Youtube finally gets HD playback

YOUTUBE, the video darling that endures a turbulent relationship with Hollywood, is pandering to its potential benefactors with a new HD player.

Yes, after many years of grim quality videos of cats on skateboards, Youtube users will now be able to enjoy... slightly sharper videos of cats on skateboards.

At least, that's the idea. Youtube has been slowly upgrading the quality of its player. This year it added a high quality player that rendered video at a slightly nicer bitrate. Then last week it moved its player to a widescreen format to accommodate the large amount of content now being shot in 16:9. Now, HD allows an even sharper resolution and higher bitrate.

Of course, to call it HD is a gross misnomer. Yes, it looks sharper and yes, it's at a higher bitrate. But what Youtube is providing is nowhere near the HD quality being provided by cable TV stations, let alone true HD sources like Blu-ray. It would be more appropriate to call it Higher(er) Definition.

Now with a widescreen player and better quality, Youtube is finally equipped to start servicing the professional grade content it needs to survive. Advertisers have been notably unwilling to put their branded videos next to the site's user-generated content, and so Google has gone back to the drawing board and is now re-pitching Youtube as a video destination for professional content, even rolling out some full-length movies from select Hollywood partners.

With better quality now on offer, expect Google to start signing content partners from the big leagues left, right and centre, in a bid to monetise its 700 million monthly eyeballs. In the short term, however, the site can expect to see its bandwidth bills go stratospheric before revenue starts to kick in, which is sure to make for a nervy time at the Googleplex.

L'Inq
Newteevee