[Q] Change video size (bitrate) in Youtube app? - Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I noticed that the videos in Youtube looked much better on my new phone then on the previous phone and thought that the Youtube app was defaulting to the HD stream (previous phone had really crappy WiMax, new phone is LTE @14Mbps even inside a large warehouse). After toggling it on and off to be sure it was indeed off, it appears that it still is using a higher bitrate stream probably because of the great LTE. What is strange though, is that last week, Youtube was averaging 150-200MB a day after watching a couple of videos. This week, after toggling HD on/off, it's nearly 3-4x as much and rapidly using up my data for the month. The "regular" stream also doesn't look that much different at all from the "HD" stream, so it could be it's stuck on the HD stream because of the high bandwidth my LTE connection has (or something else).
I want to use a lower quality stream to conserve my data, but have not been able to find any way to do so within the Youtube app, or via a Xposed module. Is there any way to choose the video size at all on a Android device? I'd prefer to stick with the stock Google Youtube app (via some external control/option?), but if I have to use some other app to do so I will.

Mpegger said:
I noticed that the videos in Youtube looked much better on my new phone then on the previous phone and thought that the Youtube app was defaulting to the HD stream (previous phone had really crappy WiMax, new phone is LTE @14Mbps even inside a large warehouse). After toggling it on and off to be sure it was indeed off, it appears that it still is using a higher bitrate stream probably because of the great LTE. What is strange though, is that last week, Youtube was averaging 150-200MB a day after watching a couple of videos. This week, after toggling HD on/off, it's nearly 3-4x as much and rapidly using up my data for the month. The "regular" stream also doesn't look that much different at all from the "HD" stream, so it could be it's stuck on the HD stream because of the high bandwidth my LTE connection has (or something else).
I want to use a lower quality stream to conserve my data, but have not been able to find any way to do so within the Youtube app, or via a Xposed module. Is there any way to choose the video size at all on a Android device? I'd prefer to stick with the stock Google Youtube app (via some external control/option?), but if I have to use some other app to do so I will.
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Try Og Youtube its almost the same as youtube and much better it has many features like changing quality , downloading etc..
[MOD]OG YouTube 5.2.27​

Related

Poor quality YouTube videos

Anyone notice that the video quality of the YouTube application is very poor. Its slightly better when viewing from the web browser but not by much.
I'm on T-mobile and not sure if this network related. I know mobile broadband download quality, especially with images to increase speed.
I've actually noticed that a hell of a lot of youtube just won't play on the Hero... Don't know why
@jhericurls
It is possible to select "High Quality" playback, but only when the phone is connected to the Internet through WiFi: press Menu and select "More" while playing a video.
AFAIK This option is not available when using the mobile data connection (I guess to save bandwith)
Is there a way to force high quality videos even on EDGE?
Also possible with 3G, here in Holland but not with every YouTube movie. To find out if it is possible to watch the movie in high quality start the movie, press menu --> more. If it is possible you will see the options, watch in high quality, startpage and search. If not only the options, startpage and search.
Rotkaeqpchen said:
Is there a way to force high quality videos even on EDGE?
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If I see a noob sitting on a bus shouting at thier mob to hurry the **** up. then I will now that its you. waiting for HQ youtube, when almost all all ALLLLLLLLLLLL vids on the tube DONT need it.

[Q] Youtube App HD Setting

Hey guys,
So I have a 7510 (Wi-Fi only) with DaAwesome1's vanilla Honeycomb on it. I love watching videos on it, however my problem is that where I live, the fastest internet I can get is 1.5mbps. Therefore watching youtube videos at anything higher than 480p just simply isn't possible without letting it sit paused for a while to buffer.
When using the Youtube app on the Galaxy Tab, a video in "HD" just can't load fast enough for me to watch. It seems as though the video might be loading at 720p, therefore with my internet it keeps stopping. And without HD enabled, the video quality is so horrendous it just isn't watchable.
So my question, is there any way to edit a file that will force the Youtube app to use 360p or 480p with the HD option? The app itself does not have any setting to specifically pick which quality.
Any help would be much appreciated.
Thanks.
Can anyone help me out here?
Why not just use the website?
Well the website doesn't format the video that great in the browser. And also, when playing through the website, the video is a little laggy.

