I'm not sure whether this has been mentioned before, but if you tack "&fmt=18" (without the quotes) onto the end of a YouTube URL then the file streams in about twice the definition. The streamed file in your browser's cache is in the very useful MP4 format, so all you have to do is to make sure the extension is MP4, and change the random characters in the cache file to something more meaningful.
Further, if you have iTunes on your system and set up your file system so that MP4 files are played by iTunes by default, then iTunes will pick up that MP4 file when it is played and store it in its Movie section.
Note that the streamed file, being in higher definition, will be larger and may take longer to load, but this slight inconvenience is more than offset by having an MP4 file at the end of the process.
Actually, mine didn't do that with the extra bit on the end of the URL - but under the video it does offer me the choice of viewing in low (ie normal) or high definition.
Thanks for the cache tip - I'm going to download and compare one of my videos with the source video.
I have to say youtube is pretty grotty quality and there are other sites (ie vimeo) which are a lot better so I've taken to posting stuff there instead.
If about:cache doesn't help try going directly to the cache (I've set up a shortcut to it on my system).
When viewing the cache it may help to order the files by size - a streaming download is then obvious.
Don't forget to use View/Refresh to check that the file is loading into the cache.
I've found that a file frequently finishes loading into the cache long before it has finished playing in the YouTube window.
Look in the cache before you quit the browser - the browser may be set up to clear the cache when you close it down.
My personal view is that Opera is quicker for YouTube stuff than Firefox.
The cache locations in my system for Firefox and Opera are,
C:\Documents and Settings\myusername\Local Settings\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\garbagecharacters.default\Cache
C:\Documents and Settings\myusername\Application Data\Opera\Operaversionnumber\profile\cache4
I suspect that YouTube is well aware of quality problems (often compounded by the poor quality of uploads), and is doing something about it either by the (unannounced?) "&fmt=18" extension or giving the user the choice of low or high definition.
My 64MB .wmv file as uploaded onto YouTube when downloaded again from YouTube at "high quality" has been converted to an 8mb file by YouTube - but what the hell, it's better to have stuff out there, at whatever the quality, than not to have it!
It's presumably more important for us musicians to have sound and vision on a YouTube video in synch than to be worrying about the latest version of high definition. I also think I'm correct in saying that audio quality remains the same despite the video definition, but I'm open to correction on that one.
I think youtube audio quality is .... "ok" .... but no more than that. The audio I've uploaded is noticeably worse even than the compressed (.wmv / divx) format I've done as an intermediate file for upload.
BUT... I can't argue with the value of YouTube as a way of putting stuff up there and finding other stuff. It's amazing - and while other sites might have better video quality, the sheer range of stuff is what makes YouTube the king of them, in my opinion.
Plus in terms of technical quality, people on the whole prefer access to more stuff in lower quality than less stuff but in higher quality. That dynamic has played out again and again in various audio / video formats.
lazyhound the audio quality on youtube is also high quality when selecting high quality video. You can definately tell the difference on those two youtube videos of fiddle4.
For Windows and IE users, you can find your browser cache by clicking Tools->Internet Options. In the general tab, under browser history click "settings" then click "view files".
Make sure the entire file has played before looking for it. It helps to delete browser history before playing the file, it cleans up the folder a bit. Standard YouTube files are usually .flv but they may not show up in your cache with the .flv extention. Also, they are rarely named anything that is easily identifiable.
Upmine3, you are correct. I've done a comparison between a low definition YouTube download and its high definition version on Cool Edit's spectral analyzer. The highest frequency on the low definition was 9626 Hz, and on high definition was 15590 Hz (which is about what you would expect from good quality mp3).
The YouTube file I chose for the comparison was http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ML5zdbEGux4&fmt=18 (violin and piano recorded professionally in a concert hall). It was also noticeable in the example I used that there was a very significant difference in the dynamic output (the hi def being louder, of course), and the stereo effect seemed to be better with the hi def.
I suspect with some low quality uploads to YouTube (probably a high proportion) the difference in sound quality may not be so noticeable if, for example, there is nothing above 10K Hz in the original.
HD extension to YouTube
HD extension to YouTube
I'm not sure whether this has been mentioned before, but if you tack "&fmt=18" (without the quotes) onto the end of a YouTube URL then the file streams in about twice the definition. The streamed file in your browser's cache is in the very useful MP4 format, so all you have to do is to make sure the extension is MP4, and change the random characters in the cache file to something more meaningful.
Further, if you have iTunes on your system and set up your file system so that MP4 files are played by iTunes by default, then iTunes will pick up that MP4 file when it is played and store it in its Movie section.
Note that the streamed file, being in higher definition, will be larger and may take longer to load, but this slight inconvenience is more than offset by having an MP4 file at the end of the process.
