Youtube will lower its resolution to SD at the request of the EU
The European Union made a general call to reduce the quality of videos and broadcasts so as not to collapse navigation networks
YouTube announced that it will downgrade to standard resolution (SD) the default quality of its videos in the European Union, to avoid possible overloads on the network or in the service, following the decision of Netflix and the request of the European Commission.
“Following the meeting between Google CEO Sundar Pichai, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki and Commissioner Breton, we are committed to downgrading all traffic in the European Union to SD by default,” the company said in a statement.
This is done with the goal of adjusting your system automatically, although it will still be possible to select higher resolutions manually, and thus use less network capacity.
The Google video platform highlighted that, given the current situation of confinement by the coronavirus in several European countries such as Spain, only “some spikes in use” have taken place.
“People are turning to YouTube to find verified news, to learn things and to make connections in these uncertain times”.
“We will continue to work with members of different governments and with network operators to minimize stress on the system, while offering a good user experience”, they concluded from the platform.
This YouTube decision comes just a day after Netflix decided to also reduce the bit rate in its ‘streams’, with which it hopes to reduce traffic by up to 25%. It also follows the request that the European Commission made to technology companies to avoid saturation of the network.
K. Tovar
Source: dpa
