CES 2013: YouTube to bring mobile/TV pairing to devices by LG, Sony

YouTube will bring its mobile/TV pairing feature to devices from Bang & Olufsen, LG, Panasonic and Sony at this year's CES. Francisco Varela, Global Director, Platform Partnerships at YouTube, stated in an official blog post that this year, users will see this feature reach out to even more devices from Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Toshiba, Vizio, Western Digital and others.

Varela wrote that these new devices will embody the latest look and feel for YouTube on TV. It will allow users to watch HD videos and channels, new videos from subscriptions, 1080p playlists, and find videos quicker. He said users can now watch YouTube on 400 million devices—from tablets to TVs, smartphones, streaming boxes, consoles and cable providers.

YouTube launched this feature in November last year. At the time, YouTube said they were allowing users to play videos from their phone or tablet on their TV, courtesy a YouTube app update for Android and Google TV that paired devices on the same Wi-Fi, automatically. 

Using this new feature, users can pause, scroll or skip to the next video using their mobile device like a remote control. "Since your devices are connected in the cloud, you can also do things like find the next video to watch from your tablet or browse around the web on your phone, all while the video plays on TV. You can even connect multiple devices to the TV to have your friends add to the playlist," YouTube stated. 

YouTube has been increasingly focusing on integrating its services with smartphones and tablets as it sees an increasing number of views coming from mobile devices. To this end, the video-hosting service last month released a new YouTube Android Player API that enables users of Android devices to embed and play YouTube videos in apps. The API, which was announced at Google I/O 2012, gives users high-quality video playback without requiring WebView. The new Android Player API offers easy integration with a user's Android applications. Users can now go in for fullscreen and orientation change support, as well as closed captions. The API is currently experimental, though. 

Some apps that currently support this feature include Flipboard, BuzzFeed, 9x9.tv, SoundTracking, and Fitness Flow by Skimble. Flipboard lets users explore news in one place and users can watch YouTube videos from wherever they are in Flipboard without leaving the application. The BuzzFeed app delivers original reporting, scoops and social content on the web. Android users can view their chosen BuzzFeed content featuring YouTube videos in the BuzzFeed app and share them. 9x9.tv allows users to discover and watch videos organised into TV-like channels. SoundTracking allows users to use their mobile phone or tablet to share their music moments and favourite jams with friends and family. Lastly, Fitness Flow by Skimble helps users get in shape with high quality exercise videos by professional trainers.