10. Watching and Creating Videos
In this chapter, you find out how to get the most out of the video recording and playback capabilities of the Galaxy S7. Topics in this chapter include the following:
Purchasing movies and TV shows
Your Galaxy S7 allows you to play movies, TV shows, and videos on its high-resolution screen using several preinstalled apps. What’s more, the Galaxy S7 is camcorder capable, which you can use to record HD video.
Downloading Movies and TV Shows
The Google Play Store makes it easy for you to browse, purchase, and download the latest music, movies, and popular TV shows to your Galaxy S7. If you want to find movies and television shows within the Google Play Store more quickly than shopping in the Play Store itself, try using the preinstalled Play Movies & TV app.
The Play Movies & TV app enables you to shop for movies and television shows, pay for a movie or show if necessary, download the movie or show, and then watch the movie or show within the app.
1. Tap Google on the Home screen.
2. Tap Play Movies & TV.
3. Tap Get Started at the bottom of the introductory screen. If you’ve opened the Play Movies & TV app before, you won’t see this introductory screen and you can skip ahead to step 4.
4. Tap the Menu icon in the menu bar.
6. Tap TV in the button bar to view TV shows. This example walks through downloading a free TV show episode.
7. Swipe up in the TV page until you see the Free TV Episodes section. Tap More.
8. Swipe up in the page until you see the tile that contains the featurette you want to download and then tap the tile.
9. In the middle of the page, information about the selected featurette appears below the title, including an image, summary, and reviews from other Google Play Store users who have watched the video. Swipe up in the page to read more reviews and view a list of episodes and featurettes.
10. Tap Free to the right of the episode title.
11. The video begins to play in horizontal screen orientation (not shown).
12. When you finish viewing the featurette, tap the Back touch button. View the episode again by tapping the Last Watched tile.
13. Return to the My Library screen by tapping the Back icon in the menu bar. You’ll learn more about the My Library screen in the next section.
Play the TV Show
The TV show you downloaded appears within the My Library screen so you can play it whenever you want.
1. The shows you have downloaded appear within the My TV Shows section. Swipe up and down in the screen to view all the TV show tiles.
2. Tap a tile to view more information about each video within the section.
3. Tap a tile to begin playing the video in horizontal screen orientation.
Shop for a Movie
It’s easy to shop for movies that you can buy and keep on your Galaxy S7 so you can watch them any time you want.
1. From the Play Movies & TV app’s home screen (the title of the screen is Watch Now), open the menu by tapping the Menu icon at the left side of the menu bar.
2. Tap Shop.
3. In the button bar, swipe from right to left to view the other three buttons on the screen.
4. Tap Genres.
5. Tap the genre you’re interested in.
6. Swipe up and down in the page to view all the Top Selling movies in the category you selected. You can view new releases in the category by tapping New Movie Releases.
7. Tap the tile with the movie you want more information about.
8. The name of the movie, the release year and movie rating, the movie run time, and buttons to either rent or buy the movie at the stated price appear on the screen.
9. Swipe up and down the information area to view the video trailer; rate and review the movie; view user reviews; read the synopsis, cast, and credits; and get rental period information if any.
10. Tap one of the Buy options.
11. The Buy window shows you the credit card that you have saved, which you need in order to buy a movie or TV show (even free ones) from the Google Play Store. If you don’t have a card on file, the app takes you through the steps to register your credit card.
12. Buy the movie by tapping Buy. Google Play charges the card you have on file and downloads the movie to your Galaxy S7 so you can view it.
Playing Videos
The Play Movies & TV app makes it easy for you to watch movies and TV shows from the Google Play Store directly within the app.
1. Tap Google on the Home screen.
2. Tap Play Movies & TV.
3. Swipe up and down in the Watch Now screen to view movies and TV shows you downloaded as well as get recommendations for movies and TV shows from Google Play.
