YouTube has announced it will use AI technology to automatically upscale creators’ uploads, in an effort to make low resolution clips look better on television sets.
In a blog post today, Google says AI will generate high definition videos of standard definition uploads. That’s just the initial phase. Google says there are plans for 4K upscaling in the future. That’s largely because Google is seeing tremendous growth in the number of viewers enjoying content on their television sets. And, on the largest screen in the house, that poor quality video becomes much more noticable.
The surprising part of this is Google turning this feature on by default. Creators can turn it off and opt out, but if they don’t, artificial intelligence will do its thing without express consent. I hate this idea, to be honest. There’s something more charming and authentic about the imperfections. The feature should be opt-in, not opt out.
“Creators will retain complete control over their library, as both original files and original video resolution will be kept intact, with a clear option to opt-out of these enhancements,” Google says in the blog post. “And viewers will still be able to watch creators’ videos in the original uploaded resolution, as super resolution will be clearly labeled under settings.”
You can see some of the changes explained in the video below.
Google also says there’ll be a new thumbnail file limit from 2MB to 50MB that’ll generate 4K resolution for those creators’ videos. Furthermore, viewers see immersive previews on the homepage for their favourite YouTube channels, which look similar to those you’ll see on the Netflix homepage. Shopping videos are getting on-screen QR codes to buy from a product page.
“By removing extra steps and catching the viewer’s interest at the most relevant time, we’re making it easier for viewers to act on their inspiration, helping creators drive conversions and grow their brands from the biggest screen in the home,” the company adds.
