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YouTube now supports live videos, 360-degree videos in 4K resolution

 Until now, Google-owned YouTube has supported 4K resolution video playback. And now, the video sharing website has introduced 4K Ultra HD resolution support for live streaming videos as well. Not only for standard videos, but 4K resolution is now available for 360-degree videos as well.

"Supporting this new format will let creators and partners stream incredibly high-resolution video, and let viewers enjoy the clearest picture possible when watching a live stream on 4K-supported devices. The image quality is just mind-blowing on screens that support it, and in 360 degrees ... the clarity can truly transport you," said Kurt Wilms, senior product manager, YouTube on the official blog post.

The inclusion of 4K resolution support for Live Videos and 360-degree videos means users will now be delivered more crisp videos.

"And because we support 4K at up to 60 frames per second, creators can make content that looks silky smooth, and more realistic than ever before," added Wilms.

YouTube recently launched some new features for video creators. The new features are aimed at giving creators more control over comments made by users.

They let video creators promote a specific comment by pinning it on top in the comments section. In addition, whenever a creator comments on a video, his/her username will appear under the text with a different colour.

In September this year, the platform got a revamped UI design. Besides a change to the navigation bar's position, its background colour has also been changed from Red to White.

YouTube recently also launched a kid-centric version of its YouTube app. Aptly named YouTube Kids, the family-friendly app makes it easier for children to find videos on various topics.

YouTube Kids lets children search videos such as Little Krishna, ChuChu TV and others. The app's UI consists of large images and easy navigation options to help kids. It also has voice search functionality so children can find videos by spelling their names out.

INCREASE RELIANCE JIO SPEED 8 TIMES

When Reliance Jio first appeared with its Preview Offer, it promised to be the fastest among all internet providers. As it offered free internet, free voice calls, free messages, it was not surprising that customers stood in queues to get hold of one Jio SIM. Reliance Jio was the solution India was looking for, a country where 4Mbps speed is a big deal.

But that didn't last. Nowadays the speed is down. It didn't take long for Jio's fabled speed to drop from 50Mbps to a crawl of 6-10Mbps. Even at 8Mbps, the speed is not constant. Before September 5, the day when Reliance introduced Welcome Offer and the SIM was available to almost all users, would see speed as high as 30Mbps to 50Mbps. After September 5 it has only gone down. The average Jio 4G speed is now abysmal.

There can be several reasons for this. Reliance might still be testing its network before the commercial release on Jan 1, 2017 and the Welcome Offer is probably the final beta of the Jio service. Or maybe there is something wrong with the network. 

But whatever it is, a lot of Jio users are looking to again gain the kind of speed that they would see earlier. At the same time, the new ones, who have just joined the network, are looking for the speed that was promised to them. Now, when there is a demand there is also supply. So, the internet is full of tricks and tips that will help a Jio user get better speed. But does it work? We tried some with results that can be called disappointing. But before we tell you about these tricks and tips, some backgrounder on LTE bands. 

What is a 4G band?

In simple words, a band is a network frequency at which a service provider offers connection. Airtel offers 4G on Band 40 (2300MHz), Vodafone offers 4G on Band 5 (850Mhz). Reliance Jio offers 4G on Band 3, Band 5, and Band 40.

Before we move ahead, it is important to know the difference in these three bands and how they work.

It's all about numbers:

Best coverage: Band 5 > Band 3 > Band 40.

Best speed: Band 40 > Band 3 > Band 5

Theoretically, this means you will get best connection in the Band 5 but the speed will not be as good. And if you are on Band 40, you will get great speed but coverage will be poor.

A phone automatically switches between bands according to the strength of the signal at a certain location, which explains why Reliance Jio shifts from good speed at certain areas to poor at others.

So to get better Jio speed, you need to control the LTE band. Now, here is what you can do (at your own risk).

Method 1: Lock the 4G network to band 40

To get best coverage you don't need to do anything, your phone will automatically switch to the band that offers better coverage.

To increase speed follow these steps:

-- Dial *#*#4636#*#*

-- Select phone information

-- Select "Set preferred network type"

-- Select LTE Only

For Qualcomm processor

-- Install Shortcut Master (Lite) app from Play Store.

-- Menu > Search

-- Type "Service Menu" or "Engineering Mode" and search

-- Open if found and access to change LTE bands

For MediaTek processor

-- Install MTK Engineering Mode

-- Run app

-- Select 'MTK Settings'

-- Select 'BandMode'

-- Select SIM slot where you have put your Jio SIM

-- Select 'LTE mode'

-- Select band 40 for best speed or band 5 for best coverage

-- Save settings & reboot mobile to activate changes.

Note: These methods may or may not work even if you have smartphones with these processors. We suggest you to try these on your own risk.

