prior to moving on to the tricky troubleshooting methods, try out the simple hacks given below to prevent the problem altogether. These temporary hacks are usually quite helpful when you are in a hurry to watch a video.

● Play the YouTube video in some other browser. Often, a certain browser has a history of displaying a green screen on it when you play the videos on YouTube.

● Delete temporary files and cookies on Mac. This frees up space for the system.

● Close the other tabs and interfaces in the browser when you are watching the video online. This way the activities on the open window are not going to lead to an error while playing the video.

● Clear the cache data. By doing this, you can make sure that your system has enough space.

● Update the browser you are using to view videos on the latest browser.

● Reboot the Mac device if you are using it for a while. At times, rebooting the computer is all that you have to do to get the video working properly yet again after an error occurs.

How to Fix YouTube Green Screen?

As the video playing problem is primarily related to graphic drivers and hardware in the computer, further troubleshooting methods are for available for fixing these problems.

Hence, when the hacks fail to work and you keep seeing YouTube green screen, try out the following methods to fix this issue.

1. Disable Hardware Acceleration

The computer uses GPU rather than CPU for loading graphic intensive programs during hardware acceleration.

Nevertheless, some problems might occur when rendering the web pages from the Central Processing Unit to the Graphic Processing Unit. This causes performance problems. You might notice a green or blank screen while you are watching high-quality videos on YouTube.

In such a case, you need to disable hardware acceleration for resolving video playing problems.

● Right-click on the video which is displaying the green screen.

● Choose ‘Setting’ from the menu.

● Now, click to uncheck the option ‘Enable hardware acceleration’.

● Next, close the window to reload the page.

● To watch the video, reopen the website.

If you don’t find the ‘Settings’ option on the right-clicking the green video screen, disable the option of Hardware Acceleration on the web browser.

2. Update the Graphics Card Drivers

In case after establishing the hardware acceleration green screen in the YouTube videos to occur, update the graphics card driver. The video playing issue might have been caused due to the old AMD or NVIDIA graphics card.

Here are the steps to update the Graphics Card Drivers:

● Right-click on ‘My Computer’.

● Now, click on ‘Follow Manage’ and then ‘Device Manager’.

● Next, click on the option ‘Display Adapters’.

● Right-click on the graphics driver and then click on ‘Update Driver Software’.

● Choose ‘Search automatically for updated driver software’. The system will detect the graphics card and will find the latest driver. Restart the PC and the system.

3. Run a Troubleshooter

You can also try running a troubleshooter in the system to fix your green screen issue in YouTube videos.

Check out what you have to do.

● Open the computer ‘Settings’ app.

● Click on the ‘Update & Security’ section.

● Choose ‘Troubleshoot’ and then ‘Hardware and Devices’.

● As soon as the progress is complete, just restart the PC.

Now, you will have to view the videos once more to check if the problem has been resolved.

4. Adjust YouTube Settings

If you are persistently having this problem with YouTube videos, you can try to change the video quality to make it supported by the device. You need to do this in the following steps.

● Open the browser and play the YouTube video you prefer.

● Click on the ‘Gear’ icon and from the menu opt for ‘Quality’.

● Now, you can choose from different video quality options.

Conclusion

You might have seen how easy it is to solve the YouTube green screen issues while running YouTube videos on Mac. So, when you are encountering one, there is no reason to worry. Moreover, following the few hacks given above, you can easily resolve the YouTube green screen issue.

In case you are troubleshooting the issue, make sure that you begin with hardware acceleration and then move on to the other methods. If you want to create a video for YouTube using green screen, you can usevideo editor for Mac from Filmora. It offers various features that you can use to create a unique video.

Learn More: How do Beginners Make a Cool Video for YouTube on Mac>>>

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

When you are watching YouTube, you might notice that the video is green while the sound keeps playing. This can be quite frustrating when you are watching something interesting and the YouTube green screen comes up.

There are various reasons as to why you have a green screen while watching videos on YouTube such as some problem with the GPU of Mac. No matter what the instance is, it can be quite overwhelming.

In case the YouTube green screen video issue while watching videos is bothering you and you are looking for a permanent fix to solve it, keep reading. In this guide, you can learn about the various issues that lead to the green screen problem on YouTube and how you can fix it.

But first, let’s take a look at the various issues that are causing the YouTube videos to turn green.

