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Youtube used to be only 240p, and I found it perfectly watchable. Then when 360p started to roll out, people played all kinds of weird url tricks to try to forc

by Buge 11y ago

Youtube used to be only 240p, and I found it perfectly watchable. Then when 360p started to roll out, people played all kinds of weird url tricks to try to force videos to be high quality (360p). Tons of videos from then are only available in those resolutions, and I don't think it's productive to close the tab any time you encounter a video from 2007 or 2008.

swang 11y ago
I mean sure if you're stuck in 2007 it's fine. The average screen resolution in 2007 was 1024x768. Most of us now have ~1080p-ish type screens or on mobile where it's even higher. We also now have the bandwidth to watch 720p/1080p videos whereas in 2007 that was less true to a broader audience. 360p is pretty unwatchable for me on my screen from 2011/2012, let alone anything that's been released in the past 2 years.
- babuskov 11y ago
  It really depends on your usage patterns. I watch YT mostly for audio in the videos. Either it's music or some documentary or interviews or shows like This Week in Startups. Video is really not important and I don't want to waste my bandwidth on it. I watch all videos at 360p by default and only increase it manually when I really need to see the detail. I also know a lot of people who just start a playlist with music and leave YT in the background the whole day. They don't even have that tab active in the browser.
  - joonoro 11y ago
    I was going to reply to you by saying that Youtube audio quality is affected by video quality, but apparently that hasn't been the case anymore since 2013. The more you know! http://www.h3xed.com/web-and-internet/youtube-audio-quality-bitrate-240p-360p-480p-720p-1080p http://www.h3xed.com/web-and-internet/youtube-audio-quality-...
746F7475 11y ago
Yep 240p was watchable, but no one wanted to watch it. I used to make stupid little "frag movies" and we used to upload them to youtube for "quick review" and if we found it interesting or good then there was always some file sharing site URL to download better quality version for local viewing

by Buge 11y ago

swang 11y ago

I mean sure if you're stuck in 2007 it's fine. The average screen resolution in 2007 was 1024x768. Most of us now have ~1080p-ish type screens or on mobile where it's even higher. We also now have the bandwidth to watch 720p/1080p videos whereas in 2007 that was less true to a broader audience. 360p is pretty unwatchable for me on my screen from 2011/2012, let alone anything that's been released in the past 2 years.

babuskov 11y ago
It really depends on your usage patterns. I watch YT mostly for audio in the videos. Either it's music or some documentary or interviews or shows like This Week in Startups. Video is really not important and I don't want to waste my bandwidth on it. I watch all videos at 360p by default and only increase it manually when I really need to see the detail. I also know a lot of people who just start a playlist with music and leave YT in the background the whole day. They don't even have that tab active in the browser.
- joonoro 11y ago
  I was going to reply to you by saying that Youtube audio quality is affected by video quality, but apparently that hasn't been the case anymore since 2013. The more you know! http://www.h3xed.com/web-and-internet/youtube-audio-quality-bitrate-240p-360p-480p-720p-1080p http://www.h3xed.com/web-and-internet/youtube-audio-quality-...

746F7475 11y ago

Yep 240p was watchable, but no one wanted to watch it. I used to make stupid little "frag movies" and we used to upload them to youtube for "quick review" and if we found it interesting or good then there was always some file sharing site URL to download better quality version for local viewing