Continuing in our series of advanced YouTube tips, today we’ll explain how to edit a YouTube URL and embed code for a Custom Start Time!
Direct URL
Let’s say you were sharing a longer video with a friend, and what you really want them to see starts at the two minute mark. You can send them a url that will begin at that exact moment:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jISbjgyrinE#t=2m12s (make sure to open in a new window/tab).
This video will begin at 2:12, rather than 0:00.
Just add a #t=2m12s at the end of the url, where the 2 means “minute 2″ and the 12s means “12 seconds.”
Embedded Video
To do the same for an embedded video, use the “start” parameter.
First, grab your embed code:
Make sure you check the “Use old embed code” box, then copy your code. It should look like this:
<object width=”480″ height=”390″><param name=”movie” value=”http://www.youtube.com/v/rNcyuH7vqig?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0″></param><param name=”allowFullScreen” value=”true”></param><param name=”allowscriptaccess” value=”always”></param><embed src=”http://www.youtube.com/v/rNcyuH7vqig?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0″ type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” allowscriptaccess=”always” allowfullscreen=”true” width=”480″ height=”390″></embed></object>
Next, you will have to add the “start” parameter to the embed code. Start takes seconds as a parameter, not minutes and seconds. In other words, to start an embedded video 2 minutes and 12 seconds into a video, 2*60+12 = 132 seconds, so you would use this code:
<object width=”480″ height=”390″><param name=”movie” value=”http://www.youtube.com/v/rNcyuH7vqig?fs=1&hl=en_US&start=132“></param><param name=”allowFullScreen” value=”true”></param><param name=”allowscriptaccess” value=”always”></param><embed src=”http://www.youtube.com/v/rNcyuH7vqig?fs=1&hl=en_US&start=132” type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” allowscriptaccess=”always” allowfullscreen=”true” width=”480″ height=”390″></embed></object>
In other words, you will add start=132 to the end of both urls in the embed code. A good rule of thumb is to look for the last “&” in the url and type the start right after. Make sure you stay within the ”>.
If you’re successful, your embedded video will look/play like this:
Neat, huh?
Pro Tip: If you’re using WordPress, make sure you paste/edit the embed code using the HTML tab – as opposed to the Visual tab.
About Steven Shattuck
