In a blog post, YouTube’s Chief Product Officer Neal Mohan discussed the newest innovations in video offerings, both served and user generated.
One of the talking points was about the expansion of YouTube to television sets (as YouTube is mainly watched on mobile phones), with YouTube TV boasting 3 million paid subscribers and over 85 networks to choose from.
More interesting, YouTube TV will soon feature an add-on option to stream or download shows in 4k. The add-on will also allow “unlimited concurrent streams at home.” Pair those features with the unlimited DVR that is standard with YouTube TV and you’ve got a fairly robust platform.
Now, in the blog post Mohan refers only to “shows” and not to movies. This could mean the 4k download feature will not be extended to films, as distribution agreements with studios may not allow downloads of movies. Or, maybe the word “show” was just used to describe any type of content? We’ll be finding out soon.
“While the majority of YouTube videos are watched on mobile, our fastest area of growth is the TV. That’s why we’ve brought that same spirit of YouTube’s experience to TV content with YouTube TV.”
Mohan also mentioned how YouTube now supports a wide range of formats that include SD, HD, 4K, VR, HDR, and live video on just about any internet-connected device including desktops, mobile phones, tablets, gaming consoles, TVs, and VR headsets to name several.
“During a year when so many of us stayed home, channels like AirPano VR allowed us to experience the wonders of the world in immersive new ways. Later this year, we’ll launch a redesign of the YouTube VR app homepage to improve navigation, accessibility, and search functionality.”
Source: YouTube Blog
I’ve been a YouTube TV customer for about 4 years. Tried a 30 day free trial of YouTube TV’s 4k option & was disappointed. I suspect most, if not all, of the 4k collage & NFL games are HD upgraded to 4k & none of their 4k offer HDR. Upgrading HD to 4k is a nice trick but hardly actual 4k. Many 4k Blu-rays are upgraded to 4k but at least they add HDR. So you’re paying $20 additional for a very slightly sharper picture. It’s not worth it. If HDR was added, even to HD, it would be.