[Q] I need help (think my galaxy is broke)

I'm new to android and android hardware. My question is that when I play YouTube app I never get hd quality (not crystal clear) videos. The screen is kinda of snowy. I did a test on multiple videos 360p, 720p, 1080p all the same. Also when I tested a mkv file on the system sd it plays back kind of skippy and not crystal clear 1080p. Is my note defective ? Or what ? It's stock rom I don't know how to root. Thank you
Take it back and get a new one, you're well in the 30 day return window.
also do a speed test to see what your net speed is because it will scale your video back if your streaming over 3g at low speeds. 1080 requires atleast 6mbps connection. otherwise it will lower it for you.
I did a speed test and I'm getting 35down 8up wifi. also Netflix doing the same. Everything else works but I'm just not getting hd quality video
Have you tried to have the screen on the upper right corner and tap on the hd button?
Sammy631 said:
I'm new to android and android hardware. My question is that when I play YouTube app I never get hd quality (not crystal clear) videos. The screen is kinda of snowy. I did a test on multiple videos 360p, 720p, 1080p all the same. Also when I tested a mkv file on the system sd it plays back kind of skippy and not crystal clear 1080p. Is my note defective ? Or what ? It's stock rom I don't know how to root. Thank you
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Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using XDA App
On my device hd youtube videos look pretty good, its flash movie videos on certain websites that look a little weird...like panning flashes slightly happening on blacks, not so much macroblocking.
The Note display isn't 1080p, it's actually WXGA, just a little taller than 720p.
Also there is the well-known issue of dark scenes being blotchy with videos. This has been documented in the Int'l version too.
And +1 to the suggestion to press the "HQ" button. Also be sure the video is offered in HD. Try this video and don't forget the HQ button which you can only see if you tap the screen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfWXRybZS4A&feature=youtube_gdata_player
also make sure u turn up the brightness. if you have it set low that will cause some of this
Does Netflix show hd content on the android?
That video is super choppy and pixelated for me over wifi.
Wonder what the Deal is?
hausman said:
The Note display isn't 1080p, it's actually WXGA, just a little taller than 720p.
Also there is the well-known issue of dark scenes being blotchy with videos. This has been documented in the Int'l version too.
And +1 to the suggestion to press the "HQ" button. Also be sure the video is offered in HD. Try this video and don't forget the HQ button which you can only see if you tap the screen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfWXRybZS4A&feature=youtube_gdata_player
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Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using XDA App
No HD videos on YouTube look good on mine either, HQ is on.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk
Yea its a little choppy for me Also.???? Over wifi wonder if it'll be fixed in an update?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using XDA App
This video looks just amazing on my Note!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xP90fQab86Q
What you described happens in YouTube and Netflix. The hq is on as always
I never saw any kind of problems streaming with the Galaxy s, Galaxy S2 and with my recent one the Galaxy Note. It looks even better on the note crystal clear (Youtube, Vevo and Netflix), try to compare it with another Note to see if your device is defective. And regarding the .mkv playback, it was a little choppy on all devices so i think is more hardware performances don't forget those still smartphones not computers.
I've also noticed that the "HD" option isn't so HD. Even at home over wifi with 20/20Mbit, it's still quite blocky. I'm convinced that the youtube app is the problem and does not actually pull the 720p or 1080p versions even if they are available and you select "HD" with a connection that can support it. I don't know what resolution it does pull -- some kind of hybrid maybe, where it's 720p but at a much lower bitrate? It looks 'decent'/better than without "HD", but movement scenes are horribly blocky compared to what they could be.
I've verified that it's the youtube app itself (and the mobile version of their website too btw) by opening the stock browser, navigating to www.youtube.com, scrolling down and opening the Desktop version of the site, searching/selecting the same video, hitting the cog when it starts playing to change resolution to 720p/1080p (just as you would on a desktop), and then going full screen. It plays fine, and the video quality is SIGNIFICANTLY better than the youtube app (and mobile site as well I believe) when doing this. Much less blockiness, especially on scenes with a lot of motion or blacks. It's really annoying, because it is inconvenient to open videos in the browser this way, yet the quality is worth it. I wish there was an app available that allowed for better quality. I want to choose the "desktop version" of 720p without going to the desktop website.
pj_rage said:
I've also noticed that the "HD" option isn't so HD. Even at home over wifi with 20/20Mbit, it's still quite blocky. I'm convinced that the youtube app is the problem and does not actually pull the 720p or 1080p versions even if they are available and you select "HD" with a connection that can support it. I don't know what resolution it does pull -- some kind of hybrid maybe, where it's 720p but at a much lower bitrate? It looks 'decent'/better than without "HD", but movement scenes are horribly blocky compared to what they could be.
I've verified that it's the youtube app itself (and the mobile version of their website too btw) by opening the stock browser, navigating to www.youtube.com, scrolling down and opening the Desktop version of the site, searching/selecting the same video, hitting the cog when it starts playing to change resolution to 720p/1080p (just as you would on a desktop), and then going full screen. It plays fine, and the video quality is SIGNIFICANTLY better than the youtube app (and mobile site as well I believe) when doing this. Much less blockiness, especially on scenes with a lot of motion or blacks. It's really annoying, because it is inconvenient to open videos in the browser this way, yet the quality is worth it. I wish there was an app available that allowed for better quality. I want to choose the "desktop version" of 720p without going to the desktop website.
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Try Tubemate in the Amazon App Store. Let's you download or watch the video. Plus you can select which version to watch/download.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda premium
You hit it right on the money! !!!!
Thank you
I did a test with alot of videos and Some mkv files. It seams to me also that the apps for galaxy note are not streaming in hd.the mkv files on my sd card play stunning hd video. Netflix is the same way and many others like vevo etc... I get to say the least vhs quality video streaming on 4g lte or 50/8 speed 5ghz N Wifi. Why is this happening? does it occur in the international version? Also in some YouTube playbacks with a dark scene I see lines going across the screen? Does it happen to any of you guys also?

