The Best Free Ways To Summarize YouTube Videos

Summary

The speaker discusses various tools for summarizing YouTube videos, highlighting both free options and the potential value of paid services. They introduce the 8fi app/Chrome extension for quick video summaries and timestamp navigation, and summarize.tech for one-off summaries without installation. The speaker also mentions the importance of considering use case and frequency of use when deciding between free and paid tools. They briefly introduce their own app, sly.app, designed to help stay updated with subscribed YouTube channels by providing email digests and quick summaries, noting that while it offers convenience, it comes with a fee due to server and API costs.

Takeaways

• 😀 The video discusses tools for summarizing YouTube videos, which can be useful for quickly getting the main points of a video.
• 🛠️ The 8fi app or Chrome extension is recommended as a free tool to summarize videos. It can be easily installed and used to generate summaries and timestamp summaries for YouTube videos.
• ⏱️ The time it takes to summarize a video with the 8fi tool depends on the length of the video, with a 19-minute video taking a few minutes to summarize.
• 📌 The 8fi tool also allows users to click on a specific point in the summary to jump to that timestamp in the video, which can save time.
• 🔍 For those who prefer not to install a Chrome extension, the video mentions summarize.te as an alternative tool for one-off video summarizing.
• 💡 Summarize.te uses GPT for summarizing videos and provides a quick summary as well as breaking down the video into five-minute chunks for more detailed insights.
• 🔗 The video suggests that if you frequently watch many videos and articles, using a tool like Readwise can help automatically highlight and summarize content into your note system.
• 📚 The speaker also introduces their own app, sly.app, which provides email digests or web app summaries of new videos from subscribed YouTube channels.
• 💰 While many tools are free, the video acknowledges that there may be costs associated with using them, especially if they rely on server support or APIs like chat GPT.
• 🔑 The value of these summarizing tools is in the time savings and efficiency they provide, especially for those who watch or create a lot of videos professionally.
• ❓ The video encourages viewers to consider their use case and the value they get from summarizing videos before deciding on a tool or service.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the video?

The main topic of the video is about summarizing YouTube videos using various tools and apps.

What type of tools does the speaker recommend for summarizing YouTube videos?

The speaker recommends both Chrome extensions and online tools for summarizing YouTube videos.

What is an example of a Chrome extension mentioned in the video?

An example of a Chrome extension mentioned is the 8fi app or Chrome extension.

How does the 8fi Chrome extension work?

The 8fi Chrome extension works by allowing users to click a button on a YouTube video page to generate a summary of the video's content.

What are some features of the 8fi Chrome extension?

The 8fi Chrome extension provides timestamp summaries and key insights, and allows users to jump directly to specific parts of the video.

Is the 8fi Chrome extension free to use?

Yes, the 8fi Chrome extension is free to use.

What is another tool mentioned for summarizing YouTube videos?

Another tool mentioned is summarize.te, which is an online tool for doing one-off video summaries.

How does the summarize.te tool differ from the 8fi Chrome extension?

The summarize.te tool operates as an online service where users paste the video URL to get a summary, rather than a browser extension that is always available.

What are some downsides to using the summarize.te tool?

Some downsides include the need to manually copy and paste the summary into other tools and the lack of integration with note-taking systems.

What is the speaker's own tool for summarizing YouTube videos?

The speaker's own tool is called sarily.app, which is a web app that provides email digests or web summaries of new videos from subscribed channels.

How can users stay updated with sarily.app?

Users can sign up for Early Access notifications on the sarily.app website to stay updated on its development and availability.

What is the speaker's advice on choosing a summarizing tool?

The speaker advises considering one's use case, frequency of use, and the value gained from staying updated with videos, especially in a professional setting.

Why might someone prefer a paid summarizing tool over a free one?

A paid tool might be preferred for its automatic integration with note-taking systems, saving time and effort, especially for those who need to summarize videos frequently.

What is the importance of summarizing YouTube videos according to the speaker?

According to the speaker, summarizing YouTube videos is important for staying up-to-date with valuable content and saving time by quickly accessing key information.

How does the speaker suggest supporting the developers of these free summarizing tools?

The speaker suggests that if there is a way to donate or help the developers, users should consider doing so to support the ongoing costs associated with providing the service.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Introducing YouTube Video Summarization Tools

The speaker introduces the topic of summarizing YouTube videos and presents a range of tools that can be used for this purpose. They mention the 8fi app or Chrome extension as a free option that simplifies the process by adding a button to the YouTube page, allowing users to quickly generate summaries and timestamped sections. The tool is praised for its efficiency in retaining important points and providing a quick way to navigate to specific parts of the video. The speaker also suggests looking up 'YouTube summarizer' on Google to find more extensions and refers to a Medium.com article for additional tools that create chapters and summaries.

