YouTube Will Use AI to Upscale Low-Res Videos
YouTube is currently going through a lot of changes, and according to the company, this is aimed at standing out better on TVs. Today, YouTube announced that it will allow creators to upload larger thumbnails and make browsing and shopping while watching a TV a little more convenient. But there’s also a big change coming to the content itself, and it’s not limited to TVs.
Soon, YouTube will start using AI to automatically upgrade all videos below 1080p resolution. While you can technically still download videos in 720p these days, with smartphone cameras getting better and better, this essentially seems like “old videos” to me. This is a little worrying for me, as someone who watches a lot of 90s and early 2000s TV shows on YouTube lately.
Credit: YouTube
Done well, AI upscaling is a simple way to denoise video and is more resistant to hallucinations than generations made from whole tissue. But it’s not without its problems, and some creators have already accused YouTube of already using AI scaling, without telling them, and with undesirable results. The accusations have been limited to YouTube shorts for now, but notably, even Will Smith appears to have possibly run afoul of the system’s hidden AI, as the celebrity himself was accused of generating a crowd with AI in a YouTube short of a recent concert. However, internet sleuths have determined that the footage is likely legitimate, but has been automatically transformed into “AI slop” by YouTube. Notice, for example, how different the images look on Instagram.
Fortunately, YouTube says this version of AI scaling will be entirely in the hands of creators and users. According to the feature announcement, “Creators will retain full control over their library, as the original files and original video resolution will remain intact, with a clear option to turn these enhancements off.” Viewers, meanwhile, will be able to see when AI upscaling was used thanks to a “super resolution” label in the resolution selection settings, and opt for the original resolution instead.
Additionally, YouTube told The Verge that videos shot below 1080p, but manually remastered and uploaded at 1080p or higher, will not be affected by the upscaling technology. What matters is the resolution in which the video was downloaded.
What do you think of it so far?
All of this comes as a relief to people like me, who don’t want weird seven-fingered extras in our sitcoms, although it’s unclear whether this control will extend to YouTube Shorts as well, or whether YouTube might continue to experiment with mandatory AI scaling behind the scenes (which, to be fair, hasn’t been confirmed yet).
Either way, it makes sense for YouTube to make this change as it tries to get more attention on more devices. Low-resolution videos may look okay on a six-inch smartphone screen, but not so much on a TV up to 50 inches.
YouTube hasn’t said exactly when the feature will go live, but if you notice what looks like a strange AI artifact the next time you watch a YouTube video, try checking the resolution settings by hovering over the video and tapping or clicking the cog icon.
