Google Drive is receiving a revamp with improvements to both video playback and search functionality. The popular cloud storage solution’s newest update brings Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH) to reduce video loading times and eliminate buffering. The tech giant said that it is also announced it is ‘enhancing search’ within the app.
“We’re enabling the generation and playback of Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH) video transcodes for all new videos uploaded to Google Drive. DASH transcodes provide adaptive bitrate playback, which allows users to receive higher or lower resolution playback based on aspects like their local network quality,” Google said in a post.
As a result of this change, users will be able to see improvements in join time, that is, the time it takes from clicking play to actually starting playback. Secondly, a reduction in re-buffering, both in normal playback as well as during playback at higher speeds.
This feature will be automatically applied to all newly uploaded videos, with existing videos receiving an upgrade by year’s end.
Search enhancements within the Google Drive app
Google Drive is also getting a smarter search function, initially available on iOS devices with Android support coming soon. There will be a revamped search bar that will now feature three filters:
Type: Easily categorise files based on their format (documents, images, etc.).
People: Quickly find files shared with you by recent contacts.
Modified: Locate files based on their creation or last edited date.
Extending long running queries within Connected Sheets
Last year, Google extended the timeout time from 5 minutes to 10 minutes for BigQuery and Looker. Now, the timeout time has increased to 20-30 minutes, and starting this week Connected Sheet users can view the status of a query and easily cancel it on Google Sheets. It will be available to all Google Workspace customers.
“We’re enabling the generation and playback of Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH) video transcodes for all new videos uploaded to Google Drive. DASH transcodes provide adaptive bitrate playback, which allows users to receive higher or lower resolution playback based on aspects like their local network quality,” Google said in a post.
As a result of this change, users will be able to see improvements in join time, that is, the time it takes from clicking play to actually starting playback. Secondly, a reduction in re-buffering, both in normal playback as well as during playback at higher speeds.
This feature will be automatically applied to all newly uploaded videos, with existing videos receiving an upgrade by year’s end.
Search enhancements within the Google Drive app
Google Drive is also getting a smarter search function, initially available on iOS devices with Android support coming soon. There will be a revamped search bar that will now feature three filters:
Type: Easily categorise files based on their format (documents, images, etc.).
People: Quickly find files shared with you by recent contacts.
Modified: Locate files based on their creation or last edited date.
Extending long running queries within Connected Sheets
Last year, Google extended the timeout time from 5 minutes to 10 minutes for BigQuery and Looker. Now, the timeout time has increased to 20-30 minutes, and starting this week Connected Sheet users can view the status of a query and easily cancel it on Google Sheets. It will be available to all Google Workspace customers.