05:00

🔍 Exploring One-Off Summarization with Summarize.Tech

The speaker discusses an alternative method for summarizing videos on an ad-hoc basis using Summarize.Tech, a tool that operates without the need for a Chrome extension. They demonstrate how to use the tool by entering a video URL and receiving a summary broken down into five-minute chunks. This method is highlighted as being effective for those who only occasionally need to summarize videos, but it requires manual copying and pasting of the summary into other tools for further use. The speaker also touches on the potential costs associated with using such tools and the importance of supporting developers when possible.

🛠️ Discussing the Utility of Sly. App for Regular Summarization

The speaker introduces Sly.App, an app they developed for personal use to manage and summarize YouTube videos from subscribed channels. They explain that the app provides an email digest or a web app interface to stay updated with new videos and their summaries, which can be particularly valuable for professional use and time management. While acknowledging that there will be a fee for using Sly.App due to the costs of server maintenance and API usage, the speaker suggests that the app could be a worthwhile investment for those who frequently consume YouTube content and need an efficient way to stay informed.

Keywords

💡Summarizing

Summarizing refers to the process of condensing a larger piece of content into a shorter, more manageable form while retaining the essential points. In the context of the video, summarizing is the main theme as the speaker discusses tools and methods for summarizing YouTube videos. For instance, the speaker mentions using an app or Chrome extension to summarize videos, which is a direct application of the summarizing concept.

💡YouTube videos

YouTube videos are the content form that the video script focuses on. They are a popular medium for sharing information, tutorials, entertainment, and more. The script discusses the challenge of managing and extracting key information from the vast amount of content available on YouTube, and it suggests tools to help with summarizing these videos for efficient consumption.

💡8fi app/Chrome extension

The 8fi app or Chrome extension is one of the tools mentioned in the script for summarizing YouTube videos. It's a free tool that can be installed on a browser to facilitate the summarization process. The speaker demonstrates how to use this tool to quickly generate summaries and timestamp summaries of YouTube videos, highlighting its ease of use and convenience.

💡Timestamp summaries

Timestamp summaries are a feature that allows users to get a summary of specific parts of a video, indicated by timestamps. In the script, the speaker shows how the 8fi tool can provide timestamp summaries, enabling viewers to jump directly to the parts of the video that interest them most. This feature is particularly useful for navigating longer videos and finding the most relevant content quickly.

💡Key insights

Key insights refer to the critical points or takeaways from a video or piece of content. The speaker mentions that the 8fi tool does a good job of summarizing and retaining the important points of a video. This is significant as it underscores the tool's effectiveness in providing value to users who are looking to extract meaningful information from videos.

💡One-off summarizing

One-off summarizing refers to the process of summarizing a video on an individual basis, as needed, rather than through a continuous or automated service. The script mentions using summarize.te as a tool for one-off summarizing, which is useful for users who do not need a persistent summarization tool and prefer a more ad-hoc approach.

💡Readwise

Readwise is mentioned in the script as a tool for highlighting and saving important information from articles and videos. It is suggested as a method for integrating highlights from summarized videos into a personal note system. The speaker implies that Readwise can be particularly useful for those who consume a lot of content and need an organized way to revisit key points.

💡Sarily

Sarily is an app developed by the speaker for personal use and is mentioned as a tool for managing YouTube subscriptions and summarizing videos. It allows users to receive email digests or use a web app to stay updated with new videos from subscribed channels. The app is designed to provide summaries and timestamp summaries, helping users to efficiently stay informed about new content.

💡Productivity

Productivity is a concept that is indirectly related to the video's theme of summarizing YouTube videos. The script mentions a video about a productivity workflow, suggesting that summarizing tools can be particularly beneficial for productivity-related content. This implies that the tools discussed can help viewers save time and enhance their productivity by quickly accessing the most valuable information from videos.

💡Free tools

Free tools are a category of software or services that are available at no cost. The script discusses several free options for summarizing YouTube videos, such as the 8fi Chrome extension and the one-off summarizing tool summarize.te. These tools offer a cost-effective way for users to manage and extract information from videos without incurring expenses.

Highlights

Introduction to summarizing YouTube videos using free tools and discussing the benefits and potential use cases.

Recommendation of the 8fi app or Chrome extension for summarizing YouTube videos with a quick demonstration.