But there is a catch and that is why you should not try locking your band.

While it is understandable to desire 4G speed as high as 50Mbps, the above methods may or may not work. The chances are it won't. More importantly, we suggest you don't attempt to lock your LTE band.

As we said earlier, every phone, smartphone or otherwise, is built with capabilities to find the right connection for you, a band so to say.

Reliance Jio is the only 4G network that supports three LTE bands for best coverage and best speed.

So if you lock the LTE network at band 40 your phone will not be able to switch to a network band with better coverage. The band 40 will probably give you better speed, but it will also be more inconsistent and your network may drop when you change location.

Similarly if you lock the network to band 3 or band 5, you may get good coverage but speed may not be that good. Even if band 40 is available in your current location your phone will stay at band 3 or band 5, as locked.

Yes, you have the option of going through the whole process again and change the band, but then if your phone is capable of doing that automatically why should you take the pain.

That said, there are some more tricks you can use. 

Method 2: Change APN settings

You can also increase speed of your Jio internet by changing the APN settings. But before changing it we suggest you to note down the current settings.

Change the APN Settings as shown below.

-- Name - RJio

-- APN - jionet

-- APN Type - Default

-- Proxy - No changes

-- Port - No changes

-- Username - No changes

-- Password - No changes

-- Server - www.google.com

-- MMSC - No changes

-- MMS proxy - No changes

-- MMS port - No changes

-- MCC - 405

-- MNC - 857 or 863 or 874

-- Authentication type - No changes

-- APN Protocol - Ipv4/Ipv6

Download Snap VPN from Play Store

After changing the APN settings, download Snap VPN app from the Google Play Store. Once you have installed the app connect to Singapore or France server. This should improve your downloading speed but not browsing speed.

Note: We suggest you to try these methods to increase your 4G speed at your own risk. technopark will not responsible if these methods cause temporary or permanent issue with your phone after the changes. Although, if there is indeed some problem with your phone after trying these methods, we recommend you factory reset the device.

Jio announces Happy New Year offer, everyone gets free data until March 31

Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani on Thursday said that Jio is launching a new offer for consumers. The offer called Happy New Year offer will give all Jio users free "unlimited" data, voice calls and messages to all Jio users until March 1. The offer will be extended to all consumers who decide to get a new Jio SIM from December 4. The Jio users who are part of the existing offer -- called Welcome Offer -- will also continue to get the free services until December 31, although the offer will end on December 3, to meet the guidelines issued by TRAI. However, after December 31, the users who are part of the Welcome Offer will be moved to the Happy New Year Offer. 

Sum of the matter is that all Jio users, whether the new ones or the existing ones, will get the Jio services free until March 31. 

Ambani also announced that Jio now has over 52 million users. His comments come two days before TRAI mandated deadline to end the Jio Welcome offer ends. Ambani also said that since the launch of public trial, competitors have tried to sabotage the Jio services with the company facing problems with interconnectivity in calls.

"Thank you for trying Jio, thank you for improving the Jio and thank you for loving Jio," said Ambani even as he highlighted the challenges Jio has faced in the last few months. 

Ambani acknowledged that users have faced problems with the Jio calls and data, although he said that the company is fixing all the issues with the service. But for now Jio is also tweaking its free offer for consumers. Unlike the Welcome Offer that allows a user to consumers 4GB data -- actually 2GB as reported by users -- the Happy New Year offer will give users 1GB data per day. This is lower than the earlier limit but Jio said that it is still 30 times more than what competitors offer. And it is free.

Ambani said that in the last few months, the company has worked to figure out the usage pattern of Jio users and that the services will be now better. "Over 92 per cent consumers get top class speed and performance," said Ambani. "But 8 per cent experience the congestion. We are now working to fix these problems. Jio will live up to the expectations of every single customer."

Ambani also highlighted that fixing the 1GB limit will improve the services. He said, "20 per cent users use disproportionate amount of data, which creates problems for all users. Fair use policy will ensure that everyone gets the fair share of the network."

Ambani mentioned the ongoing riff between Jio and its rivals in the telecom market. He said that 900 crore calls were dropped because 3 of its rivals didn't offer enough interconnect points. He also said that call block rate has gone down from 90 per cent to 20 per cent and expect it to improve more in the coming weeks. 

Talking about the problem with activating Jio SIMs, Ambani said that currently Jio has 2 lakh EKYC-enabled outlets across the country. The company plans to increase the number to 4 lakh outlets in the coming numbers.

Reliance Jio will also offer Jio SIMs through home delivery now. It will also be available through My Jio app in 100 cities by year-end. The company will also make mobile number portability for users who want to switch to Jio but also want to retain their mobile numbers.