Concerts, sports games, and even podcasts could get more dynamic on YouTube thanks to a new feature the company is testing out. YouTube today began experimenting with a way to let viewers change cameras during a video, something that requires additional production from videomakers. So far there's only one video you can try it out on, a live performance of artist Madilyn Bailey, though YouTube is taking requests from others that want to help test the feature.
The multiple views show up as thumbnails alongside the main video and disappear once it gets started. Users can hop between the cameras by clicking on the different cameras, or by using keyboard shortcuts. In practice, this causes small jitters in the playback, which can be mitigated by holding down a key for a second or so, something YouTube is encouraging people to try out.
As TechCrunch notes, YouTube is not the first to try out this feature. There's Streamweaver, as well as the now-defunct Switchcam. Additionally, YouTube has been testing support for up to six cameras for users of its live event broadcasting, though users couldn't hop between them after the fact. Last month, YouTube also said it plans to support 360-degree video as well, something that might make all this seem a little pedestrian.