YouTube introduced theater mode a few years ago. Theater mode pushes the suggested videos below the video player. The video player itself sits on a nice black background. It is without a doubt, the better viewing experience. Unfortunately, YouTube doesn’t remember which viewing mode you prefer. Regardless if you’re signed in or signed out, YouTube will always default to the regular viewing mode. You have to click the theater mode button on the video player every single time. YouTube doesn’t have a work around for this but, there are add-ons and extensions that make it so you always open YouTube videos in theater mode.
Chrome
Theater Mode for YouTube is a Chrome extension that will force all YouTube videos to open in theater mode. This extension has no settings and it is a one-trick pony but it works great. Install it and no YouTube video will ever open in regular mode.
View in galleryInstall Theater Mode for YouTube For Chrome
Firefox
The Theater Mode for YouTube add-on for Firefox will force YouTube to always open in theater mode. Like the Chrome counterpart, it has no settings and it will run in the background.
Install Theater Mode for YouTube For Firefox
Opera
The Theater Mode for YouTube add-on for Opera has been developed by the same developer who made the Firefox version. It again, has no settings. Simply install it and it will always open YouTube videos in theater mode.
Install Theater Mode for YouTube For Opera
These add-ons do not lock a user to theater mode. You can always switch to default regular mode by clicking the theater mode button. Also, not many users know this but if you double-click a YouTube video, regardless of which viewing mode it is in, it will switch to full screen mode. You have to double-click be on the video player itself and you have to be quick or you’ll just end up with a paused video.
In full screen mode, if you double-click your screen, you will exit full screen mode. Again, with the add-ons installed, YouTube will remember to exit to theater mode.