YouTube has rolled out several new features designed to enhance the TV viewing experience. Highlights include a real-time shopping tool and improved video quality for lower-resolution uploads. The platform plans to automatically upscale videos that are below 1080p to HD quality using AI, with future ambitions to extend this capability to 4K resolution. Importantly, both content creators and viewers will have the choice to disable these enhancements.
According to YouTube's announcement, creators will maintain full control over their content. Original files and their resolutions will remain unaffected, and there will be a straightforward opt-out option for these AI-driven improvements. Likewise, viewers can choose to watch videos in the resolution they were originally uploaded in, with the “super resolution” setting clearly visible in the options menu.
Most major TV manufacturers already offer built-in AI upscaling, which has become commonplace as larger screens and 4K displays have proliferated. Nvidia has also introduced similar technology in its Shield TV streaming devices. The ability to opt-out provided by YouTube is particularly noteworthy in light of feedback from creators, who have raised concerns about unwanted alterations and potential visual distortions due to automatic enhancements.
Veronica Navarrete, a YouTube spokesperson, informed that automatic upscaling will target videos uploaded between 240p and 720p. This feature does not apply to videos already upscaled by creators or that have been remastered to 1080p.
The platform is further upgrading its service by increasing the video thumbnail size limit from 2MB to 50MB, facilitating 4K image compatibility. Additionally, YouTube is experimenting with larger video uploads through a select group of creators. For videos featuring tagged products, users will soon be able to quickly purchase by scanning a QR code displayed on the TV screen with their phone, leading them directly to the product's purchase page. YouTube is also trialing a feature that allows creators to highlight products within videos at specific times.
Other enhancements include immersive homepage previews that simplify the process of navigating through favorite channels and a revamped design for Shows. This new design is particularly beneficial for creators who have arranged videos into "binge-worthy" series, akin to formats found on Netflix and similar platforms. There's also an upgrade to contextual search on TVs, which prioritizes content from the creator's channel during searches, rather than displaying platform-wide results.
With TVs being YouTube’s fastest-growing platform, the company emphasizes its commitment to introducing features that highlight and enhance creator content.