Fortunately, the subject of which YouTube plugin to use is relatively easy. YouTube embeds have been built-into WordPress for quite some time. All you need to do is paste the YouTube URL into your post and WordPress takes care of the rest. So the question is, “Which plugin gives you more than a standard embed?”

Right off the bat, I’m going to take Youtube Embedder out of the running. It hasn’t been updated in over a year, lists its compatibility as up to WordPress 2.9.2 only, and doesn’t do much more than allow you to control the height and width of your embed.

Youtuber offers the ability to embed the video using valid XHTML code rather than YouTube’s own invalid code, but it only allows you to customize the height and width of your videos and force the HD version of the video to display. WP YouTube Player offers a variety of customization controls, including the choice over type of embed, width and height, autoplay, and the display of related videos.

Both plugins work well and offer embedding via a shortcode, but I’m going to have to give my vote in this case to WP YouTube Player based solely on the amount of available options.

Now that we’re talking about YouTube embeds and options, I have to mention my favorite embed plugin, Viper’s Video Quicktags. VVQ does almost everything that WP YouTube Player does, but it also does it for Vimeo, Viddler, DailyMotion, and seven other video providers. The only thing that VVQ currently lacks is support for YouTube’s new Flashless iFrame embed, which WP YouTube Player supports.

If you’re after just YouTube videos, you should definitely use WP YouTube Player, but if you plan to embed more than just YouTube videos, give Viper’s Video Quicktags a try.

I am really excited about quite a few of the features of Weblog Tools Videos. In addition to the obvious ability to browse through the latest videos and the most popular ones, readers can add videos from various video upload sites, link to videos published elsewhere, upload their own videos and most importantly, record and upload videos from their computers directly from their webcam. There are plans to allow screencast capture and record and post Skype videos and conferences as well. So go ahead and register and start uploading and linking videos.

The power of Weblog Tools Videos is in its users (which is why I ask you to register). When you upload a WordPress or a blogging video to YouTube, your video is lost in YouTube’s content stream, picked up and washed away in the barrage of new content. On Weblog Tools Videos, your multimedia will be exposed to a highly concentrated and well defined audience looking to view and absorb just the kind of media you are looking to produce. Since most of the other features, including the embedding and the social interaction is the same, you could upload your newly produced videos to Weblog Tools Videos and use it/embed it on your blog and/or social content in almost exactly the same way as before (expect an embed plugin soon). In the process, you will receive the attention of the Weblog Tools Collection audience as well as benefit from the exposure on your own site.

Are you videoing yet?