I’m very, very proud to announce the release of version of YouTube Embed, now named Artiss YouTube Embed.

Months in the making, it’s been totally re-written with a host of new features. It’s also compatible with a wide range of existing plugins, in case you wish to migrate! Changes include…

• XHTML and HTML5 compliant – works with all the latest browsers
• Multiple embedding methods available – OBJECT, IFRAME and EmbedPlus
• Allow users to add videos to comments
• Build your own playlists and play them back however you want
• Create multiple profiles – use them for different videos to get the exact style that you want
• Google compatible metadata is added to the video output – great for SEO!
• Code is cached for maximum performance
• Using a different YouTube plugin? Documentation and tools are provided to help you migrate to Artiss YouTube Embed
• And much, much more!

For more details please visit the official page on this site OR visit the WordPress page. If you have any question, why not visit the forum?

You can also learn more about some of the features…

1. Embedding Options
2. Profiles & Lists
3. Why this plugin?

That list link is especially good, as I compare this plugin against the competition (I hope fairly) – see why you should switch!

Join the Forum discussion on this post

Over the last 2 posts I’ve mentioned some of the great new features of version 2 of YouTube Embed. And I haven’t even mentioned them all.

When updating this plugin I took the opportunity to look at the top 10 most popular rival plugins. I documented the features of each, ensuring that mine also had them (with only a few exceptions, where I felt they weren’t appropriate). I then added on the extra features that YouTube Embed has. The resulting spreadsheet is below and I believe it to be a fair representation. As I say at the beginning, if I’ve missed anything off or anything is incorrect, feel free to let me know.

So, let’s look at what this tell us.

First of all, one third of the plugins don’t work with all video IDs (I’ve, in the past, identified some YouTube IDs which WordPress has a habit of converting when used within shortcodes)

Secondly, one half of the plugins haven’t been updated this year. This may not be a problem, but the fact that most of the alternative plugins use the now defunct AS2 YouTube player would suggest that an update is due!

Lastly, YouTube Embed has over 6 times more features than the next “feature packed” YouTube embedding plugin. Yet, it remains simple to use.

Still using an alternative? It’s time to swap.

This is part 2 of a series of posts providing details of some of the new functionality being added to my WordPress plugin YouTube Embed.

During this article any reference to YE is indicating YouTube Embed (and, more specifically, the currently unreleased version 2).

Part 2 : Profiles & Lists

Profiles Options Screen

Profiles

With previous versions of YE you had a default profile that you could modify. If when embedding a video you didn’t specify any of the parameters then the default would be taken from this profile.

With the new YE you can now create multiple profiles – each having their own set of specific values. When embedding a video you can then say which profile to use.

So, you may have a standard default profile but another for widescreen videos, which is just the same but has a different size ratio.

There are a good few options available for each profile – everything from video size to whether you want (and how deep you want) a drop shadow on the video. The screenshot to the right shows some of what is available, but this is a partial list (and may change before the plugin is released).

Lists Options Screen

Lists

YE already supports YouTube generated playlists. However, you have little or no control over them (especially if they’re not your own). With the new version of YE you can now create your own lists of videos.

You simply supply a name for your list and then a list of video URLs or IDs – you can’t save this list until all the videos are checked and validated. Once done, instead of embedding using a URL or video ID you simply use the list name. By default, each video will then play in turn. However, parameters exist to allow you to play them back in a random order OR play just one video, but a random one.

A screen shot is to the list but may change as the plugin is completed.