You can easily watch YouTube videos on YouTube’s website, but why when you can use a modern app for Windows 8.1. Hyper for YouTube, as a matter of fact, touts itself as the most advanced way to watch YouTube videos on your Windows 8.1 device. We have to agree with this statement, however, you be the judge.
“Hyper is the most advanced way to view YouTube videos on your Windows 8 device. It allows watching videos in SD, 720p and Full HD 1080p, as well as the ability to download videos and MP3. You can sign in to see your latest Subscribed videos as well as comment and rate videos,” the app description reads. Here are the key features of this app:
- Save default Quality Settings – the correct quality for your connection every time!
- Create local video Playlists!
- Simply Type to Search from the Home Screen!
- Play videos in the Background!
- Control videos & playlists with media buttons!
- Toast Notifications for Completed Downloads.
- Multiple Downloads at once!
- Snapped View compatible.
- Watch your Playlists!
- Browse your uploads!
- Customize your home screen to exactly how you want.
The app is free and we encountered a few bugs here and there – for example, when downloading a YouTube video, we experienced an app crash. However, overall, the app is very simple to use. You can set the app to only view 720p or 1080p videos and searching for videos has never been so easy.
On the left side of the app home page, you can instantly search for a video, view your subscriptions, look at what you wanted to watch later, and see your favorites and downloads. The app is very responsive and worth checking out. Another neat feature of this app is the Snap support in Windows 8.1. You can snap the app and watch your favorite movie trailer as if you were on YouTube’s website, all while working on something else. This snap feature was just added to the app.
Here is a breakdown of the recent update that was made available to this app, bumping the version number to 2.1.5.8:
- Removed “reply to comment” feature due to API change
Removed Video Replies due to API change - Redesigned Player in Fullscreen
- Added Semantic Zoom to Home Screen
- Added Multi-Account Capability (Pro Feature)
- Fixed pinned Channel Live Tiles (Pro Feature)
- Fixed and added new Music information (Pro Feature)
- Added pinning Playlists to Start (Pro Feature)
- Added “Quick Links” and Last Notification when clicking Logo
- Fixed sorting of activities in channel view
- “Clear Watch History” now also clears the “Recent” list
- Redesigned settings menu
- Downloaded Videos now open faster
- Added native MP3 downloads using Website as fallback
- Added automatic ID3 Tagging to MP3 when info is available
- Fixed 1080p and added 480p streaming
- Added Thumbnails when seeking (where available)
- Added “Offline Mode” Page – shows downloaded Videos when no Internet Connection is available
- Various small bugfixes
- Various design tweaks
Hit the download link below to snag the app. Let us know if you like it!
Thanks for the tip, Steveo!
