YouTube TV

YouTube TV appears to be improving picture quality for some subscribers

Ben Schoon | Feb 28 2023 - 8:43 am PT

Some YouTube TV subscribers are seeing improvements in picture quality, the platform appears to be upping its bitrate slightly.

Over the past day or two, some YouTube TV subscribers have noticed an uptick in picture quality on the live TV streaming service. The change was reported by several users, as well as the folks at CordCuttersNews. The upgraded quality seems to result in less pixelation, as well as more detail in darker scenes that you’re watching.

It appears the change has come from an improvement to YouTube TV’s streaming bitrate, which in turn upgrades the picture quality. The bitrate of a video refers to the amount of information carried in the stream. An increased bitrate can have a similar effect to an upgrade in video resolution, with sharper quality and clearer details.

It’s hard to say for sure if YouTube TV’s bitrate really has improved – even looking at router statistics can’t really give a clear answer – but the anecdotal experiences certainly seem to imply something has changed recently. And it seems entriely possible too, especially as YouTube is testing out a new “1080p Premium” tier which delivers on an “enhanced bitrate.” An upgrade in picture quality overall would also be timely with NFL Sunday Ticket around the corner.