4. Open and watch the video by tapping the movie or TV episode tile.
Viewing YouTube Videos
The high-resolution screen of the Galaxy S7, along with its portability and built-in video camera, makes it great for viewing and sharing videos online. The preinstalled YouTube widget gives you the capability to browse and view videos posted by users from around the world. You can also upload videos as soon as you shoot them with your Galaxy S7.
1. Tap the Google icon on the Home screen.
2. Tap YouTube.
3. Skip the promotional message screen by tapping Not Now. Note that the promotional message screen only appears the first time you start YouTube. If you don’t see this screen, skip to step 4.
4. Open the Subscriptions screen by tapping the Subscriptions icon in the menu bar.
5. A list of your channels appear as icons within the icon bar that appears below the menu bar.
6. Tap the right arrow icon in the icon bar to view all your channels.
7. If there are new videos within a channel, the number of new videos appears to the right of the channel name.
8. Swipe up in the list and then tap Browse Channels to view channels YouTube recommends for you.
9. View channels by swiping up and down the screen. You can see videos and more information about the artist channel by tapping the channel tile.
10. Return to the Channels screen by tapping the Back icon.
11. Return to the Subscriptions screen by tapping the Back icon.
12. Tap the Search icon to search for a YouTube video.
13. Type the search terms in the Search YouTube field. As you type, a list of potential matches appears under the field.
14. When you’re finished typing, tap the Search button in the keyboard.
15. Swipe up and down the list of results in the Search page.
16. Tap the thumbnail image of the video or the video name to view the video on the screen. If you watched the video previously, the Watched box appears in the upper-left corner of the thumbnail image.
17. Return to the Subscriptions screen by tapping the Back icon.
18. Tap the right arrow icon in the icon bar as described in step 6.
19. Swipe up and down in the Channels list and tap the channel name to view videos within that subscription channel.
20. Tap the thumbnail image of the video or the video name to view the video on the screen. If you watched the video previously, the Watched box appears in the upper-left corner of the thumbnail image.
21. Tap the Add icon to add the video to an existing playlist or create a new playlist.
22. Tap the Share icon to share a link to the current video using Facebook, Hangouts, Gmail, Messages, Google Drive, Bluetooth, Android Beam, Email, Memo, or Wi-Fi Direct. You can also share your video using your phone carrier’s built-in messaging, mail, or storage apps. What’s more, you can copy the link to the Clipboard.
Other Sharing Options
Other sharing options might appear in this list if you have downloaded apps that allow for additional sharing features, such as BeyondPod.
23. Tap the Menu icon so you can turn closed captioning on and off, change the video quality, flag the video for inappropriate content so Google can review it, or watch your video in Google Cardboard view in combination with the Google Cardboard viewer. (You can view more information about the viewer at https://www.google.com/get/cardboard/.)
24. Tap the Full Screen icon to view the video on the entire screen. If you view the full screen video in vertical screen orientation, you’ll see black areas above and below the screen.
25. Tap to pause and play the current video.
26. Drag the button in the timeline slider to move through the current video.
27. The video description appears below the video.
28. Tap to visit the channel of the user who posted this video.
29. Swipe up and down in the page to read more about the artists, view similar videos and artists, read comments about this video from other users, and create a response of your own.
30. Return to the channel screen by tapping the Back touch button (not shown).
31. The video continues to play in the window in the lower-right corner of the screen. View the video screen by tapping and holding in the window and then flicking upward. Close the video screen by tapping and holding in the window and then flicking to the right.
32. Return to the Channels screen by tapping the Back icon in the upper-left corner of the screen. Return to the Subscriptions screen by tapping the Back icon in the upper-left corner of the Channels screen as described in step 11.
Recording Video
Your Galaxy S7 is capable of recording HD video with its main 12-megapixel camera, located on the rear of the device. The Galaxy S7 is also equipped with some very helpful features commonly found on dedicated camcorders, including white balance, a video light, manual exposure, and effects.
1. Tap Camera on the Home screen.
2. In the Viewer screen, switch to video mode by tapping the video button. The Camera app starts recording automatically.
