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YouTube Slowly Uploading High-Quality Videos

If you've got an HDTV sitting at home, watching standard definition TV can be a drag. What's even worse is tuning into YouTube videos. The video quality is often lacking in a big way. YouTube is hoping to change that, however, and is beginning to make higher-definition videos available for viewing.

As both a creator for and a watcher of the videos posted on YouTube, I know what a pain it is to upload long videos. Even if you have a very fast Internet connection, long videos can take a long time to get upstream to Google's YouTube servers. High definition (or even higher quality) video, which is often four times the data of regular video, is much worse to work with and takes far longer to upload.

Not only does it take longer to upload, but it also takes longer to process on your PC and prepare for publication to begin with. This is why most people settle for the standard "YouTube" definition. In fact, iMovie has an uploader built directly into it, and it automatically creates videos that are the correct resolution to match what YouTube can handle.

Bandwidth and storage capacity being issues, it's not all that surprising that the vast bulk of video found on YouTube is not high definition. Google may not exactly be rolling out 1080p capabilities, but it is slowly opening the door to higher-quality videos.

YouTube staffers posted this entry on the official YouTube blog:

You may have noticed that we're now giving you the option of watching some YouTube videos in higher quality. We're making these streams available on certain videos, based upon the source file uploaded to us, and over time you'll find a greater percentage of the library is available to view in higher quality. This feature applies to all eligible videos uploaded from the YouTube community, and is not restricted to partner content, so everyone can enjoy this upgrade.

How do you watch higher quality videos? On your Account page you're now able to choose "always show me higher quality when available" or "never show me higher quality." We suggest you select "always show me..." only if you have a fast Internet connection, otherwise you might find that videos don't play as quickly or smoothly as you're used to. Higher quality videos also have a link right below the video player which will allow you to select between the normal or higher quality settings.

There you have it. Better quality is on its way. There are, however, some limitations. Files sizes are limited to 1 GB, and igher-definition videos can't be longer than 10 minutes in length.

Even so, this is sure to change before too long. So sit back, relax, and enjoy better-looking video.

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