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YouTube’s new Enhanced Bitrate videos feature on Windows 11 will not be free
There isn’t an exact release date for the feature
3 min. read
Updated onOctober 4, 2023
updated onOctober 4, 2023
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Key notes
When it comes to watching our favorite videos and movies, it all comes down to quality. Who would like to watch anything on a 360p bitrate anyway?
So, you might be pleased to know that the Google company seems to be testing its new 1080p premium tier for an improved streaming experience on Windows 11.
By the way, if you arestruggling with streaming quality on your Windows 10 deviceas well, we can show you how to fix the problem.
Now, let’s get a bit more into today’s topic and see what we can expect from Google. Just as an FYI, it won’t be free.
The feature is still in testing and it only works on 1080p videos
The above-mentioned feature aims to enhance the quality of high-definition videos by improving the video bitrate.
You might surely remember that the feature was previously available to mobile users only as part of the company’s premium tier.
There have been a lot of reports from users that have noticed that YouTube now shows a1080p Premiumoption when watching videos in Edge and Chrome browsers on Windows 11.
It only appears for 1080p quality, but it currently doesn’t work on desktops, so make sure you keep that in mind for now.
When clicking on the option, a pop-up on YouTube.com will inform you to subscribe to premium when the account was already premium.
Even though YouTube has experimented with the quality a few times on desktops, this month’s update seems to be testing out a new1080p Premiumtier that improves the quality.’
As a matter of fact, a YouTube employee recently confirmed the company tested the feature with select desktop users last month and expanded it to more desktops, Android phones, and Android TVs in the last few days.
It is important to keep in mind that the 1080p Enhanced Bitrate option is only available on videos with exactly 1080p, not higher.
Checking out another video that is available in 4k, for example, will show that the 1080p Enhanced Bitrate option is totally missing.
Actually,1080p has been considerably lower, and some users are unhappy that Google has reduced the quality of 1080p streams by lowering the bitrate, which helps the company save bandwidth costs.
This new feature aims to unlock the higher bitrate for 1080p videos for a monthly subscription. You didn’t think there wasn’t a catch, did you?
After Google officiallyconfirmedthe rollout of YouTube’s enhanced 1080p playback on mobile devices in April, desktops are apparently next in line to get it.
Please note that it’s still unclear how much this bitrate upgrade could improve the streaming on the platform or when all premium users on the desktop can even use it.
What are your thoughts on the matter? be sure to leave a comment down bellow with your thoughts, opinions, and ideas.
More about the topics:Windows 11 Software & Apps
Alexandru Poloboc
Tech Journalist
With an overpowering desire to always get to the bottom of things and uncover the truth, Alex spent most of his time working as a news reporter, anchor, as well as TV and radio entertainment show host.
A certified gadget freak, he always feels the need to surround himself with next-generation electronics.
When he is not working, he splits his free time between making music, gaming, playing football, basketball and taking his dogs on adventures.
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Alexandru Poloboc
Tech Journalist
With a desire to always get to the bottom of things and uncover the truth, Alex spent most of his time working as a news reporter.
