PS3 - Youtube + HD?

lamboluke

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hello :)

I've been on youtube via ps3 quite a lot recently, watching what is titled as 1080p and 720p material or HD.

When watching it on my pc, i have the option to select HD (just a normal bog standard TFT monitor) and it does increase the quality a great deal. But on the ps3 there isnt the option to watch it in HD (sometimes to watch in higher quality there is an option).

I was wondering if i'm doing something wrong, as the videos look poor quality on the ps3 browser.

Thanks
 
i could be wrong
but
i think that youtube on a ps3 is a strip'd down version to what you get on a pc
(a bit like bbc iplayer)
you dont get the whole page or program (or some thing like that)

you can see the vid's (which is the whole piont)
but you dont get all the codex that sit behind the main page
IE: the option to watch in higher quality.....


hope it make's sence..


andrew
 
i use youtube on my ps3, you need to remember you are stretching a 320x240 resolution movie to fit on your massive (i expect you have a big tv) 1080 tv so the quality is bound to look like dog turd.
As for the high quality option, its only there if the user uploaded the video in high quality.
 
I think something else might be going on here as watching a YouTube video full screen on my pc, in standard quality, looks fine where as on my ps3 it looks lousy, at any size.

Regardless of whether the video has buffered or not the video is really blocky (noticeable with any movement), as if the decompression is not quick enough to keep up.

I don't think it is the browser / Flash player issue as such as playback on other sites is fine (not quite pc quality, but pretty good). For example, up until recently you could watch all of CBS's videos, such as Harper's Island and Miami Vice and they looked pretty good with excellent sound. Unfortunately, CBS appears to have now blocked the ps3 (I bet on Sony's request :mad:).

Maybe Sony has nobbled the YouTube playback now that you can see replays of shows in the site...
 
Your using the XL version of youtube? If so...just navigate yourself and click on the "Desktop Version".

I'm not sure if you can still click on it to be "HD" but it's worth a try!
 
Your using the XL version of youtube?

Nope! I ditched the XL version almost straight away (too slow etc).

So we have a point of reference, if you compare the start of the following "Top Gear" video on a pc and the ps3, the ps3 playback is pixelated (you can clearly see blocks of colour), which you would get if the ps3 is for some reason showing a lower quality version:
Both videos were played over my wireless network.

BTW, I don't use the HD feature available on the pc as despite having a broadband connection (Comcast), the playback is often too jerky to be watchable (same with the HQ setting)... This is probably just due to the high demand on YouTube servers.
 
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Only one more question, are you using the same resolution/display to view both youtube videos?
 
My pc screen resolution is 1680x1050, so I would perhaps expect the video to be a tiny bit blocky at 1080p, however I don't think this is the issue.

In the ps3 browser, if I use the zoom mode instead of full screen mode to make the video approximately the same size as the pc, the quality is way different.

In that "Top Gear" video I posted, when you get to the first presenter (Richard "Hamster" Hammond) the colors in his face are "washed" out, compared to the crisp image you see on a pc.
 
Nope! I ditched the XL version almost straight away (too slow etc).

So we have a point of reference, if you compare the start of the following "Top Gear" video on a pc and the ps3, the ps3 playback is pixelated (you can clearly see blocks of colour), which you would get if the ps3 is for some reason showing a lower quality version:Both videos were played over my wireless network.

BTW, I don't use the HD feature available on the pc as despite having a broadband connection (Comcast), the playback is often too jerky to be watchable (same with the HQ setting)... This is probably just due to the high demand on YouTube servers.



I always watch videos in HD if available with no problem at all (i'm on virgin)
so i dont think the fact they are jerky for you has anything to do with the youtube servers at all.

Also there is no way that i have found to be able to play HD youtube videos on the ps3, which quite frankly i think is very stupid.
 
I always watch videos in HD if available with no problem at all (i'm on virgin)
so i dont think the fact they are jerky for you has anything to do with the youtube servers at all.

Interesting. Maybe its my internet connection, but I would be surprised if YouTube has no trouble delivering hd videos at peak times (it's a free service after all).

Are you in the uk? If so, as you'd probably be watching videos before the peak times in America (you'd be 5 hours ahead), maybe YouTube has no trouble then.

Also there is no way that i have found to be able to play HD youtube videos on the ps3, which quite frankly i think is very stupid.

It is quite possible the ps3 is simply not capable of streaming videos in hd.

However, I suspect the reason YouTube videos look poor on the ps3 compared to a pc is YouTube is streaming a lower quality version to the ps3.

