Official PBS Kids Video App: PBS KIDS Video
PBS KIDS Video is a free app for Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 devices which allows you to show your kids animated videos designed exclusively for them. The app is the official Kids video app from Public Broadcasting Service, and has some great quality content with state of the art animated cartoon videos. The videos usually have some educational value to them, by either teaching your kids directly, or by having a moral value attached to them. When you install and launch the app, you will be presented with an interface where you will be able to select the cartoons from the list of tiled interface, and once selected, you can choose the video file that you wish to play back. Do know that this app requires an active internet connection to run.
PBS KIDS Video is available as a free download from the Windows App Store.
Main features of PBS KIDS Video for Windows 8 and Windows 8.1:
When you install and launch the PBS KIDS Video app on your device, you will be presented with an interface like the above screenshot.
As you can see above, the app has a very kid friendly interface with big buttons and horizontally scrollable content section where you can easily select the cartoon that you wish to watch. What’s even better is that instead of providing the name of the cartoon in text, the app shows tiles of the cartoon characters so that even your kid can operate the app by selecting and clicking on the cartoon that he or she wants to watch. Once a cartoon has been selected, you will be taken to the next screen wherein you can select the episode or the video clip that you wish to watch. The video player is shown in the left side of the screen in every screen, and you can also see it in the above screenshot. The controls for Playing or pausing, rewinding or fast forwarding the videos are present right below the video player interface. The screen which appears when you click on the tile of a cartoon in the main screen resembles the below screenshot.
You can select content from either under the Episodes or the Clips tab. Whatever you choose will be played back in the mini video player at the left side of the screen. Think that the video player is too small for your taste? No worries! Simply double click on the video player, and voila! you will be presented with a full screen sized video player interface. The full screen video player can be exited by clicking on the screen or pressing the Esc key, and is shown in the below screenshot.
In the main screen of the app, you will be able to see the Parents tab at the bottom. Clicking on this will bring up a menu which will allow you to turn on or turn off the captions (subtitles for the video by pressing the CC button), rate the app by pressing the Heart button, etc. This menu is shown below.
You can also choose to view the Info of the app, buy the full version of the app which unlocks more cartoons, or to view more apps by the developer. In a nutshell, this wraps up the main features. You can also check out the National Geographic Kids and the Toddler Alphabet apps for kids!
The verdict:
PBS KIDS Video is a great app to install and have on your Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 device if you have kids at home who bother you all the time for switching on the TV for them. You might as well show them the cartoons on this app, and they will definitely learn something out of the app! The app has cute graphics to keep kids focused, and the moral lesson of every video makes this app a boon for the parents out there, freeing them from the compulsion of allowing the kids to watch meaningless soap operas of no moral value on television.
The app is ad free, and the large collection of episodes are sure to keep you as well as your kids hooked! I would rate this app a glowing 4.5 out of 5!
Get PBS KIDS Video.