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YouTube Expands New ‘Enhanced’ 1080p Resolution to Desktop Users, Select Smart TVs

YouTube Expands New ‘Enhanced’ 1080p Resolution to Desktop Users, Select Smart TVs

David Satin
David Satin has been a dedicated News Writer at The Streamable since 2022, covering a wide range of stories in the entertainment and streaming industries. With years of experience writing online, David previously worked as a list writer for Screen Rant, where he gained recognition for his extensive coverage of sci-fi and fantasy genres. His ability to break and analyze major stories has made him a trusted voice in the streaming world. Over the course of his career, Satin has become an integral part of The Streamable team, contributing to some of the most impactful stories in the industry.
Read full bio ›
David Satin
•
Known for breaking major streaming stories, he’s covered everything from Netflix policy shifts to Peacock’s ad-tier changes. A sci-fi fan and Toshiba Fire TV user, he brings sharp analysis and a love for the genre to his reporting.
Known for breaking major streaming stories, he’s covered everything from Netflix policy shifts to Peacock’s ad-tier changes. A sci-fi fan and Toshiba Fire TV user, he brings sharp analysis and a love for the genre to his reporting.

YouTube is giving more users a way to access its newest, paywalled screen resolution. The company first began testing what it calls its “enhanced bitrate” 1080p resolution in February and rolled it out to YouTube Premium users on iOS devices in April. Now, the enhanced bitrate option is launching on desktop browsers.

A YouTube spokesperson confirmed to The Verge that the new resolution option is now available for desktop YouTube Premium users around the globe. The company says enhanced bitrate 1080p makes videos look extra sharp and clear, and it’s especially useful for enhancing videos with copious motion and detail. It has been spotted on some Android-powered devices as well, but 9to5 Google reports that that rollout has not been as widespread. According to the outlet, YouTube has launched the enhancement on select TV devices — primarily Google’s “non-Android-based Chromecasts and game consoles,” but at this point, complete details have not yet been released.

The good news for users who don’t have YouTube Premium in their budgets is that the normal 1080p High Definition streaming resolution isn’t going anywhere. It will still be available without needing a paid subscription, which is all the better considering the price of a YouTube Premium subscription recently took a jump.

Formerly YouTube Premium cost $11.99 per month but in July the video hosting platform raised the price to $13.99 per month. The main benefit of a YouTube Premium subscription is ad-free video streaming on the site, but users can also sync up and watch videos with friends and family, download videos to watch away from WiFi, and much more.

It's been suggested that YouTube could enhance the value of its live TV streaming service YouTube TV by giving customers of that platform free YouTube Premium subscriptions, but there’s been no movement on that idea by the company thus far. The company did set up a Twitter poll to get customer feedback on YouTube Premium in July, but the poll has since expired.

If users respond to the introduction of the enhanced bitrate 1080p resolution on desktop devices in a big way, YouTube may continue to experiment with features that will be kept behind the Premium paywall. Last fall, the company toyed with the notion of making 4K videos available only to Premium subscribers, though that idea lasted only a couple of weeks.

David Satin
David Satin has been a dedicated News Writer at The Streamable since 2022, covering a wide range of stories in the entertainment and streaming industries. With years of experience writing online, David previously worked as a list writer for Screen Rant, where he gained recognition for his extensive coverage of sci-fi and fantasy genres. His ability to break and analyze major stories has made him a trusted voice in the streaming world. Over the course of his career, Satin has become an integral part of The Streamable team, contributing to some of the most impactful stories in the industry.
Read full bio ›
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