● Outdated Graphic Card Drivers: The issues associated with the graphics card can be a serious factor responsible for the green screen you are seeing while playing YouTube videos on your Mac device. This happens when the graphic drivers are outdated and can no longer support efficacious processing and playing of videos on the device. Graphics Card Drivers rendering is just the use of graphics cards for all rendering of functions such as videos. In case the drivers are outdated as the operating system, you will see a green screen error.

● Unreliable Third-Party Software: Any software from another source when used on Mac can lead to system errors. This will lead to green screen videos. It is more so when malware finds its way into the system when you are downloading the third-party software. This can even be a virus that comes with the software.

● Other Factors: Other factors might be responsible for the green screen videos such as a corrupt operating system.

How to Prevent Green Screen on YouTube on Mac?

In order to solve the YouTube video playing issue prior to moving on to the tricky troubleshooting methods, try out the simple hacks given below to prevent the problem altogether. These temporary hacks are usually quite helpful when you are in a hurry to watch a video.

● Play the YouTube video in some other browser. Often, a certain browser has a history of displaying a green screen on it when you play the videos on YouTube.

● Delete temporary files and cookies on Mac. This frees up space for the system.

● Close the other tabs and interfaces in the browser when you are watching the video online. This way the activities on the open window are not going to lead to an error while playing the video.

● Clear the cache data. By doing this, you can make sure that your system has enough space.

● Update the browser you are using to view videos on the latest browser.

● Reboot the Mac device if you are using it for a while. At times, rebooting the computer is all that you have to do to get the video working properly yet again after an error occurs.

How to Fix YouTube Green Screen?

As the video playing problem is primarily related to graphic drivers and hardware in the computer, further troubleshooting methods are for available for fixing these problems.

Hence, when the hacks fail to work and you keep seeing YouTube green screen, try out the following methods to fix this issue.

1. Disable Hardware Acceleration

The computer uses GPU rather than CPU for loading graphic intensive programs during hardware acceleration.

Nevertheless, some problems might occur when rendering the web pages from the Central Processing Unit to the Graphic Processing Unit. This causes performance problems. You might notice a green or blank screen while you are watching high-quality videos on YouTube.

In such a case, you need to disable hardware acceleration for resolving video playing problems.

● Right-click on the video which is displaying the green screen.

● Choose ‘Setting’ from the menu.

● Now, click to uncheck the option ‘Enable hardware acceleration’.

● Next, close the window to reload the page.

● To watch the video, reopen the website.

If you don’t find the ‘Settings’ option on the right-clicking the green video screen, disable the option of Hardware Acceleration on the web browser.

2. Update the Graphics Card Drivers

In case after establishing the hardware acceleration green screen in the YouTube videos to occur, update the graphics card driver. The video playing issue might have been caused due to the old AMD or NVIDIA graphics card.

Here are the steps to update the Graphics Card Drivers:

● Right-click on ‘My Computer’.

● Now, click on ‘Follow Manage’ and then ‘Device Manager’.

● Next, click on the option ‘Display Adapters’.

● Right-click on the graphics driver and then click on ‘Update Driver Software’.

● Choose ‘Search automatically for updated driver software’. The system will detect the graphics card and will find the latest driver. Restart the PC and the system.

3. Run a Troubleshooter

You can also try running a troubleshooter in the system to fix your green screen issue in YouTube videos.

Check out what you have to do.

● Open the computer ‘Settings’ app.

● Click on the ‘Update & Security’ section.

● Choose ‘Troubleshoot’ and then ‘Hardware and Devices’.

● As soon as the progress is complete, just restart the PC.

Now, you will have to view the videos once more to check if the problem has been resolved.

4. Adjust YouTube Settings

If you are persistently having this problem with YouTube videos, you can try to change the video quality to make it supported by the device. You need to do this in the following steps.

● Open the browser and play the YouTube video you prefer.

● Click on the ‘Gear’ icon and from the menu opt for ‘Quality’.

● Now, you can choose from different video quality options.

Conclusion

You might have seen how easy it is to solve the YouTube green screen issues while running YouTube videos on Mac. So, when you are encountering one, there is no reason to worry. Moreover, following the few hacks given above, you can easily resolve the YouTube green screen issue.

In case you are troubleshooting the issue, make sure that you begin with hardware acceleration and then move on to the other methods. If you want to create a video for YouTube using green screen, you can usevideo editor for Mac from Filmora. It offers various features that you can use to create a unique video.

