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Last week we ran a poll on which YouTube apps were best on Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone. The results are in and the people have spoken. Here are the winners and a couple of honorary mentions along with what sets them apart from the crowd.
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Windows 8.1 Winner: Tubecast/ Tubecast Pro
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Tubecast Pro took 70% of the vote, not surprising with its smooth interface and list of features. Tubecast Pro has one of the easiest YouTube app layouts around. It’s touch friendly, mouse friendly and easy to navigate after a short period of learning the interface. Channels are easy to find and the large tile layout makes browsing through videos smooth and simple.
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You also have access to a wide range of YouTube features such as commenting, liking and subscribing. Those may seem like little things but there are apps that struggle to have comments upload correctly. You can also view comments and add your own while having the video only cover part of the screen. Even things like easily sorting videos that you’ve liked and seeing the about section of channels are available. You can also pin specific channels to your start screen.
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In addition to all of those features, Tubecast Pro, as the name suggests, allows you to cast YouTube onto a wide range of devices including Smart TVs, Chromecast, AirPlay, Google TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, DLNA, Internet box, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Playstation 4, and Playstation 3. Tubecast Pro would arguably still be the best Windows 8.1 YouTube app without casting abilities but this puts it head and shoulders above the rest.
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Depending on if you use casting, you may or may not find the pro version worth the extra cost.
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Windows 8.1 Honorable mention: Using YouTube on a web browser
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This may be cheating a little since it’s not an app but as good as apps can be, there browser version of YouTube provides easy access to all of YouTube’s features and lets you easily view, comment, like, and subscribe to all of your favorite videos. YouTube on a web browser is especially handy when trying to comment and take part in live streams.
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This is also how any users on Windows 7 or an older version of Windows view YouTube and to its credit, it works extremely well.
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Windows Phone Winner: myTube!
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This was a much closer race. With only 36% of the overall vote, myTube! wins by being the plurality, not the overall majority. That being said, myTube! is a smooth YouTube app on Windows Phone that allows you to easily view comments while the video fades into the background. Its theme customization and layout make it easy on the eyes and it’s easy to use.
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Being on phones rather than tablets, laptops, and desktops limits how much screen space an app has to work with and myTube! uses it very well. You get a lot of YouTube features in a small space. You can also easily have the audio play in the background as you switch away from the app which is a popular feature.
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The app also has a very attractive Live Tile and you can also pin specific channels to your Start Screen.
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It also has a great feature that is much more phone-centric. You can save videos to view them when you don’t have a great internet connection. This is a great addition to an app that will run on a device that will be in and out of the range of internet connectivity.
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Windows Phone honorable mention: Tubecast/Tubecast Pro
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This app almost won the poll as a write in candidate. With features very similar to it’s Windows 8.1 counterpart, this app runs and looks smooth. The casting features are also available. Using Tubecast on your phone and other devices also gives you the benefit of familiarity.
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Again, depending on if you use casting, you may or may not find the pro version worth the extra cost.
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Overall there are some strong YouTube apps on the various Windows platforms even if there isn’t an official YouTube app. The features and layouts of these apps definitely feel like Windows apps and that’s a positive since it makes them fit nicely with the rest of the ecosystem.
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Thanks to the over 250 voters who took the poll. Do you agree with their selections?
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\n\nFurther reading: Third Party Apps, Windows, Windows Phone, YouTube