MobileRatty: YouTube slowly upgrading to higher quality video

This is cache of http://gadgetforlife.info/2008/03/03/youtube-slowly-upgrading-to-higher-quality-video/. Cache is the snapshot of article that we took when we index feed.
To see original page click here.
We are not affiliated with the authors of this article and not responsible for its content.

YouTube slowly upgrading to higher quality video

2008-03-04 02:26:16 by HASH0x8af17f8 in gadget life blog

To anyone familiar with the blocky, smeared visual quality of a standard YouTube clip, the above sequence is a real eye-opener.

Apparently YouTube is in the process of slowly upgrading the resolution of videos stored on the site, with newer clips getting converted first.

While there is no label or button yet on YouTube to differentiate between chunky and high-res videos, you can add the string &fmt=6 at the end of any YouTube URL. If the video starts playing, it’s in the higher resolution.

If the video just keeps trying to load without playing, then the higher-res version isn’t available.

Dear YouTube: Faster, please.