3. The timer appears at the bottom of the screen so you can see how long you’ve been recording your video.
4. Pause recording by tapping the Pause button. After you tap the Pause button, the button changes to a Record button (with a red circle in the center). Resume recording by tapping the Record button.
5. Stop recording by tapping the Stop button.
6. The video you just recorded appears in the Image Viewer in the upper-right corner of the window. Tap the Image Viewer to review the recorded video in the Gallery app.
Change Camera App Settings
It’s easy to change your app and camera settings so you can have the app work the way you expect each time you use it.
1. Tap the Settings icon.
2. In the Camera Settings screen, tap Video Size (Rear) to set a size for the images you record. You can select from UHD (3,840 × 2,160 pixels), QHD (2,560 × 1,440 pixels), or FHD (1,920 × 1,080 pixels) in 60 fps (frames per second). Alternatively, you can select the standard 30 fps, 1:1 (1,440 × 1,440 pixels), HD (1,280 × 720 pixels), or VGA (640 × 480 pixels). The default selection is FHD. Swipe down in the Video Size (rear) screen to view notes about what features are unavailable when you record in certain video sizes.
3. Slide the Video Stabilization slider button from left (Off) to right (On) to reduce or remove any blurriness that occurs in your video from the shaking of your hand and/or arm as you hold the Galaxy S7 to record your video.
4. Tap Grid Lines to enable an onscreen grid that can help you with the composition of the video.
Why Do I See Video Size (Front) Instead of Video Size (Rear)?
If you switch to the front-facing camera by tapping the Switch button on the Viewer screen (it’s next to the Camera button), you see Video Size (Front) instead of Video Size (Rear) so you can change the front camera size and resolution. The video sizes for the front camera are limited to QHD, FHD, 1:1, HD, and VGA.
5. Swipe upward to view the next four settings.
6. If you want to use your voice to take videos on the Galaxy S7, tap Shooting Methods (Rear). In the Shooting Methods (Rear) screen (not shown), slide the Voice Control slider button from left (Off) to right (On). You can use one of four different voice commands to capture a video: Smile, Cheese, Capture, or Shoot. After you turn on voice control, return to the Camera Settings screen by tapping the Back icon in the upper-left corner of the screen.
7. By default, you can open the Camera app by quickly pressing the Home key two times. You can turn this feature off by sliding the Quick Launch slider button from right (On) to left (Off).
8. Swipe upward to view the last five settings options.
9. Tap Volume Keys Function to determine whether the volume key acts as the zoom key, the video recording key, or the camera key. In the menu that appears, tap Record Video to tell the Galaxy S7 the volume key is the video recording key.
10. Tap Reset Settings to reset the Camera settings to their defaults.
11. Tap Help to get some quick onscreen help for the Camera app.
12. Return to the Viewer by tapping the Back icon.
View and Change Basic Settings
Several settings icons appear on one side of the Viewer depending on how you hold your phone. These icons allow you to add effects, change light settings, and set a time before the camera starts to record your video.
1. Tap to add camera effects to your videos as you capture them.
2. Apply an effect by tapping the effect tile. Your choices include Monogram, Delicious, Deep, Film, Gold, Pastel, Retro, and Nostalgia. If you don’t see an effect, you can shop for one in the Galaxy Apps app by tapping the Download tile.
Adding Video Effects
Keep in mind that when you use any of the video effects, they become a permanent part of your videos. To give yourself more choices in the future as to how you use your images, consider purchasing a video-editing app that enables you to perform such effects but still maintain your original video.
3. Tap the Back touch button (not shown) to close the Effects area.
4. An image that is too light or too dark degrades the appearance of your videos. The Galaxy S7 contains the HDR (High Dynamic Range) setting so the device automatically adjusts the brightness level for various bright or dark lighting conditions. Tap HDR Off to turn on HDR automatic mode, which means the Camera app checks the lighting conditions and applies the HDR feature if needed.
