Let's start by saying it right away: no, YouTube didn't put 1080p resolution at a premium for everyone. Having said that, rest assured users, we can begin. The company brought in a new CEO on Feb. 16 who appears to be already making changes. A user of reddit found a new resolution option in the YouTube mobile app called “1080p Premium”. From that moment on panic broke out but we are here to clarify.
While still unannounced, Google has plans to charge YouTube for 1080p resolution. But let's be clear!
This 1080p Premium option will coexist with the normal 1080p that we usually use (with WiFI, don't forget!) since ever, since it will only offer an improved bit rate. But what is the grace bitrate?
What is bitrate and what does it have to do with YouTube?
The bitrate of a video refers to the amount of data that is transmitted or saved for each second of video playback. A higher bitrate means that there is more data transmitted or saved for every second of video playback, which means more visual detail, but also a larger video file. The bitrate of a video is affected by the resolution, frame rate, data compression, and audio quality.
YouTube's 1080p resolution has one very high compression which makes the videos not look as good as they should. This is due to the low bitrate YouTube broadcasts at this resolution. Until now, to get around this limitation, users uploaded videos in 1440p or 4K, two resolutions that have a much higher bitrate. Now, with the “1080p Premium” option, this will no longer be necessary. In a nutshell We will be able to play videos at the maximum resolution supported by our smartphone with a high bit rate, without having to load it in a resolution that is not compatible with the screen.
Read also: YouTube now skips us to the highlight of the video
How much will Youtube Premium 1080p resolution cost?
The cost to pay for this improvement is the YouTube Premium membership price as it will be added as one of the benefits of this service which also allows, among other things, to remove ads and play videos in the background. That said, we don't know if e when this feature will come to all users. There have been no official announcements yet.
