Introduction

Is it just me or do most people spend most of their time in Youtube (after Facebook, I guess) ? May be I am just a minority, but that doesn’t make playing Youtube videos with a Desktop application less interesting. There are quite some distinct benefits playing youtube videos with a dedicated application. However each tool brings their own set of features, that some like and some don’t. Previously, I introduced Minitube as such an application. Minitube is basically a TV replacement, because you can subscribe to channels without having to login to Youtube. When new vidoes are uploaded in your subscribed channels, you get notifications that lets you watch all the videos that you missed.

Another feature I want from a dedicated youtube application is the ability to create playlists. I want to add my favorite songs and play them on repeat mode in the background, while I am doing other things. QMPlay2 provides just that feature.

To install it on Ubuntu, use following commands.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:samrog131/ppa sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install qmplay2

It seems that this ppa does not work in many versions of ubuntu. This github page has installation instructions for other distros. If the ppa is not available for ubuntu, you can download the deb and resolve other dependencies.

In Arch Linux you can use “ yaourt qmplay2 ” to search the application in AUR and install it.

Features

Initially, you might feel little overwhelmed by the numbers of features in QMPlay2. However, they are not that difficult to follow and I don’t think you need to change more than 1 or 2 defaults. I suggest you drag each widget until you are satisfied with the layout. The layout I like is just like in the screenshot below.

Basically, I have the Video widget on the left taking up most of the space. On the right, I have widgets like Playlist and Youtube stacked on top of each other. You can enable or disable widgets by selecting them from Widgets menu.

Usage

Search your favorite video on Youtube tab’s search box on the top and then when you find the video you like, enqueue it to the playlist.

If the video quality does not match your preference, go to Options->Settings->Modules->Extensions. Here you can adjust the video quality by dragging the quality that you prefer to the top.

Also, play with the Player->Repeat->* settings based on your mood. You can repeat one song, playlist or a group. If you want to play just the audio (not video), you can toggle video by selecting Playback->Video enabled.

Most importantly, enjoy your songs and shows. Cheers !!

References