Learn More: How do Beginners Make a Cool Video for YouTube on Mac>>>

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

When you are watching YouTube, you might notice that the video is green while the sound keeps playing. This can be quite frustrating when you are watching something interesting and the YouTube green screen comes up.

There are various reasons as to why you have a green screen while watching videos on YouTube such as some problem with the GPU of Mac. No matter what the instance is, it can be quite overwhelming.

In case the YouTube green screen video issue while watching videos is bothering you and you are looking for a permanent fix to solve it, keep reading. In this guide, you can learn about the various issues that lead to the green screen problem on YouTube and how you can fix it.

But first, let’s take a look at the various issues that are causing the YouTube videos to turn green.

● Outdated Graphic Card Drivers: The issues associated with the graphics card can be a serious factor responsible for the green screen you are seeing while playing YouTube videos on your Mac device. This happens when the graphic drivers are outdated and can no longer support efficacious processing and playing of videos on the device. Graphics Card Drivers rendering is just the use of graphics cards for all rendering of functions such as videos. In case the drivers are outdated as the operating system, you will see a green screen error.

● Unreliable Third-Party Software: Any software from another source when used on Mac can lead to system errors. This will lead to green screen videos. It is more so when malware finds its way into the system when you are downloading the third-party software. This can even be a virus that comes with the software.

● Other Factors: Other factors might be responsible for the green screen videos such as a corrupt operating system.

How to Prevent Green Screen on YouTube on Mac?

In order to solve the YouTube video playing issue prior to moving on to the tricky troubleshooting methods, try out the simple hacks given below to prevent the problem altogether. These temporary hacks are usually quite helpful when you are in a hurry to watch a video.

● Play the YouTube video in some other browser. Often, a certain browser has a history of displaying a green screen on it when you play the videos on YouTube.

● Delete temporary files and cookies on Mac. This frees up space for the system.

● Close the other tabs and interfaces in the browser when you are watching the video online. This way the activities on the open window are not going to lead to an error while playing the video.

● Clear the cache data. By doing this, you can make sure that your system has enough space.

● Update the browser you are using to view videos on the latest browser.

● Reboot the Mac device if you are using it for a while. At times, rebooting the computer is all that you have to do to get the video working properly yet again after an error occurs.

How to Fix YouTube Green Screen?

As the video playing problem is primarily related to graphic drivers and hardware in the computer, further troubleshooting methods are for available for fixing these problems.

Hence, when the hacks fail to work and you keep seeing YouTube green screen, try out the following methods to fix this issue.

1. Disable Hardware Acceleration

The computer uses GPU rather than CPU for loading graphic intensive programs during hardware acceleration.

Nevertheless, some problems might occur when rendering the web pages from the Central Processing Unit to the Graphic Processing Unit. This causes performance problems. You might notice a green or blank screen while you are watching high-quality videos on YouTube.

In such a case, you need to disable hardware acceleration for resolving video playing problems.

● Right-click on the video which is displaying the green screen.

● Choose ‘Setting’ from the menu.

● Now, click to uncheck the option ‘Enable hardware acceleration’.

● Next, close the window to reload the page.

● To watch the video, reopen the website.

If you don’t find the ‘Settings’ option on the right-clicking the green video screen, disable the option of Hardware Acceleration on the web browser.

2. Update the Graphics Card Drivers

In case after establishing the hardware acceleration green screen in the YouTube videos to occur, update the graphics card driver. The video playing issue might have been caused due to the old AMD or NVIDIA graphics card.

Here are the steps to update the Graphics Card Drivers:

● Right-click on ‘My Computer’.

● Now, click on ‘Follow Manage’ and then ‘Device Manager’.

● Next, click on the option ‘Display Adapters’.

● Right-click on the graphics driver and then click on ‘Update Driver Software’.

● Choose ‘Search automatically for updated driver software’. The system will detect the graphics card and will find the latest driver. Restart the PC and the system.

3. Run a Troubleshooter

You can also try running a troubleshooter in the system to fix your green screen issue in YouTube videos.

Check out what you have to do.

● Open the computer ‘Settings’ app.

● Click on the ‘Update & Security’ section.

● Choose ‘Troubleshoot’ and then ‘Hardware and Devices’.

● As soon as the progress is complete, just restart the PC.

Now, you will have to view the videos once more to check if the problem has been resolved.

4. Adjust YouTube Settings

If you are persistently having this problem with YouTube videos, you can try to change the video quality to make it supported by the device. You need to do this in the following steps.

