YouTube test option to create animated gifs from videos

YouTube is experimenting with the ability to create and share GIFs directly from the video streaming site. Viewers can indicate how long the gif should be and which text should appear at the bottom and top of the screen.

The functionality can already be used on two channels: Idea Channel, of the American public broadcaster PBS, and the channel Good Mythical Morning. As far as we know, the GIF function is not yet available on other channels. The functionality became discovers by blogger Andy Baio.

Users can specify exactly how long the gif should be, and can also place their own text at the bottom and top of the screen. Then the user is given a link that can be used to insert the image on other sites. An embed snippet with an iframe can also be used. In addition, a user is redirected to the full video when he clicks on the image.

It is not yet known whether the GIF function will be rolled out to all YouTube channels. Channel administrators may be able to decide whether to enable or disable the functionality. Incidentally, other websites already offered the possibility to make gifs from YouTube videos.