In an attempt to relax their viewers, and relieve them of the strain of having to use a mouse or keyboard to find the next video, YouTube have devised a way to prevent the viewer working for their streams with new feature called Leanback (maybe it should be called Layback!), using the system to automatically show content the viewer may like, meaning that in the process, the web’s leading video site hopes to learn enough about its viewers to try and help the internet replace the TV remote control.

Leanback is deigned to pick out high-definition clips most likely to command a person’s attention and then automatically serves up one video after another. The idea is that viewers will feel like they’re watching television if they don’t have to search the website for another clip after the previous one. It appears that YouTube envisions a day when couch potatoes eventually won’t need their remote controls because Leanback will do all the work for them.

Kuan Yong, Leanback’s product manager, said ”We want to remove the ‘What next?’ question for viewers”.

YouTube previewed Leanback in late May when its owner, Google Inc., announced its plans for an Internet-focused TV. Wednesday marked the first time users were able to experiment with the concept. The feature will be among the options available on Google’s Internet TVs when the Sony-made sets go on sale in the US this fall, but because Leanback still requires a Web browser to watch the HD videos, YouTube expects most people will initially watch the format on their computers.

But YouTube is exploring ways to make it easier to bring Leanback to television screens such as via web-connected devices such as video-game consoles, Blu-ray players and specialty gadgets such as the Roku player, that can be easily plugged into TVs. YouTube executives said they were talking to producers of Web-connected devices, but have not yet offered any details of discussions.

Leanback is part of YouTube’s effort to evolve from a mere website into a “video operating system” that’s as simple to use as a TV. That objective also inspired an upgrade of YouTube’s mobile website that’s intended to make watching video ‘on the go’ an even more appealing prospect. Although YouTube serves up more than 2 billion videos worldwide, most people spend relatively little time on the site. By YouTube’s calculations, it occupies about 15 minutes of the average consumer’s daily viewing time, compared with 5 hours of TV, and getting people to stick around longer would obviously give them more opportunities to sell more advertising and increase its revenue.

Besides making content easier to watch, YouTube has tried to line up more compelling content from movie and TV studios (this year in the UK, YouTube have already been showing content fron Channel Four and FIVE, along with live worldwide coverage of IPL cricket) to compliment the huge range of user submitted video.

Latest TV searches:

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