5. Tap Timer to designate how long the Galaxy S7 should wait before the camera starts to record. This is great for allowing time for you to set up the shot and then place yourself in the frame.
View and Change Pro Settings
By default, the Camera app records videos in Auto mode so you can record videos and know that they’ll look great. If you need more control over how your videos look, you can access Pro settings and make manual changes to the color effect, focus mode, white balance, ISO value, and exposure value.
1. Access Pro settings to get more control over how your videos look by tapping Mode in the lower-right corner of the screen.
2. Tap Pro in the menu screen.
3. The Pro settings appear on one side of the screen depending on how you hold your Galaxy S7. In this example, the phone is being held with the Home button to the right of the screen so the Pro settings appear on the right side of the screen.
4. Tap Standard to apply a color effect before you take the video.
5. Swipe up and down the color effect list to view the effects. The default effect is Standard, which contains the default color settings. The selected effect has a white checkmark in the middle of the color effect tile (not shown).
6. Each tile shows you how the video will look in comparison to the Standard effect.
7. Create a new custom effect by swiping down the list and then tapping Tone 1 or Tone 2. You can add up to two custom effects.
8. Change the effect by moving one or more of the six setting sliders up and down. You can change the color temperature, tint, contrast, saturation, highlight, and shadow levels. As you move each slider, the Viewer changes to show how your color effects will appear in your video.
9. Reset effect settings to their default levels by tapping Reset.
10. Save your changes by tapping Save.
11. Return to the Viewer without making changes by tapping the Back icon.
12. Tap the Focus Mode icon to manually change the focus. The default is Auto, but you can slide the button on the slider bar up and down. You can swipe between close focus, which is signified by the flower icon, and broader focus, which is signified by the mountain icon.
13. After you manually set the focus, the focus setting name below the Focus Mode icon (AF in this example, which stands for Auto Focus) changes to MF (which stands for Manual Focus).
Can I Select a Focus Between Auto and Close?
You can’t select a focus on the slider bar between Auto and Close Focus. When you try, after you release your finger from the slider button the Camera app determines the setting to which the slider button is closest and then automatically moves to either the Close Focus or Auto setting in the slider bar.
14. Tap the WB icon (WB stands for White Balance) to adjust the white balance for the camera. The white balance features help accurately reproduce colors when you are shooting in various lighting situations so that neutral colors, such as white and gray, are truly neutral and all colors are rendered without undesired color casts.
15. Move the slider button up and down between Incandescent, Fluorescent, Daylight, and Cloudy white balances. Move the slider button to the top of the slider bar (next to the K icon) to set the white balance level manually.
16. After you select a white balance mode or set the white balance level manually, the white balance appears below the WB icon, which is Auto in this example.
17. Tap the ISO icon to adjust the brightness level in your video. The default level in the slider bar is Auto.
18. Slide the button in the slider bar up to achieve a proper brightness level in a low-light shooting environment, or slide the button down for a bright shooting environment. You can select from one of five levels: Auto, 100, 200, 400, and 800. If you release your finger from the button between one of the levels, the button moves to the level closest to the button.
19. After you select the ISO level (A 1250 in this example, which is the Automatic level of 1250) the level number appears below the ISO icon. The Viewer also changes the light level so you can see whether the selected ISO level is appropriate for your environment.
20. Change the exposure value by tapping the Exposure icon. The exposure value determines how much light the camera’s sensor receives.
21. Slide the button in the slider bar up if you’re in a low-light environment or slide the button down for a bright shooting environment. You can slide to any level between +2 and –2. 0 is the default setting.
22. After you select the exposure value, the value appears below the Exposure icon. The Viewer also changes the light level so you can see if the selected exposure value is appropriate for your environment.
Should I Change the Shutter Speed?
The Shutter Speed icon appears above the Exposure icon, but because the shutter speed is used for taking photos and not videos, you don’t need to set the shutter speed. You can learn more about setting the shutter speed in Chapter 9, “Taking and Sharing Photos.”
