YouTube TV

YouTube TV delays new ‘1080p Enhanced’ with higher bitrate for better picture quality [U]

Ben Schoon | Feb 7 2024 - 7:15 am PT

YouTube TV can stream some channels at up to 4K, but quality can always get better. Currently, YouTube TV is rolling out support for “1080p Enhanced” across many channels.

Update 2/7: YouTube has confirmed that “1080p Enhanced” is slightly delayed. The option, which showed up for many users over the past several days, is apparently facing a bug that has temporarily hidden the new quality setting from view, which has also removed the option for those who were seeing it. There’s no word on when it might come back.

We’re excited to have higher bitrate 1080p available for YouTube TV and YouTube PrimeTime Channels live streams. We identified a bug that prevents users from manually selecting this option in their settings, and our teams are working to address the issue.

Our original coverage follows, and we’ll update this post again when more information is available.

Streaming quality will vary on YouTube TV depending on what you’re watching, even down to the very program being viewed. For many channels, “1080i” has been the broadcast quality standard for a while, which doesn’t quite match the 1080p you might be used to from other streaming services, while some other channels will support 1080p quality.

Currently, YouTube TV is rolling out “1080p Enhanced” for many channels. This boosted quality, YouTube says on Reddit, is available to 4K-compatible streaming devices and is the “highest video quality” available outside of 4K Plus.

We’re rolling out a 1080p Enhanced option for YouTube TV and Primetime Channels subscribers. The option will be available on updated 4K-compatible streaming devices and delivers our highest video quality. Viewers can navigate to video quality settings at any time to update their preferred setting. To ensure access to 1080p Enhanced and the best possible viewing experience, we recommend you upgrade to a 4K-compatible streaming device.

This new option first started appearing for users throughout 2023, but seems to be finally rolling out more widely. Notably, last February, YouTube TV quietly made some upgrades to picture quality, while YouTube itself launched the higher-bitrate “1080p Premium” a few months ago.