Youtube spruces itself up for big TVs
Youtube wants to perform better on televisions. AI upscaling, QR codes, and improved search are intended to help.
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The video platform YouTube wants to look better on large screens, as are common with modern televisions. To this end, the Google division has announced several measures. First and foremost, upscaling of videos using artificial intelligence: videos with resolutions of 240 to 720 pixels will be automatically upscaled to 1080 pixels and later, presumably, to 4096 (4K). Viewers will always have the option to switch back to the original resolution.
Channel operators who generally do not wish for their videos to be upscaled must take action and remove the default consent. This can be done via YouTube Studio under Settings - Channel - Advanced Settings. Directly below that, you can also request that YouTube does not alter the audio track using AI. The opt-out is apparently only possible at the channel level, not for individual videos.
Incidentally, context-based advertising can also be switched off under Advanced Settings. Unfortunately, the option to prevent the disturbing automatic AI translations of overlays and the unsolicited AI-generated eerie soundtracks in other languages is still missing.
Better Search
To promote the advertising business, according to the announcement, QR codes are to play a greater role. After all, when using YouTube on televisions, it is less likely to click on advertising links, especially when several people are watching simultaneously. Therefore, the advertisers concerned will scan the QR codes on the TV screen with their mobile phones and go shopping on their phones, while YouTube will show other advertisements to other viewers.
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Another innovation is that YouTube will allow larger preview images. Instead of the current maximum of 2 MB, they will soon be able to comprise up to 50 MB. Selected users can already try this out.
Finally, YouTube is also improving search when displayed on televisions: if a channel is open and a search query is made from there, search results from the channel's content will be prioritized. Why this improvement remains limited to televisions is YouTube's secret.
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