YouTube to launch 720p and full 1080p viewing mode

by Stevie Smith - Nov 13 2009, 10:45

Crammed with user-created video content that’s often hamstrung by predominantly poor capture quality, hugely popular clip-sharing service YouTube has said it will soon attempt to right that particular wrong via a new and improved high-definition viewing mode.

Set to start from next week, users of Google-owned YouTube will find themselves handed support for watching clips in both 720p and full 1080p high definition – although that will depend on the resolution of the original source.

“As resolution of consumer cameras increases, we want to make sure YouTube is the best home on the web to showcase your content,” outlined YouTube software engineer Billy Biggs through the company’s official blog.

According to YouTube, site users equipped with “big monitors and a fast computer” should try switching to the 1080p resolution in order to get the very best from the full-screen option attached to every video window.

Of course, the viewing quality of those clips is strictly dependant on users themselves, which is why YouTube “would love to see” 1080p video footage captured by uploaders armed with a capable high-definition camera.

“We will run the best examples on our homepage in a future spotlight,” said Biggs in an effort to poke users with a blunt incentive stick.

“And those of you who have already uploaded in 1080p, don’t worry,” he added. “We’re in the process of re-encoding your videos so we can show them the way you intended.”

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