● Open the browser and play the YouTube video you prefer.

● Click on the ‘Gear’ icon and from the menu opt for ‘Quality’.

● Now, you can choose from different video quality options.

Conclusion

You might have seen how easy it is to solve the YouTube green screen issues while running YouTube videos on Mac. So, when you are encountering one, there is no reason to worry. Moreover, following the few hacks given above, you can easily resolve the YouTube green screen issue.

In case you are troubleshooting the issue, make sure that you begin with hardware acceleration and then move on to the other methods. If you want to create a video for YouTube using green screen, you can usevideo editor for Mac from Filmora. It offers various features that you can use to create a unique video.

Learn More: How do Beginners Make a Cool Video for YouTube on Mac>>>

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

When you are watching YouTube, you might notice that the video is green while the sound keeps playing. This can be quite frustrating when you are watching something interesting and the YouTube green screen comes up.

There are various reasons as to why you have a green screen while watching videos on YouTube such as some problem with the GPU of Mac. No matter what the instance is, it can be quite overwhelming.

In case the YouTube green screen video issue while watching videos is bothering you and you are looking for a permanent fix to solve it, keep reading. In this guide, you can learn about the various issues that lead to the green screen problem on YouTube and how you can fix it.

But first, let’s take a look at the various issues that are causing the YouTube videos to turn green.

● Outdated Graphic Card Drivers: The issues associated with the graphics card can be a serious factor responsible for the green screen you are seeing while playing YouTube videos on your Mac device. This happens when the graphic drivers are outdated and can no longer support efficacious processing and playing of videos on the device. Graphics Card Drivers rendering is just the use of graphics cards for all rendering of functions such as videos. In case the drivers are outdated as the operating system, you will see a green screen error.

● Unreliable Third-Party Software: Any software from another source when used on Mac can lead to system errors. This will lead to green screen videos. It is more so when malware finds its way into the system when you are downloading the third-party software. This can even be a virus that comes with the software.

● Other Factors: Other factors might be responsible for the green screen videos such as a corrupt operating system.

How to Prevent Green Screen on YouTube on Mac?

In order to solve the YouTube video playing issue prior to moving on to the tricky troubleshooting methods, try out the simple hacks given below to prevent the problem altogether. These temporary hacks are usually quite helpful when you are in a hurry to watch a video.

● Play the YouTube video in some other browser. Often, a certain browser has a history of displaying a green screen on it when you play the videos on YouTube.

● Delete temporary files and cookies on Mac. This frees up space for the system.

● Close the other tabs and interfaces in the browser when you are watching the video online. This way the activities on the open window are not going to lead to an error while playing the video.

● Clear the cache data. By doing this, you can make sure that your system has enough space.

● Update the browser you are using to view videos on the latest browser.

● Reboot the Mac device if you are using it for a while. At times, rebooting the computer is all that you have to do to get the video working properly yet again after an error occurs.

How to Fix YouTube Green Screen?

As the video playing problem is primarily related to graphic drivers and hardware in the computer, further troubleshooting methods are for available for fixing these problems.

Hence, when the hacks fail to work and you keep seeing YouTube green screen, try out the following methods to fix this issue.

1. Disable Hardware Acceleration

The computer uses GPU rather than CPU for loading graphic intensive programs during hardware acceleration.

Nevertheless, some problems might occur when rendering the web pages from the Central Processing Unit to the Graphic Processing Unit. This causes performance problems. You might notice a green or blank screen while you are watching high-quality videos on YouTube.

In such a case, you need to disable hardware acceleration for resolving video playing problems.

● Right-click on the video which is displaying the green screen.

● Choose ‘Setting’ from the menu.

● Now, click to uncheck the option ‘Enable hardware acceleration’.

● Next, close the window to reload the page.

● To watch the video, reopen the website.

If you don’t find the ‘Settings’ option on the right-clicking the green video screen, disable the option of Hardware Acceleration on the web browser.

2. Update the Graphics Card Drivers

In case after establishing the hardware acceleration green screen in the YouTube videos to occur, update the graphics card driver. The video playing issue might have been caused due to the old AMD or NVIDIA graphics card.

Here are the steps to update the Graphics Card Drivers:

● Right-click on ‘My Computer’.

● Now, click on ‘Follow Manage’ and then ‘Device Manager’.

● Next, click on the option ‘Display Adapters’.