Explanation of how the 8fi extension works, including the ability to summarize videos and provide timestamp summaries.

Mention of the time it takes for the 8fi extension to summarize a video, which depends on the video length.

Demonstration of the 8fi extension's feature to jump to specific points in a video using the timestamp summaries.

Suggestion to Google 'YouTube summarizer YouTube extension' for finding various tools and trying them out.

Reference to a medium.com article on geek culture that lists several tools for creating chapters and summarizing videos.

Introduction of summarize.te as a one-off tool for summarizing videos without needing to install a Chrome extension.

Discussion on the potential costs associated with using free summarizing tools and the importance of supporting developers.

Explanation of how summarize.te works by pasting a video URL and receiving a summary in chunks.

Advantages of using one-off tools like summarize.te for quick summaries without the need for installation.

Considerations for using paid tools like Readwise for automatic summarization and integration with note systems.

Introduction of the app 'sarily' developed by the speaker for personal use, aimed at summarizing subscribed YouTube channels.

Details about sarily's functionality, including email digests and web app summaries for staying updated with new videos.

The speaker's reasoning for developing sarily, to manage the overwhelming amount of content on YouTube efficiently.

The importance of considering one's use case, frequency of use, and the value gained from summarizing tools.

Invitation to check out sarily.app for early access notifications and to explore its potential benefits.

Encouragement to explore free summarizing tools and to leave comments or questions for further discussion.

