YouTube thumbnail, what is the latest status?

Features
1

Hi, I saw some earlier discussions about embedding YouTube in notes. In my case, even if embedding is not permitted, it will be nice to be able to have the link to the YouTube video along with a thumbnail--the YouTube titles are often not very informative and a picture tells a thousand words. This would be especially nice if you save a YouTube recipe. Is there a way to do this either through browser plugin or with Joplin plugin? Thanks.

2

I found a plugin called "Insert YouTube video" that can do this nicely. Thanks to the author!

The only issue I have is that ctrl+clicking the thumbnail doesn't work in editing mode (like with other urls) but only in rendered mode. It would be nice to make the title the hyperlink instead of the thumbnail.

There is another plugin called "Url meta" which can display the metadata of url links in a separate pane. However, I couldn't find a way to copy the info as a nice markdown link to the video.

3

Noticed that the plugin doesn’t pull up the right cover images.

One can do this manually by

(1) Insert the video title and link as markdown, either manually or by using a browser plugin such as “Copy as Markdown.”

(2) Insert the cover image like this: !(https://img.youtube.com/vi/VIDEO_ID/0.jpg)

where VIDEO_ID with the YouTube video’s ID (the bit after ?v=in the video’s address).

Hope someone with programming skills can make this into a simple plug in.

1 Like
4

The insert youtube video plugin seems to pull the correct thumbnails for me. The one that the plugin uses by default (maxresdefault.jpg) appears to be whatever the highest resolution available thumbnail is.

I tried finding specific documentation from youtube on the differences between the different youtube thumbnail files (the named files like maxresdefault.jpg vs. the numbered files like 0.jpg, 1.jpg, etc...), but wasn't able to find any clear documentation.

This is from gemini, so take it with a grain of salt :smiley:

The named files are auto-generated versions of whatever the final thumbnail is, but whether that final thumbnail was manually uploaded or chosen from an auto-generated option is up to the video uploader.

Here’s a breakdown of the process:

  1. YouTube Auto-Generates Options: When any video is uploaded, YouTube automatically creates the three small thumbnail options (1.jpg , 2.jpg , 3.jpg ) by taking snapshots from the video.
  2. The Uploader Makes a Choice:
  • Scenario A: Uploader Uploads a Custom Thumbnail. The uploader creates their own image (often in a graphic design program) and uploads it. This manually created image becomes the source for all the named files.
  • Scenario B: Uploader Chooses an Auto-Generated Thumbnail. The uploader doesn't upload their own image and instead just selects one of the three options YouTube provided (1.jpg, 2.jpg, or 3.jpg).
  1. YouTube Creates the Named Files: Based on the uploader's choice in step 2, YouTube then automatically generates all the different sizes (maxresdefault.jpg, sddefault.jpg, hqdefault.jpg, etc.).

In short:

  • If the uploader uploads a custom thumbnail: The named files (maxresdefault.jpg, hqdefault.jpg, etc.) are all auto-generated, scaled versions of that one manually created image.
  • If the uploader chooses one of the default options: The named files are higher-resolution, auto-generated versions of that one chosen auto-generated image.

So, the named files themselves are always generated by YouTube's system, but the source image they are based on can be either manually created by the uploader or one of the original auto-generated snapshots.

So I'm not sure there's any one "correct" thumbnail to pull, it seems like youtube may serve different versions of the thumbnail in different scenarios.

The plugin does already provide an option to choose between the different named file quality levels (the "Preferred Image Resolution" in the plugin's settings). You might try adjusting that and see if you get the desired result.

If 0.jpg appears to give you a different thumbnail than any of the quality levels that you can select in the plugin, it seems like it wouldn't be difficult to add an additional option to use 0.jpg, you might try submitting a feature request against the plugin

5

You are absolutely correct! What I did wrong was by using the address given by the “share” button. Instead if one uses the address in the address bar, one will get the correct thumbnail. Thanks!