● Right-click on the graphics driver and then click on ‘Update Driver Software’.

● Choose ‘Search automatically for updated driver software’. The system will detect the graphics card and will find the latest driver. Restart the PC and the system.

3. Run a Troubleshooter

You can also try running a troubleshooter in the system to fix your green screen issue in YouTube videos.

Check out what you have to do.

● Open the computer ‘Settings’ app.

● Click on the ‘Update & Security’ section.

● Choose ‘Troubleshoot’ and then ‘Hardware and Devices’.

● As soon as the progress is complete, just restart the PC.

Now, you will have to view the videos once more to check if the problem has been resolved.

4. Adjust YouTube Settings

If you are persistently having this problem with YouTube videos, you can try to change the video quality to make it supported by the device. You need to do this in the following steps.

● Open the browser and play the YouTube video you prefer.

● Click on the ‘Gear’ icon and from the menu opt for ‘Quality’.

● Now, you can choose from different video quality options.

Conclusion

You might have seen how easy it is to solve the YouTube green screen issues while running YouTube videos on Mac. So, when you are encountering one, there is no reason to worry. Moreover, following the few hacks given above, you can easily resolve the YouTube green screen issue.

In case you are troubleshooting the issue, make sure that you begin with hardware acceleration and then move on to the other methods. If you want to create a video for YouTube using green screen, you can usevideo editor for Mac from Filmora. It offers various features that you can use to create a unique video.

Learn More: How do Beginners Make a Cool Video for YouTube on Mac>>>

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

YouTube’s Tagging System Unveiled

How to Use YouTube Cards and Annotations?

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

YouTube Annotations and Cards are both tools for linking viewers to your other videos or to off-YouTube webpages. Two of the major differences between them are:

Annotations are not clickable on mobile devices.

You cannot choose the size or positioning of Cards.

This article will teach you about both Cards and Annotations and discuss the best uses for each of them.

Part 1: Annotations

Annotations are messages that float overtop of your videos in the YouTube player. Usually, annotations are clickable and take users to other content created by you.

Section 1: Types of Annotations

There are five types of YouTube annotations:

Notes are colored boxes placed over the top of your videos.

Speech Bubbles look like dialogue boxes in a comic strip. They have tails that you can adjust so it looks like one of the people in your video is saying what is written in the annotation.

Spotlights have a subtle border and are completely clear inside. Your text only appears when a viewer’s cursor hovers over top of these annotations.

Labels are like spotlights except that viewers do not have to hover over them for your text to be visible.

Any of these annotations can be used to link viewers to other videos, or as subscribe links. You can also add a simple Title to your video through the Annotations menu.

Section 2: How to Use Annotations

*Note: the above video mentions Pause annotations, which are no longer available.

Here are two of the best uses for annotations:

Clickable End Cards / Outros

One of the best ways you can use spotlight annotations is to create clickable end cards for your videos.

When your video finishes playing the YouTube player will display a selection of suggested videos that might direct viewers away from your channel. You can keep more of these viewers watching your content by creating your own ‘suggested videos’ card and putting it at the end of your videos.

Put thumbnails of two or three of your other videos on your end card, or use ‘picture-in-picture’ to actually imbed footage from them. Then, after you upload your video, go in and place clickable spotlight annotations over top of your video thumbnails.

This is one use for annotations that cannot be duplicated with cards.

Promoting Your Videos

You should not wait until the end of your video to start linking viewers to other content. Many viewers will click away before they see your end card because your video is not exactly what they were looking for. By placing note or speech bubble annotations occasionally throughout your videos you can catch some of these people before they click off of your channel.

This works especially well if you link to videos on similar subjects to the one you are annotating.

Instead of just linking to another video of yours, try to link to that video on a playlist. Once a viewer is on a playlist your videos will auto-play after each other, which is good for both your view count and watch time.

You can also use the newer YouTube Cards for this, but Annotations might still be a better choice because viewers only need to click once vs. twice for Cards.

Try both and see which performs best for your channel. It might be in your best interest to keep on using both as they target different audiences – Cards are clickable on mobile devices, for example, but Annotations are not.

Part 2: YouTube Cards

YouTube Cards are newer than annotations and a lot of people believe they will one day replace Annotations. While there are benefits to Cards – like embedding images to represent your links – you cannot choose the shape, size, or placement of them. This means they have limited uses.

