YouTube has
upped the ante on supporting higher-quality videos, a boon for
videogame fans who like to upload clips of their gameplay.
Google GOOGL +1.36%’s video site is now allowing videos to run at a smoother 60 frames per second, compared with up to 30 fps earlier.
The visual change is noticeable , particularly when elevating the
playback quality of a racing game to high-definition quality, such as
1080p. A number of people in the past day noticed the 60 fps support and
pointed to videos that show off the difference in quality.
Allowing video playback at 60 fps is an important step if YouTube
wants to compete with the likes of Twitch, a video-streaming site that
is turning game footage into a spectator sport. Amazon.com AMZN +2.14% recently shelled out nearly $1 billion to buy Twitch, a company that Google previously had held talks about acquiring, The Wall Street Journal reported in August.
YouTube had announced in June
that support for 60 fps was coming. It has been steadily upgrading the
quality of video on its site, including support for uploading and
watching live-streaming HD footage and enabling 4K video.
People were able to upload 60 fps videos for years, but playback was
capped at 30 fps. YouTube said that 60 fps support is now available for
the desktop browsers Chrome, Internet Explorer and Safari, and a test
version of Firefox called “Nightly.” For the time being, some videos
previously uploaded at 60 fps might choke on higher-quality playback
until YouTube can convert it; videos uploaded at 60 fps going forward
should be fine. Support for other platforms, such as mobile and apps on
gaming consoles, will come later, YouTube said.
YouTube touted the high frame rates in a tweet Thursday:
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