Youtube Switches to HD Video

As 2009 rings in, YouTube spoils us with a Holiday gift. Starting now, YouTube has 720p videos available to watch. Not only is there a huge increase in quality, but anyone can broadcast their videos in high definition as well.

Let’s first start with how to view a video in high def. Originally when YouTube was created, the video quality was just terrible. This is normally what you would see when you just watch a video in standard quality:

(Click the image to see it at the regular size)

Then, in 2008, an option of “Watch in High Quality” appeared on some videos. However, this wasn’t much of an upgrade of the original:

(Click the image to see it at the regular size)

And now the option of “Watch in HD” can come up on some videos. That is if the author of the video uploaded it with the proper settings:

(Click the image to see it at the regular size)

Not only can you manually click to watch a video in HD, but you can also change your preferences so that youtube will always play the highest quality video. To do this, you must first be logged in to youtube. Then, go to My Account, and click on Playback Setup:

Click the box that says “I have a fast connection. Always play higher-quality video when it’s available.” This will guarantee that every video that you watch will be in the highest quality possible.

*However, as a side note, I have learned that if you delete your web files (clearing the cache), or if you log onto another computer with your user name, these settings will not be saved, because it’s stored as a cookie on your computer and not on your actual account.)

To watch a video in HD, the person who uploaded it has to have met certain requirements when uploading their video for it to show up in high definition. If they did meet the following requirements (at the bottom of this post) and it still doesn’t show up, there’s still a way to force YouTube to show it in HD. It’s done by adding on a few characters to the end of the URL address. This is known as the append suffix code.

Append Suffix Code:

Don’t worry, it’s not difficult to do at all. When you watch a video on YouTube, you’ll usually see up in the address bar of your browser the link of the video, such as:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLwZZ0px3tU&feature=channel_page

Now lets shorten that link down and get rid of everything after the “&” sign, including the “&” so that it reads:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLwZZ0px3tU

Now it’s time to add on some code. Here are different suffixes  that you can place onto the end of the URL to force youtube to play a better version:

&fmt=6

- The resolution becomes 448×336, Flash 7 video @ 900Kbps; audio @ 44.1KHz 96Kbps Mono CBR. This is usually the default (standard) quality for videos.

&fmt=18

-It increases the resolution to 480×360, H.264 video @ 512Kbps; audio @ 44.1KHz 128Kbps Stereo. This is the “Watch in High Quality” option. Don’t be fooled by the lower video bit rate, because the H.264 video codec is 10 times better than Flash Video 7.

&fmt=22

-It increases the resolution to 1280×720, H.264 video @ 1024Kbps; audio @ 44.1KHz 232Kbps Stereo. This is now true 720p high definition video.

So to watch a video in HD, I would take the youtube link and add on the suffix:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQ82dc7s3Bk&fmt=22

As you can see, if you try using my example, the video will still be in standard quality. This is because the video was not uploaded with the HD requirements. Even if you try to force YouTube to play it in HD, or even high quality, the author who uploaded it in the end decides what quality you will see.

The Requirements for Uploading HD Video:

This is for anyone who will be uploading videos to youtube and want to show off the best quality possible. Even if your video isn’t in HD, this will help you at least allow people to see your video in “High Quality” mode.

The most important things to remember are the video codec and resolution that you’re using. The chart that is below was taken from the youtube help center:

Youtube stresses that for a 4:3 (standard video) that you use the resolution of 640 x 480. And if you have a wide screen or high def video, YouTube says to use 1280 x 720. But what if you don’t know which type of video or codec that your movie is in? How do you go about preparing it for YouTube if it doesn’t meet this criteria? Check back next week as Hall Media walks you through, step by step on how to prepare, convert and upload your video to YouTube.