'HomeRun' App with SiliconDust HDHomeRun Prime

LG L9 P769 with stock Jellybean
In brief: I was able to stream live TV from the 'HDHomeRun Prime' to my phone using the app 'HomeRunTV'.
I recently purchased a network cable card tuner: a tuner that will stream to my home network so I can watch cable on computers/phones/etc, a 'HDHomeRun Prime' by Silicon Dust.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004HKIB6E/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I did NOT purchase this tuner (actually, it has three tuners) to stream to my phone; that's just a side benefit. There are a couple of apps that will allow an Android phone to stream from this tuner.
-The first is InstaTV, which offers a free and a pro version. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.keyitech.instatv.pro
-The second is HomeRunTV, which is pay only. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.zaren.HomeRunTV
Neither of these apps have a 'guide', they only list channels. With either of these apps, the tuner can stream to the phone one of two ways:
1) you can stream native H.264 video from the tuner to the phone.
2) you can install a (free) program on a computer to decode the video and stream a lower-bandwidth signal to your phone.
I was unable to get InstaTV's program to install on my dinosaur PC, but I could install HomeRunTVs program to install (it also requires VLC, also free, but I haven't finished setting VLC up yet), so I chose to just purchase HomeRunTV app 'HomeRunTV' ($2.99) for my phone
Along with HomeRunTV I also needed to install a video player because the ones I have are not supported. I installed MX Player (Free) on my phone. MX Player does NOT appear to have have hardware acceleration on my phone; it has hardware accelerator plugins and I have not checked to see if there is one that supports the L9.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mxtech.videoplayer.ad
The app's developer recommends a different video player, VPlayer; that player is by the same developer and is either paid or has a 7-day free trial. I may try it later.
I am typing this while watching "We Are Marshall" on AMC's SD channel and sitting close to my wireless N wireless router. The movie has a lot of action and there are a few times where there is pixelation or artifacts (i.e. when everyone is cheering and jumping around after the game, or when someone is being tackled) but overall I'm happy with the quality considering that I did not buy the tuner for this purpose. If I go downstairs or to the bedroom (through two walls) I see more artifacts. If I watch the same show on AMC's HD channel in the basement there are frequent artifacts - but keep in mind it's a hollywood football movie; in the more static scenes, the image is fine.
When watching a SD channel with less motion there appears to be some 'deinterlacing' effects but the picture is crisp when watching a HD channel.
I have NOT set up VLC on my computer yet, so I can't test the feature where my computer streams to the phone. This should improve quality and range. If I ever get around to doing so, I will post an update. As I mentioned before, I did NOT purchase the tuner to stream to my phone but I figured I might as well get the ability, especially if it only costs $2.99.
edit:
Tuning into a station takes between 10 and 20 seconds depending on if it is SD or HD and if I am near the router or in the basement, I believe this is a buffering issue but I do not know for sure. Between the time it takes to tune in a channel, and the lack of a guide, you better know what you want to watch because channel surfing would take forever.
So wait, what does this do? Does it let you watch TV on your phone or what?
Ilxaot said:
So wait, what does this do? Does it let you watch TV on your phone or what?
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Yes. It's sort of like putting a cable card in a computer so you can watch TV on that computer, except it puts the cable card on the network so multiple devices can share it. DLNA-enabled blu-ray players and TVs can stream from it, and PS3 and XBox.
It will allow me to use a PC as a DVR, and my daughter will be able to use her laptop as a DVR, and we can all watch TV on our phones/tablets.
I believe that with DLNA-enabled devices you can get 'premium' content like HBO. The L9 has DLNA but the app I'm using does not, so I can't watch HBO on the L9 with this app.
That's pretty cool dude! Nice find! I'd recommend a better thread title though. When I saw "HomeRun" I was reluctant to come here since it came off as a Pitch-by-Pitch MLB app lol.