When viewers click on a Card they are shown additional information and a thumbnail representing the page they will be taken to if they choose to click again. This extra step could be either help viewers decide to click your links or give them a second chance to decide they would rather not.

Section 1: When to Use Cards

A linked Annotation is simply a call to action viewers can click on. A Card is a call to action as well, but instead of taking the viewer directly to where its link leads when it is clicked a Card opens up into a larger version of itself with a thumbnail image.

Crowdfunding pages (Patreon is a great choice for video creators), charity fundraising pages, and merchandise stores are all examples of links that benefit from the format of YouTube Cards.

When you link a viewer to a non-YouTube page you break up their session time, which negatively impacts your watch time and SEO ranking. You want to make sure that the viewers you are directing away from YouTube are the ones most likely to convert after they leave. By ‘convert’ we mean to contribute to your Patreon campaign, donate to the charity you are promoting, or buy some of your merchandise.

Giving viewers more information and a thumbnail through a Card can help ensure the most interested viewers are the ones clicking your links.

If you want to find a video editing solution that empowers your imagination and creativity yet takes less effort, please try this robust and user-friendly video editing software Filmora, which is equipped with its own footage stock Wondershare Filmstock and will definitely enhance your productivity and helps you to make money by making videos much easier.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

YouTube Annotations and Cards are both tools for linking viewers to your other videos or to off-YouTube webpages. Two of the major differences between them are:

Annotations are not clickable on mobile devices.

You cannot choose the size or positioning of Cards.

This article will teach you about both Cards and Annotations and discuss the best uses for each of them.

Part 1: Annotations

Annotations are messages that float overtop of your videos in the YouTube player. Usually, annotations are clickable and take users to other content created by you.

Section 1: Types of Annotations

There are five types of YouTube annotations:

Notes are colored boxes placed over the top of your videos.

Speech Bubbles look like dialogue boxes in a comic strip. They have tails that you can adjust so it looks like one of the people in your video is saying what is written in the annotation.

Spotlights have a subtle border and are completely clear inside. Your text only appears when a viewer’s cursor hovers over top of these annotations.

Labels are like spotlights except that viewers do not have to hover over them for your text to be visible.

Any of these annotations can be used to link viewers to other videos, or as subscribe links. You can also add a simple Title to your video through the Annotations menu.

Section 2: How to Use Annotations

*Note: the above video mentions Pause annotations, which are no longer available.

Here are two of the best uses for annotations:

Clickable End Cards / Outros

One of the best ways you can use spotlight annotations is to create clickable end cards for your videos.

When your video finishes playing the YouTube player will display a selection of suggested videos that might direct viewers away from your channel. You can keep more of these viewers watching your content by creating your own ‘suggested videos’ card and putting it at the end of your videos.

Put thumbnails of two or three of your other videos on your end card, or use ‘picture-in-picture’ to actually imbed footage from them. Then, after you upload your video, go in and place clickable spotlight annotations over top of your video thumbnails.

This is one use for annotations that cannot be duplicated with cards.

Promoting Your Videos

You should not wait until the end of your video to start linking viewers to other content. Many viewers will click away before they see your end card because your video is not exactly what they were looking for. By placing note or speech bubble annotations occasionally throughout your videos you can catch some of these people before they click off of your channel.

This works especially well if you link to videos on similar subjects to the one you are annotating.

Instead of just linking to another video of yours, try to link to that video on a playlist. Once a viewer is on a playlist your videos will auto-play after each other, which is good for both your view count and watch time.

You can also use the newer YouTube Cards for this, but Annotations might still be a better choice because viewers only need to click once vs. twice for Cards.

Try both and see which performs best for your channel. It might be in your best interest to keep on using both as they target different audiences – Cards are clickable on mobile devices, for example, but Annotations are not.

Part 2: YouTube Cards

YouTube Cards are newer than annotations and a lot of people believe they will one day replace Annotations. While there are benefits to Cards – like embedding images to represent your links – you cannot choose the shape, size, or placement of them. This means they have limited uses.

When viewers click on a Card they are shown additional information and a thumbnail representing the page they will be taken to if they choose to click again. This extra step could be either help viewers decide to click your links or give them a second chance to decide they would rather not.

Section 1: When to Use Cards

A linked Annotation is simply a call to action viewers can click on. A Card is a call to action as well, but instead of taking the viewer directly to where its link leads when it is clicked a Card opens up into a larger version of itself with a thumbnail image.

