cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/40372957
fyi:
- https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp lets you download videos (from youtube and also hundreds of other sites)
- for desktop, https://mpv.io/ is free and lets you watch youtube (or any other video) at even more and faster speeds than youtube premium does, among many other features
- for android, https://newpipe.net/ lets you play youtube in the background (and download videos, and block ads, …)
- https://ublockorigin.com/ blocks ads everywhere (and yes it does still work on youtube, at least in firefox anyway)


I know right. I always alter the speed. I watch nearly everything at 1.25 speed because it shortens my viewing time without missing any content and I almost never even notice the difference. With really slow talkers I can get to to 1.75 speed. I almost never go to 2x. I can’t imagine 4x. There is one guy I have to actually show down to 0.75 speed to digest.
You have to work up to higher speeds and use headphones. Start at 1.5x and increase by .25 until you get to 3x, thats usually my max but if the video doesn’t have sound then 4x seems reasonable like for Odd Tinkering and Primitive Technology