14 DAY TRIAL // Online video is moving to the TV and it looks like this is where the war will be waged in the next years. Just last week Hulu launched a desktop app allowing users to have a more TV-like experience and now YouTube just launched YouTube XL, a version of the site optimized for viewing on the big screen.
YouTube XL is designed to be viewed on a TV hooked up to a PC or a game console like the Xbox 360 or the PlayStation 3 or even the Wii. Theoretically, anything that has a browser with the flash plugin installed and can be linked up to a TV could be used but in practice there are some limitations. For example, the PlayStation 3 doesn't support HD videos from YouTube, yet and the Wii's hardware limitations mean that videos have a lower resolution on it. There already was a version of YouTube optimized for TV in beta for the PS3 and the Wii and YouTube XL is its evolution available to any device.
The interface is simple, lacking some of the features of the normal web version but that is to be expected. When watching videos there's just a search field, the video section of course, and a panel on the right showing related clips. Because it's optimized to be viewed on a TV from a distance everything is bigger. The navigation buttons are huge and the video controls likewise. Comments and other community features are out, as are all the scroll bars.
There are some limitations, just like with Hulu Desktop, and the small library of full-length movies and premium TV shows will not be available to YouTube XL due to licensing issues. This isn't such a big problem for YouTube but without something more substantial users might get quickly bored of watching short homemade videos on the TV. Still, it is a first step for YouTube in conquering the living room.