Do chess videos really improve your game?

Chess videos are so easy to watch but it somehow seems too passive to actually improve your game. Wouldn't it be better to study tactics or analyze your games?

Of course it is, it's a matter of how effective the teacher is or how willing you are to learn the material. You can't solely just play to get better. Neither can you just read chess books or watch movies. You need to juggle between them to build a solid foundation for chess.

One of the big mistakes I'm making in my learning process is not watching enough of the masters play and instructional videos. You need chess theory, something that'll be way easier learned from a video than trial-and-error brute-forcing your way through tons of games.

Go search jrobichess, kingcrusher, chessnetworks, and chess.com videos on youtube (or purchase membership to get access to the videos if you're serious about getting better at chess).

The key seems to be not watching them passively unless you're doing it for pure entertainment value.  Many videos ask you to pause and figure out a best response and if you don't you are only cheating yourself.  You also need to practice the concepts being presented.  If time is of the essence however, I think you are correct.  Your time is probably better spent studying tactics or analyzing your own games.  We all need a little time to relax though and there are only so many tactics you can practice in a day before needing a break.

Personally I find it easier to remember what I learn from the videos than when I learn from books.

Of course it's works best if you immediately do something with it. If I watched a video about an opening I try to play it in one or more games right away. And a great thing about online chess is that you can watch the videos again while playing to refresh your memory.

you should use books trust me it is easier you will learn better plus you could remember and you go to the next subject when you want to

Yeah, the videos from Roman Dzindzichashvili and Daniel Rensch are very interesting and entertaining. When I don't feel like studying or analyzing, watching the videos is a great way to relax, enjoy and learn at the same time

But, as others have already stated, you shouldn't use the videos as replacement for books and game analysis.