Crowdfunding pages (Patreon is a great choice for video creators), charity fundraising pages, and merchandise stores are all examples of links that benefit from the format of YouTube Cards.

When you link a viewer to a non-YouTube page you break up their session time, which negatively impacts your watch time and SEO ranking. You want to make sure that the viewers you are directing away from YouTube are the ones most likely to convert after they leave. By ‘convert’ we mean to contribute to your Patreon campaign, donate to the charity you are promoting, or buy some of your merchandise.

Giving viewers more information and a thumbnail through a Card can help ensure the most interested viewers are the ones clicking your links.

If you want to find a video editing solution that empowers your imagination and creativity yet takes less effort, please try this robust and user-friendly video editing software Filmora, which is equipped with its own footage stock Wondershare Filmstock and will definitely enhance your productivity and helps you to make money by making videos much easier.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

YouTube Annotations and Cards are both tools for linking viewers to your other videos or to off-YouTube webpages. Two of the major differences between them are:

Annotations are not clickable on mobile devices.

You cannot choose the size or positioning of Cards.

This article will teach you about both Cards and Annotations and discuss the best uses for each of them.

Part 1: Annotations

Annotations are messages that float overtop of your videos in the YouTube player. Usually, annotations are clickable and take users to other content created by you.

Section 1: Types of Annotations

There are five types of YouTube annotations:

Notes are colored boxes placed over the top of your videos.

Speech Bubbles look like dialogue boxes in a comic strip. They have tails that you can adjust so it looks like one of the people in your video is saying what is written in the annotation.

Spotlights have a subtle border and are completely clear inside. Your text only appears when a viewer’s cursor hovers over top of these annotations.

Labels are like spotlights except that viewers do not have to hover over them for your text to be visible.

Any of these annotations can be used to link viewers to other videos, or as subscribe links. You can also add a simple Title to your video through the Annotations menu.

Section 2: How to Use Annotations

*Note: the above video mentions Pause annotations, which are no longer available.

Here are two of the best uses for annotations:

Clickable End Cards / Outros

One of the best ways you can use spotlight annotations is to create clickable end cards for your videos.

When your video finishes playing the YouTube player will display a selection of suggested videos that might direct viewers away from your channel. You can keep more of these viewers watching your content by creating your own ‘suggested videos’ card and putting it at the end of your videos.

Put thumbnails of two or three of your other videos on your end card, or use ‘picture-in-picture’ to actually imbed footage from them. Then, after you upload your video, go in and place clickable spotlight annotations over top of your video thumbnails.

This is one use for annotations that cannot be duplicated with cards.

Promoting Your Videos

You should not wait until the end of your video to start linking viewers to other content. Many viewers will click away before they see your end card because your video is not exactly what they were looking for. By placing note or speech bubble annotations occasionally throughout your videos you can catch some of these people before they click off of your channel.

This works especially well if you link to videos on similar subjects to the one you are annotating.

Instead of just linking to another video of yours, try to link to that video on a playlist. Once a viewer is on a playlist your videos will auto-play after each other, which is good for both your view count and watch time.

You can also use the newer YouTube Cards for this, but Annotations might still be a better choice because viewers only need to click once vs. twice for Cards.

Try both and see which performs best for your channel. It might be in your best interest to keep on using both as they target different audiences – Cards are clickable on mobile devices, for example, but Annotations are not.

Part 2: YouTube Cards

YouTube Cards are newer than annotations and a lot of people believe they will one day replace Annotations. While there are benefits to Cards – like embedding images to represent your links – you cannot choose the shape, size, or placement of them. This means they have limited uses.

When viewers click on a Card they are shown additional information and a thumbnail representing the page they will be taken to if they choose to click again. This extra step could be either help viewers decide to click your links or give them a second chance to decide they would rather not.

Section 1: When to Use Cards

A linked Annotation is simply a call to action viewers can click on. A Card is a call to action as well, but instead of taking the viewer directly to where its link leads when it is clicked a Card opens up into a larger version of itself with a thumbnail image.

Crowdfunding pages (Patreon is a great choice for video creators), charity fundraising pages, and merchandise stores are all examples of links that benefit from the format of YouTube Cards.

When you link a viewer to a non-YouTube page you break up their session time, which negatively impacts your watch time and SEO ranking. You want to make sure that the viewers you are directing away from YouTube are the ones most likely to convert after they leave. By ‘convert’ we mean to contribute to your Patreon campaign, donate to the charity you are promoting, or buy some of your merchandise.

