YouTube moving to "real" high definition videos
One of the key areas where major players and startups alike will battle is over online high definition video, both free and paid for.
As consumers have access to ever more powerful PCs and broadband connections, and may be starting to access higher quality video online from newer companies such as Hulu and Vudu, the more established sites are having to raise their game.
Notwithstanding that each company likes to use the term "high definition" without necessarily adhering to the same standards as you'd find on either broadcast HDTV or a Blu-ray disc (and the standards are usually much lower), YouTube has started to experiment with videos of a quality akin to that of HD movie downloads from iTunes.
Probably in 720p format, and with stereo sound, it's causing quite a stir. YouTube had previously upped the level of some videos to near-DVD quality, but this is a major leap.
Of course, the question many studios and broadcasters must be wondering is "how long before my film/show turns up on YouTube in high definition?" It has the potential to put even more pressure on Google (YouTube's owner) to ensure that copyrighted clips are promptly discovered and pulled. Having said that, if the clips don't appear on YouTube, they'll be available (albeit slightly more complicatedly for the average user) via file sharing sites.
Better would be for content owners to embrace the new technology and make some of their content available in higher quality, legally. It's never going to cut out content piracy but it at least shows that content creators understand how many people now like to watch media.
As to the practicalities of this latest move: add &fmt=22 to the end of the video's existing URL. It's not available on many videos yet, mind you.
(Via Guardian)
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