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So now We have to pay for what was free before. What a joke.

Just like some liquid soap bottles: Same size, same price, same amount of soap just that it's now all watered down.
The only good thing about it is that the soap dispenser doesn't get clogged anymore.
 
  • Disagree
Reactions: hovscorpion12
The general consensus from creators is that this leak (if true) is a non issue as the vast majority of their subscribers don’t have YT premium or have a device that allows 4K.

This means that creators can upload videos more often since they’ll be either be
in 1080p or 1440p. file sizes will b significantly smaller.

Plus 4K can be downsized in export to 1440p or 1080p for a better picture.

this is a win for creators
 
With the amount of ads they have now it's already not useable without premium barring using something like Brave browser to block the ads.
 
I'm a Youtube premium subscriber so I don't have to watch ads since there is so much classical music on Youtube. I really don't care since I don't have a 4K TV anyway and people should be grateful that they can watch Youtube for free in the first place.

Heck yeah, it's not as if Google makes oodles of money from free viewers, oh wait...
 
I still don't understand how my Macbook Pro 2016 doesn't get any ads on youtube but all my IOS devices suffer.

Anyone ever experienced that with their device? Maybe the Touchbar did something to youtube, lol.

Anyways, this is a terrible move!
 
Classic Google, trying this after 4K was free for years. Google's motto: if it ain't broke then don't fix it do everything we can to break it and make people pay to fix it.

They'll do this and realize that pissed-off users (especially of the technical mindset to care about switching to 4K) don't tend to make happy subscribing users; in the meantime making YouTube a worse experience for everyone. Fewer content creators will upload in 4K (why bother when only a small subset of viewers can even see it) and YouTube as a whole will see a reduction in the quality of uploaded videos for possibly the first time in its existence.
 
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This is really not as big of a deal as people make it sound, it's not like Netflix situation where the alternative is a crappy low bitrate 1080p stream. If Youtube still lets you watch in 1440p, it's honestly not that far off 2160p.
 
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This is really not as big of a deal as people make it sound, it's not like Netflix situation where the alternative is a crappy low bitrate 1080p stream. If Youtube still lets you watch in 1440p, it's honestly not that far off 2160p.
Yup. Exactly. Everyone going crazy for nothing. Plus I’m betting that 99% of those complaining, don’t have a 4K device.
 
  • Angry
Reactions: Tech for Kings
I think it’s ok to ask money for services but since YouTube has only operational costs (spending no money for production of content) asking 12$ a month showing someone there no staying in touch with reality.
We all live in hard times struggling with food and energy prices. Paying 12$ for watching funny cats in 4K is insane.
 
I watch enough YT that premium is worth it to me but I realize this sucks for casual users who don't feel it's worth the money.

Google seems to be turning the clamps on the greed and I'm worried they may increase the price of YT premium soon, though.
 
I just used a VPN to sign up to YouTube Premium... Now I pay £3 a month. I definitely wouldn't pay full price however.
 
This is really not as big of a deal as people make it sound, it's not like Netflix situation where the alternative is a crappy low bitrate 1080p stream. If Youtube still lets you watch in 1440p, it's honestly not that far off 2160p.
But they're removing access to features that were free before. I don't use 4K quality, however putting used-to-be-free things behind a paywall is a pathetic move to do.
 
honestly, how can people stand watching YouTube without a Premium subscription?

I have subscribed to YouTube for the last several years.

A few weeks ago, I was on a new phone and couldn't remember my Google password, so I couldn't access YouTube Premium. It was the most painful couple of days. Those ads were driving me crazy.

Now I understand why my friends/co-workers get mad when I share YouTube video links with them. they dont' have Premium and the ads must be driving them mad. :(
AdBlock works fine on my M2 MacBook Air. There is like a 5-second lag though, but it does block the ads.
 
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