[Q] Youtube app constant buffering issue?

Hello, I originally posted this on r/androidquestions on reddit but received no responses in well over a couple of months. Thought I'd try my luck here even though I never get replies. ;p
I got this weird issue on all my devices where after a certain point the video freezes, buffers for ~8 seconds, plays for a couple and repeat. This is not video specific and changing the quality does not fix this, it just makes the problem appear later on. In HQ quality, after about 1:45 minutes of playing flawlessly it starts buffering the whole damn time. SQ quality can play up to 3-4 minutes before any issues arise.
This is on a broad range of devices, both mine and those of friends. My own Samsung Galaxy S2 running CM10.1 and Cube U30GT running CM10, but had the issue on stock, and a stock Galaxy Note and HTC Hero 2.
Other info. It's not network related. Happens on both wifi and 3g and on different connections/ISPs. My own Internet connection clocks up to 20mbps and has no problem playing any YT video on my PC. Other "streaming" video stuff work great. Twitch.tv plays great as does dailymotion. Other players, other than the default YT app, have no issues playing videos even on HQ. YT through the browser works fine but somehow doesn't let me switch to HQ and the "UI" generally feels bad. Feedly (which is great btw), has a sort of plugin that uses the YT app to play videos natively. Any videos played in the feedly app, using this "plugin" play great even in HQ, which is weird. I've tried reinstalling, uninstalling, stalling, killing, maiming, clearing data+cache, completely wiping the devices and sacrificing firstborns to Lucifer.
This feels like a caching issue of the youtube app. It feels like it starts caching up to a point (playing great in the process) and at some points cache fills up and starts deleting in order to make space to cache further. That leads to the pause and buffering of the video.
Has anyone else experienced issues like this and has managed to fix them? Does anyone techsavvy enough know if it's indeed a cache issue and how to bypass it?
bumping.
Seriously, I've never got a reply to any of my threads.
Isn't news. YouTube app sucks. I have an iPhone and frequent Apple forums quite often and its preferred to use the YouTube web app or 3rd party app over the actual app. Just getting throttled. My biggest gripe with Androids YouTube app is there is no way for it to use SD as the default resolution.
I just tried the WiFi optimization with no effect. If I wait a couple hours it will stream HD no problem once network traffic slows down. I have a 30 mbs home connection which I can get those speeds easily, usually much higher, but not to a YouTube server between 3pm - 11pm.

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