What determines which resolution a video defaults to?

mirrorlessNY(youtuber)

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I said "other than making that request", because I know my viewers and 90% of them will ignore such a request and just watch it
does that mean they care more about the topic/content rather than the visual quality of it?
at least the 1080p is there so those seeking highest quality will check the option, I do when watching something where visual quality is important
 

TomPetty

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does that mean they care more about the topic/content rather than the visual quality of it?
at least the 1080p is there so those seeking highest quality will check the option, I do when watching something where visual quality is important
Well, if I don't mention anything about visual quality, virtually no one (out of hundreds of viewers) will even think about it. They'll just watch it, and love it for its content. Since they would not know there is a better resolution at which to watch it, they won't look, and quite honestly, won't care. However, if I tell them up front that they should set their youtube quality at 1080p for best picture quality, most will ignore that tip, and just watch it as is. These are regular folks, not folks like you and me who belong to youtube chat forums. These are Facebook people, who consume dozens of videos a day, like some kind of Pac-Man monster. lol

So I can do 1 of 2 things:

1) Say nothing, and hope that most people's youtube screen defaults to 1080p. For those that get a sub-par picture because theirs defaults to 480, 720, or anything else other than 1080p, so be it.

2) Request at the beginning of the video that they hit pause, and ensure theirs is set on 1080p, before watching. If I do this, most people will ignore it and just watch. And some people will be annoyed to even see this request, as they are impatient and just wanna see the video. Especially, because in making such a request, ideally I'll need to give instructions on where to find it on the screen and how to change it. It can get cumbersome with descriptions and/or graphics, and annoying. And even with those instructions, I'm guessing that most people will still ignore it, not hit pause, and just watch the video.

I suppose it shouldn't concern me so much. But I'm the one who slaved over the edit of the video, surgically tweaking stuff to attain the BEST possible picture quality. And the idea, that someone's gonna watch it blurry due to the wrong resolution, and/or watch it on their phone, with its small screen and tiny and tinny sounding speaker, makes me cringe, to be totally honest.

Being creative and possessing an artistic eye is great...but it can suck, too, when I'm faced with dilemmas like this. lol

Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Tom
 
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mirrorlessNY(youtuber)

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They'll just watch it, and love it for its content. Since they would not know there is a better resolution at which to watch it, they won't look, and quite honestly, won't care. However, if I tell them up front that they should set their youtube quality at 1080p for best picture quality, most will ignore that tip, and just watch it as is
Request at the beginning of the video that they hit pause, and ensure theirs is set on 1080p, before watching. If I do this, most people will ignore it and just watch
all good points :happy2: I used to put resolution & fps numbers in the thumbnail design (thinking of putting it back) feels it was just for me & other like minded "nerds"? lol
 
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