A new video quality option has reportedly appeared in the website’s drop-down menu, according to some YouTube users. They can also see a playback choice for 1080p Premium that offers “Enhanced bitrate,” in addition to the standard 1080p playback option.
A spokesperson told The Verge that “a small subset of YouTube Premium subscribers” are presently able to view the enhanced video quality that is being tested. An “increased bitrate version of 1080p” with “more information per pixel” and “better quality viewing experience” was how they defined it. Also, there shouldn’t be any changes to the usual 1080p resolution’s quality, which some viewers might not view as positive news.
Based on several comments on the Reddit thread discussing the test, viewers find the standard 1080p resolution on the website to be poor in quality. But a higher bitrate, which is used as a measurement for the amount of video data transferred within a certain timeframe, could mean getting better images without having to bump up the resolution. As XDA Developers notes, switching to 4K would give users access to better and sharper-looking videos, but they’d have to stream a much bigger file that could cost them more or eat up more of their data allowance.
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However, the upgraded 1080p option is still a test feature, and YouTube might not even approve it for a general release. Only subscribers to YouTube Premium will have access to it if it survives the testing stage. Users will have to pay either $12 per month for an individual account or $23 per month for a family plan to use the subscription service.
