YouTube 无疑是世界上最受欢迎的视频流媒体平台，但如果你愿意，它肯定会成为数据流。(data hog)虽然在家中使用DSL 或光纤互联网(DSL or Fibre internet)可能会让您不太关心带宽的使用(bandwidth use)，但移动用户通常必须计算每兆字节。因此，如果您想在远离廉价固定互联网连接的情况下享受YouTube 内容(YouTube content)，您将希望在有限的数据上限下最大限度地获得视频量。
好消息是，您可以通过多种方式使用YouTube及其移动应用程序，这将减少您的数据费用，而不会对您的观看乐趣造成太大损害。如果这听起来像是您在移动生活中需要的东西，请继续阅读有关如何最大程度地减少YouTube的数据需求的实用技巧。
显而易见的一：降低视频质量
默认情况下，YouTube会尝试以您的连接可以处理的最佳质量进行流式传输。在快速的现代移动连接上，这意味着全高清视频(HD video)毫不费力。除了，高清视频(HD video)可以在极短的时间内清除您的移动数据上限。
因此，您应该注意为您正在流式传输的视频手动选择较低质量的视频，以避免浪费您可能不会在手机屏幕上欣赏的(phone screen)视频质量(video quality)数据。
您可以在应用程序中通过点击正在播放的视频(video playing)来执行此操作，以便控件显示在视频顶部。然后，点击右上角(right corner)的三个点。第一个选项是Quality。
尝试选择一种在视觉清晰度和您正在观看的内容类型之间取得良好折衷的质量。如果它是在那个小小的肖像模式窗口(portrait mode window)中播放的有声头视频，你不妨把它一直打到 144p 设置，它几乎不使用任何数据。
SD 480p设置在典型的智能手机屏幕(smartphone screen)上看起来也很棒，具体取决于显示器离您的眼睛有多近。
抢先下载您的视频
您(Did)知道YouTube应用可让您下载视频吗？好吧，这并不是普遍正确的，但在世界某些地区，YouTube的普通用户可以在使用(YouTube)WiFi时将视频下载到他们的设备
，然后在使用移动数据时观看它而无需使用任何数据。
如果您不住在YouTube愿意免费提供此功能的地区，您始终可以选择支付YouTube Premium 订阅(YouTube Premium subscription)费，这也可以进行下载。根据数据成本，这可能比在您的移动包上流式传输更便宜，并且还具有从YouTube中删除广告的额外好处，从而节省更多数据！
还有YouTube Go应用程序，在特定地区可用。该应用程序是YouTube(YouTube)的超级精简版，旨在在低端设备上运行并使用更少的数据，同时以下载为核心。您可以毫无问题地将这两个应用程序安装在同一设备上，因此，如果您确实可以在您所在地区访问它，那么值得一试。
限制移动设备上的高清流媒体
在YouTube 应用程序(YouTube app)的设置中（点击主页右上角的个人资料图标），有一个小开关可以在月底处理您的数据账单时产生重大影响。这是一个限制应用程序在您的设备未连接到WiFi 热点时以(WiFi hotspot)高清质量(HD quality)流式传输的设置。
这意味着您不必一直对管理流媒体质量保持警惕，只需观看剪辑就可以确信您不会完全破坏您的连接。
此外，最好关闭自动播放(Autoplay)下一个视频选项(video option)，以防您播放视频并且碰巧让您的手机无人看管。
使用(Use)Android 应用程序播放器(Android App Player)在PC 上下载
YouTube 视频(Download YouTube Videos)
就目前而言， PC 上的YouTube没有(YouTube)官方下载功能。(download feature)因此，如果您随身携带笔记本电脑，则无法利用该特定数据策略。也就是说，除非你有点创意。您会看到，有许多适用于Windows的 Android“应用程序播放器” 。通常(Usually)是免费的，如果你能容忍一些轻量级的广告的话。
这意味着您可以下载YouTube 应用程序(YouTube app)
并通过应用程序播放器(app player)在笔记本电脑上使用它。我们已经使用YouTube Premium 帐户(YouTube Premium account)以这种方式测试了下载功能，并且可以确认它可以正常工作。目前，对于笔记本电脑用户来说，这是一个很好的解决方法，可以在他们的工作、学校或公共热点处利用WiFi来保存视频以供日后使用。(WiFi)
你不必感到挤压
在线视频(Online video)是信息和娱乐(information and entertainment)的绝佳来源。虽然享受此内容所需的连接速度现在很普遍，但数据上限并不总是如此。通过一些准备和一些调整，您可以使有限的数据分配(allocation stretch)比以前扩展得更远。
4 Ways To Minimize Data Use in the YouTube App
YouTube is undoubtedly the world’s favorite video streaming platfоrm, but it sυre can be a data hog if you let it. While using DЅL or Fibre internet аt home might makе you care vеry little for bandwidth use, mobile uѕers often have to count every megabytе. So if you want to enjoy YouTube content while awaу frоm chеap fixed internet cоnnections, you’ll want to maximize how muсh vіdeo you’re gettіng for limited data caps.
