We're still figuring out which direction to go one several features. We disabled the controls bar (incl. vol) so each channel feels more like a live stream where you can't pause/skip through the video. However, you can still use the keyboard to control volume (up/down keys)

But we're going to give it try: we've re-enabled the control bar. Thanks for the feedback

Be very careful about adding/removing features based on one comment in a forum.

I agree. However, we're open to trying suggestions that are reasonable and feasible for us to implement without tying up too much time. His/her suggestion took less than 30 seconds and has a relatively minor impact on the site. We'll change it back if we don't feel its a good fit.