IGTV for Android

IGTV is a thematic entertainment service that originally appeared on Instagram, and later appeared on the mobile operating systems iOS and Android as a third-party client, where bloggers and experimenters publish videos.

The idea to add a new section to the developers was not accidental: the fault is the rules of the social network, where you cannot upload content longer than 60 seconds. IGTV is a surefire way to remove timing restrictions, and at the same time provide viewers with access to a section with comments and a special editor with filters, effects and graphic elements.

IGTV Features

• Auto sync with Instagram: Follows, recent activities and searches will also be available on IGTV;
• Familiar, portrait-oriented interface – full of details on the screen for easy navigation and instant access to content viewing;
• Millions of videos that appear in the public feed, in the Featured and in the search bar allow you to look at the world from a new angle, recognize trends and open up to unexpected prospects;
• The built-in graphic editor combined with the camera allows you to shoot videos, edit, and then publish;
• The search is multifaceted – filters, additional queries and personalized recommendations are provided.

Access, format and content

Owners of Instagram accounts also don’t have to register on the pages of the IGTV service: just log in by filling in a couple of empty text fields with confidential information. The situation is similar with subscriptions: the service does not offer to mark favorite bloggers with likes again – synchronization will take place automatically. At the same time, there will be no problems with the section with “Recommendations”: all the same accounts will remain there, as before appearing in the search results.

In terms of functionality, IGTV has not advanced too far compared to the original (Instagram): many interface elements and tools have been available for a long time. We are talking about the built-in graphic editor (choosing a shooting mode, masks, adjusting the color), and about a player with a timeline, and about buttons – the same likes and comments have not disappeared anywhere. Important innovations include only the “Downloads” section, which is designed to transfer the found content to the internal memory for viewing without access to the network, and unlimited timing – IGTV will allow you to publish even a journalistic investigation lasting 60 minutes.

Updates and Implementation

Although IGTV is part of the Instagram ecosystem, the new tool is far from social networking perfection. Technical problems are still encountered at every step: when uploading new content (many formats are not detected, and sometimes videos are simply not added to the feed), and during authorization, and before viewing other people’s works. Updates trying to fix the discovered problems periodically appear, but with a delay: developers are increasingly aiming to add new features. We are talking about screen rotation (IGTV also supports horizontal videos), and about special masks for the editor, and tooltips. How long functional changes are to be expected – that’s the question!

But on the other hand, IGTV is praised in the community for personal recommendations – the selections are extremely accurate, and therefore finding suitable bloggers is not at all a problem – a couple of minutes in the feed and now there are more subscriptions, and less free time.