YouTube will let you opt out of AI upscaling on low-res videos

YouTube will let you opt out of AI upscaling on low-res videos

Briefly

"Specifically, YouTube says it will start automatically upscaling videos uploaded below 1080p, using AI to bump them to HD resolution, and plans to support upscaling to 4K "in the near future" - but both creators and viewers will be able to 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," YouTube says in the announcement."

"Almost every major TV brand offers its own form of built-in AI upscaling, as screen sizes have increased and 4K resolution stopped being a novelty, and Nvidia provides a similar feature on its Shield TV streaming devices. YouTube's opt-out option is notable, however, given complaints from creators that the platform was applying enhancements to their videos without consent, sometimes resulting in undesirable visual distortions."

"The automatic upscaling will only apply to videos uploaded in 240p to 720p resolutions, YouTube spokesperson Veronica Navarrete told The Verge. That means the feature won't be applied to older videos that creators or channels have already digitally remastered to 1080p themselves."

"YouTube is also expanding the current video thumbnail limit from 2MB to 50MB to support 4K images, and says it's currently testing larger video uploads with select creators. On videos with tagged shopping products, viewers will soon be able to quickly buy whatever catches their eye by using their phone to scan a QR code displayed on the TV, taking them directly to the product page."