Transcripts

okay let's talk about summarizing

YouTube videos that's what you're here

for so we are going to get right into it

got a couple recommendations some tools

I've used some tools I've been using um

as well as one that I think uh other

people might want but uh I haven't used

it extensively but I'm going to show you

how to use it as another option so uh

these are all free options you can use

and I'm getting in uh at the end I'll

tell you a little bit more about maybe

why you want to go this route or why you

may want to use a service um that can

summarize for you or do some other

things um on top of it but that said

let's transition and get into the tools

that you can use okay so for the first

one I want to talk about the 8fi app or

Chrome extension um I'm going to hop

over I want to show you real quick this

lovely picture in the still frame of

myself U but you can see over here we've

got now got a little extra uh little

button here on the YouTube page itself

which is kind of Handy but let's hop

over here um and check it out so this is

and I'll include the link uh Chrome

extension um so easy to install free pop

it in and you're good to go all right

you come over to the uh to the video you

want and you can click here you can

click here let's just click the button

and I had already summarized this so

it's pretty quick it does take you know

a little bit of time and obviously

that's going to depend on the length of

the video this is about a 19 minute

video um so it might take a few minutes

so I've have already gotten the

timestamp summaries um and then let's go

over here top comments uh we can skip

those sections um okay so key insights

when I went through here I was pretty

happy um I think that it does a good job

of uh summarizing and retaining the

important points and I like that it does

show up on the page again for the sake

of the video I don't want to slow things

down and sit here and you know have us

all twiddle our thumbs while I wait for

it um it's not lengthy but again

probably 10ish 15 seconds uh to

summarize and then going over to the

timestamp summary same thing doing it

again um if that's not a problem for you

it's not a big deal for me when I

occasionally want to do something like

this um something I really like with

this of course you can click on that and

you can see it's going to take you to

that point in the video um I think that

that's really useful and something

that's in the tool that I'm uh creating

or created for myself which I'll talk

about but that saves you a ton of time

because let's say you're watching this

video on my workflow and you want to

come in and talk oh I just really want

to hear about readwise I don't need to

know about insta paper RAM and how that

all comes together you can skip to 9

Minutes you've now cut out 9 minutes of

having to get to that point so super

helpful um easy to install and you can

use it for free um so if that is of

interest to you um check it out also if

you need more just Google YouTube

summarizer YouTube extension and you

will find a ton give them a shot find

out which one works best for you um

there's also some great articles on this

I CH found this one medium.com geek

culture article um that had a few of

course read wises mentioned on here that

is not free uh but there's several other

tools up here um that create chapters

things like that so that is also a good

one okay so now let's try something a

little bit different instead of

something that operates as a Chrome

extension that we have to install um

that's kind of always there maybe you

don't want that you don't need it

whatever it might be let's do a oneof um

this is definitely one of the original

tools that at least I came across um

really simple really effective great for

doing a oneoff um and it's summarize. te

um I apologize you can look it up find

out the guy uh who made it um but I

believe he um was definitely one of the

first to use GPT for summarizing videos

and at least doing it publicly um and is

a developer and has left this up which

is great because I'm sure there's some

added expenses going going on with this

and there's a lot of tools um keep in

mind that there this is you know there

is a fee it may be small especially for

short videos it may be really small but

it adds up um so if you do use these

tools and there is a way to to donate or

help people out you can by all means

means you know do that there is a cost

to doing this especially if you're using

it for free um none of these tools um

unless people are using some sort of of

locally run thing but even then they've

got to have either a server or something

like that support them if you can um and

let's take a look at how this works now

so we'll take the video URL uh same

video Let's pop it in over here click

submit and it's going to do its thing so

as usual you can see we got a little bit

of a bar we're going in the background

and this is pretty Speedy so we go okay

0 to we get an overall summary helpful

um you know here we go Adam from

productivity describes how he manages

okay we got uh the other stuff looks

like they misspelled Thiago Forte but

that's okay um let's see more okay

that's nice so breaks it down now

instead of the full video we get

basically five minute chunks um and then

talking about those sections so this is

fairly similar

to um time stamp sections over here okay

and if we click on it so let's go to the

5 minutes then we hop right to five I

will pause that so we don't have to

listen to that uh so that's really

effective if you just have some one-off

videos that you want and you could

bookmark this page um come back to that

so I think you know you can see the two

different ways of doing things here

there's a tool like a Chrome extension

something that's kind of always there um

as a free option that you can use um

some of these probably will eventually

or might already start making you use

your own chat GP T API key um which

makes sense so that they're not paying

for it um but also there's the one-offs

like this like summarize Tech where you

can go and paste it in less um handy in

the sense that you know you do need to

open it up go there um but if they're

truly free and you don't use it that

often these can be uh great tools so

from here what you would need to do

let's say you know you want this summary

piece well then you just copy and paste

that into whatever tool you're using if

you're using something like Rome

research um obsidian notion you would

would then need to take that and that

can be the downside of this if you are

doing this a lot this is where a paid

tool might come in handy um because you

can automatically get those highlights

in there and I apologize I'm being

distracted by my cat down there hello

Zoe all right now what I was saying with

this is if you want to take these

highlights and you want to be doing this

you know you're doing this multiple

times a day you're reading a lot of

Articles you're going through a lot of

videos then what you might want to do

again is use something like readwise

where you're high highlighting and then

it's going into your um you know note uh

system of choice um but again if you

either the cost or uh is prohibitive or

the time uh is not an issue then you

know you can certainly do something like

this um and copy and paste into it um

the one thing I will mention um is

sarily so this is an app I developed

basically for myself I had written a

python script uh gosh I think I started

in 2022 um you know to do YouTube

summaries because I do get a ton of

value out of YouTube I'm not only

creating the videos but I also watch a

lot of videos there's a lot of helpful

information on there but I can't you

know even come close to staying up to

date with all of the videos nobody can I

think there's something like 500 hours

of video uploaded every minute to

YouTube um so just for the channels that

you're subscribed to it's nice to stay

up todate and know what's going on um so

that's why I kind of took my python

script and went a step further so you

can go to sly. apppp that's s u m m a r

i l Y.A um find out a little bit more

and you can sign up for Early Access

notification if you want to um what I'm

doing with this to help myself again

building this kind of for myself was I

can uh add in the channels I'm

subscribed to right click a button add

them in and then I get an email digest

or you can just go back to the web app

and see oh hey since I you know the last

one there's been seven new videos okay

great here's a quick summary of that and

then here's the timestamp summaries of

that and again that's getting it to you

so you can deal with it when you want to

instead of having to go on YouTube um

find out three hours later you've been

watching too many c videos uh and then

Wonder oh crap what was I here for in

the first place so again I think this is

good but again there's a fe there will

be a fee for this this can't be free

there's server things to do there's the

chat GPT to use there's lots of things

going on but for myself this was going

to be important and so I bring this up

again for yourself to say if you need

something like this consider what is

your use case and how frequently use it

what's the value you get out of it if

you could stay up to date on you know

maybe the programming channels you're

following uh the productivity uh maybe

the business uh you know whatever it is

all these channels what's that worth to

you the time savings especially if

you're using it in a professional

setting and kind of go from there um but

again if you just need it for a few

one-offs there's some great free tools

out there and I would like to wh sarily

offer at some point some sort of a free

option but to get started it uh just

wasn't available but I can head over to

sm. apppp check it out see if that's for

you otherwise use some of these other

great tools I've gone through if you got

any comments questions uh just leave

them and I will get back to you thanks