YouTube TV users have long complained about poor picture quality, low bit rate, and other issues affecting their streaming experience. The company has finally addressed the issues, including a bitrate increase for some live content, a fix for the 5.1 surround sound sync issue and a major upgrade to the YouTube TV app for the Apple TV.
With subscribers seeing a price hike of $72.99 per month, it’s crucial that YouTube TV ensures smooth viewing performance for its users for them to enjoy.
In a Reddit post on the YouTube TV subreddit last week, the company revealed that it’s testing transcoding changes, which will increase the bitrate for live 1080p content. Higher bit rate means better video quality.
However, from a live broadcast perspective, this also means that video requires more bandwidth – which can lead to buffering issues. It is crucial for viewers to have a strong internet connection in order to have a high quality streaming experience.
This is likely why the image quality improvement will only target devices that support the VP9 codec with high-speed internet connections, according to the post.
The test will be rolled out over the next few weeks. If all goes as planned, YouTube TV will make the change permanent by summer.
The company has not mentioned any plans to upgrade 720p content.
The Reddit post also mentions that YouTube TV has found the cause of the 5.1 audio/video sync issue and is currently working on a solution. In june 2022 a few reddit and Twitter Users have reported audio sync issues after the YouTube TV 5.1 audio update. While the company hasn’t determined what exactly caused the sync issue, the fix will likely be a huge relief for some subscribers.
YouTube TV then located several bug fixes recently made to the YouTube TV app for Apple TV. This includes issues with 4K playback, HDR implementation in YouTube TV, and users seeing a black screen when they open the app or switch between content. The company also said that it is trying to find a solution to app crashes on the Apple TV 4K (1st generation).
After announcing the multi-view feature last month, YouTube TV said in a recent Reddit post that it continues to experiment with upgrades ahead of the NFL season.
In addition, users can now sign up for discounted NFL Sunday Ticket subscriptions before the sale through June 6th.