- YouTube announces to set the video quality to standard definition for streaming by default.
- Other companies are doing their part to minimize their impact on network capacity.
- YouTube’s upcoming android app update to come with a default video quality setting.
We are going through a global lockdown since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. People being bound to their houses are using the internet for purposes such as, to work from home, to get help while studying, and for entertainment, etc. This has led to increased internet usage globally and some networks might face disruption under excessive use. The companies are trying to limit the effect of this increased demand on network capacity.
YouTube, playing its part to minimize the effect on network capacity has announced that the company will set the video quality to standard definition globally by default for the next month. YouTube took similar steps in Europe during the last week by reducing the capacity for users to watch videos in high definition. The default video quality is set to 480p for streaming. You will still be able to choose higher-quality definitions while streaming through the site but the next video you play will automatically be set to 480p quality before playing. The company thinks that this step can help them lower the impact on network capacity if the users don’t observe the change or don’t mind the difference in video quality. One of the company’s representatives told media outlets that they have already prepared their system to automatically use less network bandwidth.
Google is also joining hands with governments and network operators to limit its impact on the system. Streaming providers like Disney+ and Netflix are also taking steps to minimize bandwidth usage. Gaming is a welcome escape to homebound, bored masses and it is believed to be a bigger burden on network capacity than video streaming. Microsoft and Sony are the two gaming platforms to slow down game downloads and are delaying updates to cope up with the situation.
If you like to watch videos in HD quality, it might be sometimes annoying for you to always have to change the video quality setting in the update. You probably face this issue while using the app on mobile where the default video quality setting is 480p. The good news is, you will be able to set a preferred video quality on the app in the next update. The new feature was first spotted by Xda-developers and Jane Manchun Wong, in APK v15.12.33 of the app but it seems that Google is still fixing some bugs before the feature is officially introduced. This feature will give the users to choose preferred video quality on both modes-while using Wi-Fi, or while using mobile data.
Previously, users could set the video quality to 480p while using mobile data and shift to HD quality while being on Wi-Fi. The said feature might not be available until the coronavirus outbreak disappears as the company is busy in reducing the increased usage impact on network capacity.
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