It seemed only yesterday when YouTube began offering videos at 780p, opening a much greater viewing experience than ever before. In today’s standards, though, that may seem tame for some. This may be the reason why YouTube is keen on supporting high-resolution, 1080p streaming videos next.
Videos will still have a 10-minute maximum length, but it’s likely that YouTube will lift the 2GB file size limit to accommodate much heavier files. Supporting much larger files means higher costs, but the guys at YouTube don’t seem worried. After all, YouTube is owned by Google.
Besides, supporting 1080p will open several doors of opportunity for YouTube, such as tying up with content providers and offering premium content once the technology goes mainstream. Such opportunities should eventually make the upgrade pay for itself.
Users, being the biggest contributors of YouTube content, should appreciate the upgrade. Mobile users uploaded twenty times more videos this year than the last.