Giving viewers more information and a thumbnail through a Card can help ensure the most interested viewers are the ones clicking your links.

If you want to find a video editing solution that empowers your imagination and creativity yet takes less effort, please try this robust and user-friendly video editing software Filmora, which is equipped with its own footage stock Wondershare Filmstock and will definitely enhance your productivity and helps you to make money by making videos much easier.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

YouTube Annotations and Cards are both tools for linking viewers to your other videos or to off-YouTube webpages. Two of the major differences between them are:

Annotations are not clickable on mobile devices.

You cannot choose the size or positioning of Cards.

This article will teach you about both Cards and Annotations and discuss the best uses for each of them.

Part 1: Annotations

Annotations are messages that float overtop of your videos in the YouTube player. Usually, annotations are clickable and take users to other content created by you.

Section 1: Types of Annotations

There are five types of YouTube annotations:

Notes are colored boxes placed over the top of your videos.

Speech Bubbles look like dialogue boxes in a comic strip. They have tails that you can adjust so it looks like one of the people in your video is saying what is written in the annotation.

Spotlights have a subtle border and are completely clear inside. Your text only appears when a viewer’s cursor hovers over top of these annotations.

Labels are like spotlights except that viewers do not have to hover over them for your text to be visible.

Any of these annotations can be used to link viewers to other videos, or as subscribe links. You can also add a simple Title to your video through the Annotations menu.

Section 2: How to Use Annotations

*Note: the above video mentions Pause annotations, which are no longer available.

Here are two of the best uses for annotations:

Clickable End Cards / Outros

One of the best ways you can use spotlight annotations is to create clickable end cards for your videos.

When your video finishes playing the YouTube player will display a selection of suggested videos that might direct viewers away from your channel. You can keep more of these viewers watching your content by creating your own ‘suggested videos’ card and putting it at the end of your videos.

Put thumbnails of two or three of your other videos on your end card, or use ‘picture-in-picture’ to actually imbed footage from them. Then, after you upload your video, go in and place clickable spotlight annotations over top of your video thumbnails.

This is one use for annotations that cannot be duplicated with cards.

Promoting Your Videos

You should not wait until the end of your video to start linking viewers to other content. Many viewers will click away before they see your end card because your video is not exactly what they were looking for. By placing note or speech bubble annotations occasionally throughout your videos you can catch some of these people before they click off of your channel.

This works especially well if you link to videos on similar subjects to the one you are annotating.

Instead of just linking to another video of yours, try to link to that video on a playlist. Once a viewer is on a playlist your videos will auto-play after each other, which is good for both your view count and watch time.

You can also use the newer YouTube Cards for this, but Annotations might still be a better choice because viewers only need to click once vs. twice for Cards.

Try both and see which performs best for your channel. It might be in your best interest to keep on using both as they target different audiences – Cards are clickable on mobile devices, for example, but Annotations are not.

Part 2: YouTube Cards

YouTube Cards are newer than annotations and a lot of people believe they will one day replace Annotations. While there are benefits to Cards – like embedding images to represent your links – you cannot choose the shape, size, or placement of them. This means they have limited uses.

When viewers click on a Card they are shown additional information and a thumbnail representing the page they will be taken to if they choose to click again. This extra step could be either help viewers decide to click your links or give them a second chance to decide they would rather not.

Section 1: When to Use Cards

A linked Annotation is simply a call to action viewers can click on. A Card is a call to action as well, but instead of taking the viewer directly to where its link leads when it is clicked a Card opens up into a larger version of itself with a thumbnail image.

Crowdfunding pages (Patreon is a great choice for video creators), charity fundraising pages, and merchandise stores are all examples of links that benefit from the format of YouTube Cards.

When you link a viewer to a non-YouTube page you break up their session time, which negatively impacts your watch time and SEO ranking. You want to make sure that the viewers you are directing away from YouTube are the ones most likely to convert after they leave. By ‘convert’ we mean to contribute to your Patreon campaign, donate to the charity you are promoting, or buy some of your merchandise.

Giving viewers more information and a thumbnail through a Card can help ensure the most interested viewers are the ones clicking your links.

If you want to find a video editing solution that empowers your imagination and creativity yet takes less effort, please try this robust and user-friendly video editing software Filmora, which is equipped with its own footage stock Wondershare Filmstock and will definitely enhance your productivity and helps you to make money by making videos much easier.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

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