YouTube limiting video resolution to save bandwidth
YouTube will begin to limit video resolution to standard, Bloomberg reports, as the site sees massive traffic surges while people are staying in (and watching videos) during the coronavirus pandemic. The staying in part is good news, but while YouTube doesn’t think we’re at risk of running out of bandwidth in the near future, they’ve decided to make this change, for a month, at least at first, in response to government concerns. “We continue to work closely with governments and network operators around the globe to do our part to minimize stress on the system during this unprecedented situation,” Google said in a statement.
You’ll still be able to opt into high definition streams if you want, but you won’t get them automatically for now.
This move comes after regulators in Europe asked sites including Netflix, Amazon, and YouTube to reduce their video resolution to make sure increases in streaming usage didn’t overwhelm networks. In a statement to CNN, European Commissioner Thierry Breton said that streaming platforms, service providers, and users “all have a joint responsibility to take steps to ensure the smooth functioning of the internet during the battle against the virus propagation.”
Meanwhile, UK-based video game expert Rik Henderson recently said that “while video streaming services, such as Netflix and YouTube, are committed to reducing their digital footprint during the coronavirus crisis, gaming is perhaps the biggest threat to internet bandwidth in the next few months,” The Daily Mail reports. So maybe go easy on Animal Crossing?
