AfterDawn: Tech news

YouTube to begin offering HD videos

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 17 Mar 2008 2:59 User comments (8)

YouTube to begin offering HD videos

Back in November, YouTube boss Steve Chen promised that the popular video sharing site would begin giving viewers the option to watch some videos in High Definition beginning in March.
As promised, the site has now begun to offer higher definition streams based upon the source file uploaded. The site also promises more videos coming over time.

Users have the option to see the higher definition streams by checking an option in their Account page. Select "always show me higher quality when available" or "never show me higher quality" depending on your personal choice.

The official YouTube blog had this to say about the new video quality. "Our philosophy is to make sure that as many people as possible can access YouTube and that videos start quickly and play smoothly".



"That's one reason why you don't see us racing to call this 'Super Duper YouTube HD' because most people don't want to wait a long time for videos to play."

Previous Next  

8 user comments

117.3.2008 15:45
atomicxl
Inactive

This is a good move. Once internet speeds get high enough, I think they're gonna be even more hardcore about copyrighted content. Right now its up but the quality is absolute garbage. There will be MAJOR issues if the content is up and the quality is the same as over the air HD broadcast or DVD. You start to eliminate the need for other services like cable when so much stuff is on demmand and HD.

I think they should go ahead and upgrade their standard quality. I was watching something on CNN and I actually was shocked at how nice it looked and that it was playing fine on my crappy DSL (the slowest speed offered by my ISP). I'd say it was a good 2-3 times better than what you see on YouTube.

217.3.2008 18:09

Yes it is about time for youtube to get the quality improved a bit - there have already been other sites popping up giving users better quality video eg. vimeo is a good site for that , although not as well known yet , hence fewer videos.

317.3.2008 20:52

finally!! youtube quality videos are awful. i wish all the youtube users would have switched to stage6 earlier before it shut down. well, maybe this would make things better.

418.3.2008 14:42
leady
Inactive

Maybe Youtube should take over stage6 if possible

518.3.2008 15:44

WOW FINALLY damn Ive been waiting for them to go high def. Got tired of watching some vids so pixelated thought it was NES muhahaha

618.3.2008 15:46
goodswipe
Inactive

Now you kids can start watching those slutty strip tease videos in HD!

/YouTube FTW!

718.3.2008 23:30

about effing time! Stage6 (r.i.p.) was there to begin with!
I'm so sick of the pixelated crap on youtube, and the losers that post video blogs- I guess that's more of a personal thing.

825.3.2008 21:06

This is great news!
It might put a strain on my connection but HD is worth it.

Comments have been disabled for this article.

Latest news

Roomba Combo j7+ review - Clever trick allows robot vacuum finally to tackle home with rugs and carpets Roomba Combo j7+ review - Clever trick allows robot vacuum finally to tackle home with rugs and carpets (06 Jun 2023 9:19)
Roomba Combo j7+ is the very first Roomba model to combine robot vacuum with mopping features. And Roomba Combo j7+ does all that with a very clever trick, which tackles the problem with mopping and carpets. But is it any good? We found out.
Neato, the robot vacuum company, ends its operations Neato, the robot vacuum company, ends its operations (02 May 2023 3:38)
Neato Robotics has ceased its operations. American robot vacuum pioneer founded in 2005 has finally called it quits and company will cease its operations and sales. Only a skeleton crew will remain who will keep the servers running until 2028.
5 user comments
How to Send Messages to Yourself on WhatsApp How to Send Messages to Yourself on WhatsApp (20 Mar 2023 1:25)
The world's most popular messaging platform, Meta-owned WhatsApp has enabled sending messages to yourself. While at first, this might seem like an odd feature, it can be very useful in a lot of situations. ....
18 user comments
How to Enable Bluetooth on Stadia Controller How to Enable Bluetooth on Stadia Controller (11 Feb 2023 1:04)
Google shut down its streaming game service Stadia late last month and this means that some people have Stadia controllers lying around that seem to be of no use. That is fortunately not the ....
2 user comments
Guide: How to Kick Unwanted Guests from Your Netflix Account Guide: How to Kick Unwanted Guests from Your Netflix Account (26 Jan 2023 2:14)
Sharing a Netflix account with a person in a different location is possible and indeed very common, although the company doesn't necessarily enjoy this behavior from their customers. However, ....

News archive