The story was there, so was the setback. Recently it became clear that YouTube wanted to throw 4K video quality behind the pay wall. An experiment that thankfully will not go through.
Google is using its common sense and ending the test early. That’s what it let it know on Twitter, via its YouTube account, in response to a comment about the situation.
Google halts 4K experiment YouTube
“Viewers should be able to watch videos in full 4K resolution without a Premium subscription,” YouTube’s Twitter account reveals. “We have completely reversed the experiment.” This was the response after the platform was criticized, for the umpteenth time, for the controversial test it recently created.
For those who missed it, Google wanted to see to what extent consumers were willing to pay for videos in 4K resolution. Maybe not such a crazy idea, provided you’ve been offering the option for free for years. Not surprisingly, the American company could count on quite a few angry reactions. Also from Content Creators themselves.
Twitter won’t load because you didn’t give permission.
What if you don’t force your premium sub for watching 4k content
– Priyansh_ (@nandan_priyansh) October 16, 2022
Not every user had to deal with the blocked functionality, but there was a fairly large group that had to make do with 1080P resolution. Full HD, that is. As soon as these users wanted to press the 4K button, they were notified that this was a paid functionality.
What do you actually get with Premium?
Although Premium is doing nicely, Google seems to be busy looking for a way to make the YouTube subscription even more attractive. Although the lack of features, and mainly the monthly fee, seems to be a problem.
Currently, YouTube Premium gives users, for a monthly fee of $11.99, the following:
Videos without advertising
Ability to play videos in the background
Offline downloads
Access to YouTube Music Premium
Although watching videos without ads sounds appealing, the fee is far too high for many consumers. Especially considering streaming service YouTube Premium has little appeal and the other features are not rock-solid musts.