After much demand, YouTube has finally introduced support for 48 and 60 frames per second video, which is great news for anyone wanting a more realistic-looking video experience, but especially huge for the gaming community.
The update gives viewers the option for a far more engrossing video experience.
Previously, all content on YouTube was set at either 24 or 30 frames per second. Logistical reasons may have been the reason for YouTube taking so long to add support for 60; doubling the frame count in turn increases the output bandwidth to at least 5000 kbps.
YouTube has used trailers for Battlefield: Hardline and Titanfall, both shooters that require high frame rates, to show off its 60-frame support. Be sure to switch the quality to 1080p to view the content in the maximum frame rate.
Last year when developer Guerrilla Games was showing off Killzone: Shadowfall, they had to actually provide a download link for fans. It was the only way fans could see the game in its true glory without any downframing or compression.
YouTube has already embraced 4K streaming and now high-frame-rate streaming. The next logical step for the service is to allow uncompressed uploads. As it stands, YouTube compresses a video file to allow for easier streaming. For example, look at the header image above: While the screengrab was from a 1080p stream of Battlefield: Hardline, the blurriness is due to YouTube’s compression algorithm. There are ways to get around it and have minimal compression. But for now, if you still want to see a video truly uncompressed, it will require you to download directly.
Screengrab via Battlefield/YouTube