This is an inadequate workaround anyway. You can generally read faster than you can process spoken language. But even more importantly, most of what's usually making the video so long is actual padding of the content.
I don't just want to reduce the time I spend listening to the presenter blather on about irrelevant stuff. I want to reduce the amount of irrelevant stuff the presenter blathers on about.
But also 2x even without fluff — unless the content is technical enough and unfamiliar enough that I need to slow down to absorb it. Or the person talks like the micromachines man.
Having SponsorBlock and making myself be an unpaid editor to cut out the lameeee jokes the YouTuber thinks he needs to make is a satisfactory thing...
I remember opening a Linus Tech Tips video and the scrollbar was very very colorful because someone was very keen on marking all the bits they deemed irrelevant (the color signifies the category, e.g. sponsorship, calls to action like "Like and subscribe!", irrelevant content)
It depends on the kind of content and information density. My default playback speed is usually 2x, unless the content requires deep focus and thought. For basic fantasy novels I might go up to 3x or 3.5x, unless the author uses a lot of symbolic or complex language. For example: listening to a Gene Wolf audiobook, I don't think I'd be able to really appreciate the full breadth of his writing at anything over 1.5x.
Most modern media just isn't very deep nor trying to layer a lot of interesting symbolism; if it's fairly one-dimensional / one-layered then you can blast through anything at 2x or 3x.
In the modern social media era, it feels like sometimes video content is filled with as much stuff as possible, like with the average MrBeast video, but it's mostly sausage. None of it has any deep meaning nor does it build up to something greater than the sum of its parts.
98% of the time I want it faster. I don't use arbitrary speeds but rather overshoot what I think I need (which could be based on the pace of the speaker or the time I have available) and then after a minute go down to the target speed (and sometimes rewind back to the start). Overshooting (2x) for 30/90s while wanting 1.5x will make it much easier to listen at just about any speed up to 2.5/3x.
On the off chance you were not already aware, those presets are just that. document.querySelectorAll("video").forEach(el => el.playbackRate = 3.0) but, as that snippet implies, one needs either an extension or access to the dev tools to pull it off
It’s highly dependent on what I’m viewing, of course. Some people just… talk… so… slooowly. If the content is interesting then they get 1.5x. Some people talk a mile a minute with dense information and they get 1x. For myself, 2x is usually too fast to be enjoyable.
My experience has been that it's not just the cadence of the speaker, it can be their intonation and pitch that determines whether I can speed it up. And some deep voiced person from Essex who is recording in their bathroom ... not a prayer, because I can't find the word boundaries from the background noise
Didn't read the paywalled article. But imo if it's not worth listening at 1x speed, it's not worth listening at all.
If it's entertainment like audiobooks, it's for my enjoyment, so why should it be faster than 1x? If it's for education, everything faster than 1x makes it hard to understand, and if there is too much filler content, I will find another source to learn about it.
I use 1.5x-2x for stuff I have to listen too, but don't enjoy.
I don't just want to reduce the time I spend listening to the presenter blather on about irrelevant stuff. I want to reduce the amount of irrelevant stuff the presenter blathers on about.