So why does YouTube keep screwing around re: stereo & high quality?

[brassplyer]

Why all the games with YouTube? Sites such as Vimeo don't make you go through the bs just to get a decent looking/sounding video. If you upload a good looking/sounding video, you'll end up with a good looking/sounding video, no need for hacks.

Youtube has no user forum which other sites do. No real interaction with users as far as I can tell, other than some hard to locate e-mail functions that generate a generic response. Their tutorials utterly ignore the whole issue of stereo audio.

It can't be about copyright issues, YouTube clearly isn't that serious about policing copyright infringement whereas sites like Vimeo clearly are serious about it.

It's obvious you *can* get it to play stereo audio and higher quality video, so why don't they make it so that you hear good quality stereo if you've uploaded stereo when you click "watch in high quality" and be done with it?

[zoobie]

someone said youboob now actually has 2 versions of your video...but this would mean doubling the space required...so I doubt it

I think they probably will have one version which is sent 2 ways...regular or HQ format

they'll certainly need tons of more space as amateurs upload, test, and update different versions of the same video by enthusiasts such as yourself...

not that I care but it's an interesting development...you may have to wait months

[brassplyer]

someone said youboob now actually has 2 versions of your video...but this would mean doubling the space required...so I doubt it

I think they probably will have one version which is sent 2 ways...regular or HQ format

they'll certainly need tons of more space as amateurs upload, test, and update different versions of the same video by enthusiasts such as yourself...

not that I care but it's an interesting development...you may have to wait months

There are definitely at least 2 versions. If you play it without the "watch in high quality" you get an .flv file in your temporary internet folder. If you opt for high quality or use the &fmt=18 you get an mpeg-4 though the &fmt=18 will give you stereo if the original file (other than .flv) was uploaded with stereo.

Now it appears someone has come up with a new Hex hack to upload in stereo, though it's not clear to me how useful it is. The one I've seen -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uS2sXfYCz2E

referenced in another recent thread deposits a stereo .flv file but it's nothing special as far as bitrate. It's a still image which doesn't require much bitrate for decent resolution. A motion video wouldn't look that great at the bitrate they're using. The guy that put the video up isn't specifying how he did it, says he's "sworn to secrecy". Whatever.