The good news is that there are more than enough ways you can use YouTube with its mobile app that will cut down on your data bills without doing much damage to your viewing pleasure. If that sounds like the sort of thing you need in your mobile life, read on for practical tips on how to minimize YouTube’s data hunger.
The Obvious One: Lower the Video
Quality
By default, YouTube tries to stream at the
best quality your connection can handle. On a fast modern mobile connection
that means full HD video is no sweat at all. Except, HD videos can clean out
your mobile data cap in a hilariously short time.
So you should make a point of manually choosing a lower quality for the video you’re streaming to avoid wasting data on video quality you probably aren’t going to appreciate on a phone screen.
You can do this in the app by tapping on the video playing so that the controls appear on top of the video. Then, tap on the three dots at the top right corner. The first option will be Quality.
Try to pick a quality that’s a good compromise between visual crispness and the type of content you’re watching. If it’s a talking-head video played in that tiny portrait mode window, you might as well knock it down all the way to the 144p setting, which barely uses any data at all.
The SD 480p setting also looks great on the
typical smartphone screen, depending on how close the display is from your eye.
Download Your Videos Preemptively
Did you know that the YouTube app lets you
download videos? OK, this isn’t universally true, but in certain regions of the
world regular users of YouTube can download videos to their device while on
WiFi and then watch it when on mobile data without using any.
If you don’t live in a region where YouTube has deigned to provide this feature for free, you always have the option to pay the YouTube Premium subscription, which also enables downloads. Depending on data costs, this might be cheaper than streaming on your mobile package and has the added benefit of also removing adverts from YouTube, saving even more data!
There’s also the YouTube Go applications, available in selected regions. This app is a super stripped-down version of YouTube built to run on low-end devices and use less data, while being built around downloads at its core. You can have both apps installed on the same device with no issue, so if you do have access to it in your region, it’s worth a try.
Restrict HD Streaming on Mobile
Within the settings of the YouTube app (tap on your profile icon at the top right on the homepage), there’s one little toggle that can make all the difference when it comes to your data bill at the end of the month. It’s a setting that restricts the app from streaming at HD quality while your device is not connected to a WiFi hotspot.
This means you don’t have to be constantly vigilant about managing streaming quality and can just watch clips confident that you aren’t absolutely trashing your connection.
Also, it’s a good idea to turn off the Autoplay next video option in case you play a video and happen to leave your phone unattended for sometime.
Use an Android App Player to
Download YouTube Videos on PC
As it stands, there’s no official download feature for YouTube on a PC. So if you are on the go with a laptop, you can’t take advantage of that particular data strategy. That is, unless you get a little creative. You see, there are a number of Android “app players” available for Windows. Usually for free, if you can tolerate some light advertising.
That means you can download the YouTube app
and use it on a laptop by way of an app player. We’ve tested the download
feature this way using a YouTube Premium account and can confirm that it works
just fine. For now, it’s a great workaround for laptop users to take advantage
of the WiFi at their work, school or at public hotspots to save videos for
later.
You Don’t Have to Feel The
Squeeze
Online video is a wonderful source of information and entertainment. While the connection speeds needed to enjoy this content are now pretty commonplace, the data caps have not always followed suit. With a little bit of preparation and a few adjustments here and there, you can make that limited data allocation stretch much further than before.
