Nuked Hey everyone, it’s Nuked here! I wanted to talk about some news about YouTube’s new “1080p Premium” option for Premium subscribers.
YouTube has confirmed that they’re experimenting with a higher-quality 1080p option for Premium subscribers after some Reddit users noticed the new setting. Paul Pennington, a spokesperson for the company, said that it provides “more information per pixel that results in a higher quality viewing experience.” He added that “there are no changes to the existing quality offerings for 1080p (HD) resolution on YouTube.”
When it comes to video quality, there are more factors than just resolution. Bitrate and color depth also play a role in how good the video will look, and even 1080p video with a higher bitrate can look better than 4K with a lower bitrate. Currently, YouTube’s standard 1080p bitrate is between 8 and 10 Mbps, which can be blocky compared to Blu-rays or the original exports.
Those in the experiment have access to both the regular and Premium 1080p options, according to a Reddit user claiming to have access to it. The Stats for Nerds tool shows that the Premium 1080p option ran at around 13 Mbps versus 8 Mbps in the standard mode for the same video.
The reason YouTube doesn’t just show you the original video file at its maximum bitrate is because it would be expensive for them and potentially for you, depending on your speed and data cap. The Premium test indicates that YouTube could be willing to let people access more quality as long as they pay for the service.
So there you have it – if you’re a Premium subscriber, you might get access to some higher-quality videos!
