Calm cinema mode for YouTube. Save notes, frames and captions at the exact second; see comments about the current moment.
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3
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Rating
5.0 / 5
unchanged in 30 days
Ratings
1
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Store rank
#289K
#238K among extensions
Version
1.2.0
updated 9 Oct 2026
About Zen Cinema – YouTube Notes, Screenshots & Timed Comments
Learn from YouTube without leaving the video.
Zen Cinema turns any YouTube video into a calm, in-page cinema view and gives you a notebook that lives right next to the player. Every entry is linked to the exact second it came from — click it and you're back at that moment.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
• Cinema view (Alt+C) — the page around the player fades away; controls rest when your mouse does. It uses YouTube's own player, so captions, quality and speed settings work as usual.
• Timestamped notes (Alt+N) — the video pauses while you type, then continues. The caption line on screen is saved with your note.
• Screenshots (Alt+S) — save the current frame into your notebook.
• Caption lines (Alt+T) — save the line being spoken right now.
• Timed comments — comments that mention a moment (like "3:42") appear beside the video when it gets there. Browse them all in the "Moments" tab.
• All notebooks page — every video you've taken notes on, in one place.
• Six color themes — pick the mood: Amber and Night are free; Moss, Rose, Violet and Graphite come with Pro.
FREE vs PRO
• Free: everything above for up to 3 videos.
• Pro ($19.99 one-time, lifetime): unlimited notebooks + export to Markdown with images (ZIP, ready for Obsidian/Notion) and printable PDF.
• One Pro key works in up to 3 of your browsers; "Remove from this browser" frees a slot.
PRIVACY
Your notes and screenshots are stored only in your browser. No account, no cloud, no tracking. The only network request is verifying your Pro license key with Polar (our payment provider).
Notes: Protected (DRM) videos such as paid movies can't be captured — the extension tells you instead of showing a black image. Nothing is saved while an ad is playing.