As an example, you would modify this YouTube URL (from a recent post) http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=D9JrTKsk_tE
to
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=D9JrTKsk_tE&fmt=18
# Posted on April 24th 2008 by lazyhound
Re: HD extension to YouTube
If you want to find specific files in your Firefox cache, type:
about:cache
in the URL entry box, that will take you to a page that allows you to select the list of files in either the memory or disk cache.
# Posted on April 24th 2008 by Michael Eskin
Re: HD extension to YouTube
Hmmm.. After running one of my higher def videos from YouTube, I didn't see it in the Firefox cache... Anyone else able to get this to work?
# Posted on April 24th 2008 by Michael Eskin
Re: HD extension to YouTube
Actually, mine didn't do that with the extra bit on the end of the URL - but under the video it does offer me the choice of viewing in low (ie normal) or high definition.
Thanks for the cache tip - I'm going to download and compare one of my videos with the source video.
I have to say youtube is pretty grotty quality and there are other sites (ie vimeo) which are a lot better so I've taken to posting stuff there instead.
# Posted on April 24th 2008 by Mark Harmer
Re: HD extension to YouTube
A few further tips -
If about:cache doesn't help try going directly to the cache (I've set up a shortcut to it on my system).
When viewing the cache it may help to order the files by size - a streaming download is then obvious.
Don't forget to use View/Refresh to check that the file is loading into the cache.
I've found that a file frequently finishes loading into the cache long before it has finished playing in the YouTube window.
Look in the cache before you quit the browser - the browser may be set up to clear the cache when you close it down.
My personal view is that Opera is quicker for YouTube stuff than Firefox.
The cache locations in my system for Firefox and Opera are,
C:\Documents and Settings\myusername\Local Settings\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\garbagecharacters.default\Cache
C:\Documents and Settings\myusername\Application Data\Opera\Operaversionnumber\profile\cache4
I suspect that YouTube is well aware of quality problems (often compounded by the poor quality of uploads), and is doing something about it either by the (unannounced?) "&fmt=18" extension or giving the user the choice of low or high definition.
# Posted on April 24th 2008 by lazyhound
Re: HD extension to YouTube
My 64MB .wmv file as uploaded onto YouTube when downloaded again from YouTube at "high quality" has been converted to an 8mb file by YouTube - but what the hell, it's better to have stuff out there, at whatever the quality, than not to have it!
# Posted on April 24th 2008 by Mark Harmer
Re: HD extension to YouTube
I suspect the problem for an enterprise the size of YouTube is bandwidth - after all, they're handling video, not audio on its own.
# Posted on April 25th 2008 by lazyhound
Re: HD extension to YouTube
It's presumably more important for us musicians to have sound and vision on a YouTube video in synch than to be worrying about the latest version of high definition. I also think I'm correct in saying that audio quality remains the same despite the video definition, but I'm open to correction on that one.
# Posted on April 25th 2008 by lazyhound
Re: HD extension to YouTube
I think youtube audio quality is .... "ok" .... but no more than that. The audio I've uploaded is noticeably worse even than the compressed (.wmv / divx) format I've done as an intermediate file for upload.
BUT... I can't argue with the value of YouTube as a way of putting stuff up there and finding other stuff. It's amazing - and while other sites might have better video quality, the sheer range of stuff is what makes YouTube the king of them, in my opinion.
Plus in terms of technical quality, people on the whole prefer access to more stuff in lower quality than less stuff but in higher quality. That dynamic has played out again and again in various audio / video formats.
# Posted on April 25th 2008 by Mark Harmer
Re: HD extension to YouTube
lazyhound the audio quality on youtube is also high quality when selecting high quality video. You can definately tell the difference on those two youtube videos of fiddle4.
# Posted on April 25th 2008 by upmine3
Re: HD extension to YouTube
For Windows and IE users, you can find your browser cache by clicking Tools->Internet Options. In the general tab, under browser history click "settings" then click "view files".
Make sure the entire file has played before looking for it. It helps to delete browser history before playing the file, it cleans up the folder a bit. Standard YouTube files are usually .flv but they may not show up in your cache with the .flv extention. Also, they are rarely named anything that is easily identifiable.
# Posted on April 26th 2008 by CleverName
Re: HD extension to YouTube
Upmine3, you are correct. I've done a comparison between a low definition YouTube download and its high definition version on Cool Edit's spectral analyzer. The highest frequency on the low definition was 9626 Hz, and on high definition was 15590 Hz (which is about what you would expect from good quality mp3).
The YouTube file I chose for the comparison was http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ML5zdbEGux4&fmt=18 (violin and piano recorded professionally in a concert hall). It was also noticeable in the example I used that there was a very significant difference in the dynamic output (the hi def being louder, of course), and the stereo effect seemed to be better with the hi def.
I suspect with some low quality uploads to YouTube (probably a high proportion) the difference in sound quality may not be so noticeable if, for example, there is nothing above 10K Hz in the original.
# Posted on April 26th 2008 by lazyhound