23. Tap in the center of the screen to close the Exposure Value slider bar.
24. Save all your Pro settings so you don’t have to set them each time you use the camera by tapping Custom.
25. Tap Save Current Settings.
26. Tap one of the three custom setting names into which you can save your settings.
27. Tap Save.
28. The custom setting icon appears in the Viewer so you can tap the icon to change to your preferred camera settings automatically.
View Recorded Videos
After you finish recording a video, view the video you just recorded or a video you recorded earlier by tapping the Image Viewer icon in the upper-right corner of the screen.
In the Image Viewer screen, the Play button appears in the center of the screen and controls appear at the top and bottom of the screen. After a few seconds, the controls on the screen fade away. Access the controls again by tapping anywhere on the screen other than on the Play button.
1. Tap to add the video as a favorite that you can view in the Gallery app.
2. Tap Album to view all the photos and videos you captured with your camera in the Camera album.
3. Tap More to access other options.
4. Tap Details to view details of the video such as File Name, Resolution, Size, and Last Modified.
5. Tap to begin a slideshow of all photos and videos in your album. After the slideshow begins, you can tap anywhere onscreen to end the slideshow.
6. Close the menu by tapping the Back touch button (not shown).
7. Tap Share to share the video using the Messages app, the Photos app, Android Beam, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth, Facebook, YouTube, Gmail, Email, and Google Drive. You can also share your video using your phone carrier’s built-in messaging, mail, or storage apps. What’s more, you can view content on another device.
8. Tap Edit to edit the beginning and end of a video by performing a trim, adding an effect, and/or editing the audio. You can also download the Video Editor app from the Samsung Galaxy Apps store so you can edit the video with more powerful tools.
9. Tap Delete to delete the video from the playlist.
10. Swipe from right to left to view more videos in your album, if any. When you find the video you want to watch, tap the Play button in the center of the screen.
11. After the video has started, tap in the middle of the screen to bring up the playback controls.
12. Adjust the volume of the video by tapping your finger on the Volume icon and then sliding your finger on the Volume slider.
13. Tap the Viewfinder icon to change the size of the video between normal and full screen views.
14. Drag your finger across the Movie Timeline to advance through the video or jump to a new location. You can also tap the timeline in a new location to jump to that location.
15. The Play button, located in the Playback controls, turns into a Pause button as the video plays. Tap the Pause button to pause the video.
16. Tap the Rewind or Fast Forward button to move to the beginning or end of the video, respectively.
17. Tap the Pop-Up icon to view the video in a small video player window that you can move around on the screen. Though the video player window appears on the Camera screen, you can access any other screen (such as the Home screen) and the video player window still appears.
18. Tap List to view a list of other videos in the album that you can play. Tap a thumbnail image in the list to start playing the video on the right side of the screen.
19. Tap More.
20. Tap Editor to edit the beginning and end of a video by performing a trim, adding an effect, and/or editing the audio. You can also download the Video Editor app from the Samsung Galaxy Apps store so you can edit the video with more powerful tools.
21. Tap Delete to delete the video from the playlist.
22. Tap Share to share the video using Facebook, Google Drive, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi Direct, Android Beam, YouTube, Instagram, Photos, the Messages app, Gmail, or Email. You can also share your video using your phone carrier’s built-in messaging, mail, or storage apps. What’s more, you can view content on another device.
23. Tap Turn On Play Audio Only to hide the video on the screen and play only the audio that was recorded with the video.
24. Tap Play Speed to change the play speed of the video so it plays faster or slower than the speed at which you recorded the video.
25. Swipe up in the menu to view more options.
26. Tap Subtitles (CC) to set the app to view closed-captioned subtitles on the screen as you view the video.
27. Tap Details to view details of the video such as File Name, Size, and Resolution.
28. Close the menu by tapping the Back touch button (not shown).
29. Return to the Image Viewer screen to view the videos and photos in the Camera album by tapping the Back touch button twice (not shown).