YouTube now resizing?

[aussj4link]

Anyone else notice all videos now seem to be getting resized to squares? I've noticed that all my videos that are 16:9 ratio, are now being squared and has cut off the sides. Other channels seem to be having this issue as well. Anyone else notice this and why it's happening?

 

[TYTD]

it's made all the 4:3 videos box shaped which as a VHS nut is great for me! it means I can watch old TV and adverts in a bigger squarer player!

 

[UhoohExtra]

hmm. I still still see the regular 1920, by 1080.. Maybe your uploading in wrong format?

 

[aussj4link]

hmm. I still still see the regular 1920, by 1080.. Maybe your uploading in wrong format?

Sorry, forgot to mention that this is happening to videos that have already been uploaded a long time ago. This problem only just started. I've noticed it on videos from other channels as well.

 

[vMinti]

Oh.
I was thinking something is happening with my browser. Didn't think that's Youtube's "fault" at all.
I really don't like that. Whenever I stumble upon those square - shaped videos, I tend to watch them in fullscreen now. Could be OCD, or maybe I'm just not used to it, or whatever, but it looks extremely bad to me :x

 

[KatyAdelson]

I wonder if it's related to this update?
https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!msg/youtube/5QyTjyT-IZo/K0RdS-rgCAAJ
Posted July 27th by Marissa - Community Manager (of YouTube/google product forums, not YTtalk....):

Hi everyone,
We launched an update to the YouTube video player on desktop – the player now automatically adapts to provide the best viewing experience based on the video’s size (aspect ratio) and your computer’s screen/browser size.
Highlighting the changes below and sharing more about the reasons behind the change:
Historically, for non wide-screen videos (not 16:9) like vertical and square videos, we would show black bars alongside the video, making the video really small. This update moves away from the need for black bars. We launched this update on mobile awhile back (both Android and iOS) so this change also aligns the desktop and mobile viewing experiences.
4:3 (like older SD videos)
BEFORE:

AFTER:

Vertical videos
BEFORE:

AFTER:

Standard 16:9 videos
For most newer videos in the standard HD aspect ratio, this update uses some of the screen’s extra white space, to enhance the video size, without impact to the video quality.
BEFORE:

AFTER:

We’ve seen tons of feedback already and please do keep it coming! You can leave comments below, and also feel free to submit feedback via our official feedback tool (as that helps us prioritize all requests).
Thanks!

If you think it's being caused by this update, they do suggest to send feedback (https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/4347644) about it at the bottom of her post.