YouTube is always experimenting with new features to keep the popular video site as the top choice for videos, but with the ever-growing popularity of streaming sites such as Twitch, YouTube wants to grab its own share of the streaming pie. Its latest venture into the market comes in the form of enabling live streaming at 60 frames per second.
The features launch as a preview on HTML5-supported browsers. When a user starts a stream, YouTube automatically encodes it at 60 frames per second on 720p and 1080p. If you're using a browser or other device that doesn't support 60 frames per second, the video will be automatically downgraded to 30 frames per second. The company also worked with Elgato and Xsplit to ensure that their game capture software will support the new feature. Those who have an app that uses YouTube's live streaming API can also add a new frame rate flag in their setup to enable streaming at 60 frames per second.
In addition to adding 60 frames per second on live streams, YouTube also enabled HTML5 playback so that you can watch a previous section of the screen at any time and then fast-forward at 1.5x or 2x to catch up to the live broadcast.
The obvious lure for the new feature is for gamers, who make up most, if not all, of the content on Twitch. Being able to stream at 60 frames per second is a major milestone for YouTube, and with gamers constantly demanding the highest resolutions and frame rates, this new feature makes the live streaming scene just a little more interesting.
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