I downloaded three versions of the above video in MP4 format using a YouTube video grabber site:
  1. Resolution: 1280x720 (HD), Video Codec: AVC 2.0 Mbps, Size: 90 MB
  2. Resolution: 480x270, Video Codec: AVC 480 kbps, Size: 25 MB
  3. Resolution: 320x265?, Size: 8.5 MB (approx).
The first two versions, including the HD version play perfectly off of a memory stick on the ps3 (on a 1080p tv) and I have to say the 420x270 version is perfectly acceptable, compared to the HD version.

The lowest quality version, which I had trouble downloading again, hence the lack of info (different web site), looks remarkably like the quality you get if you view the video directly on YouTube.

I reckon the ps3 is perfectly capable of streaming the middle quality version (or close to it). Check out the following video (towards bottom of page):

PlayStation 3 Slim unboxing and hands-on!

Hopefully someone else has some more insight on this issue.
 
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Well it's kind of Adobe's fault here as youtube runs (Optimum) on the latest flash player. Try going on youtube on a PC without the latest flash player:D

They haven't updated the flash player of the PPC(PowerPC's) which all the current gen console's run on.

Or maybe I am truly making up shizz and it's just Youtube who decided not to give the option for the PS3's browser to view in HD.

Interesting. Maybe its my internet connection, but I would be surprised if YouTube has no trouble delivering hd videos at peak times (it's a free service after all).It is quite possible the ps3 is simply not capable of streaming videos in hd.

The fact that Youtube is free to use does not mean it doesn't make ******* of money, youtube wouldn't be where it is right now if this was the case! Youtube makes millions of money(Yes it does :D) through advertising. And I'd like to confirm that the PS3 is more than capable of streaming in HD, I wouldn't be playing HD-DVD streamed from my PC in the loft in 1080p otherwise!
 
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Or maybe I am truly making up shizz and it's just Youtube who decided not to give the option for the PS3's browser to view in HD.

Yes, except I'm saying the standard quality YouTube video on a ps3 is lower quality than the pc version and if the ps3 had this version, it would be perfectly acceptable, i.e. I'm not looking for the ps3 to play hd, just the same standard quality pc users get.

The fact that Youtube is free to use does not mean it doesn't make shitons of money, youtube wouldn't be where it is right now if this was the case! Youtube makes millions of money(Yes it does :D) through advertising. And I'd like to confirm that the PS3 is more than capable of streaming in HD, I wouldn't be playing HD-DVD streamed from my PC in the loft in 1080p otherwise!

Yes, I should have said "perhaps the ps3 is not capable of streaming hd via the Flash player (in the browser)".

That other video link I posted may prove that the Flash player is not the issue when it comes to standard defintion playback in YouTube.
 
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Hands up anyone who hates the concept of PlayOn?

The idea of having to keep my laptop on just to stream a reasonable quality YouTube video to my ps3 just goes against the grain. Even if PlayOn was free (costs $39.99), I probably wouldn't use it.

Well, with something like NetFlix, it looks like this may well be our only option for some time to come (boo hoo Sony!).

Sony needs to understand that just because I spent $399 on my ps3, primarily for Blu-ray / DVD and the odd game, that doesn't mean I have any spare cash to pay $1.99 to watch a single episode of a tv show, let alone $4.50 to watch the X-Files movie in HD, when it costs me only $9.44 (inc. tax) with NetFlix to watch 32 episodes (usually 8 DVDs a month, with four episodes per DVD) of X-Files etc.

Well, for YouTube at least, there is an alternative :).

Just on your ps3, you can use your favorite YouTube video grabber site to download a high quality or even hd (720p?) mp4 video to the ps3's hard disk and once downloaded, you can then watch the video full screen in excellent quality - the difference is significant (I should add, not all YouTube videos are available in HQ/HD). The normal quality videos are fuzzy and are doing my eyes in on my 1080p tv.

To get the address of the YouTube video, go to the YouTube page in the browser and press the triangle ps3 button and select "Copy Address of This Page" from the File menu. You can then Paste this url into the video grabber's site (buttom right button in text extry dialog).

To download the mp4 video from the video grabber site, do not click the video but instead position the mouse cursor on the video and select "Save Target' from the File menu. The video is then saved, optionally in background, to your hard disk, just like you were downloading something from the PlayStation Store. Once downloaded (you get a message where downloading in background), you just click on the video and hey presto!

As a matter of interest, while investigating this whole issue, I uploaded a high quality fmv video and flash player to a web site and tried to view the video in the ps3 browser; the video played but was super juddery. Whether this was because the web server couldn't deliver the video quick enough or something else, I don't know. The standard quality video worked fine.
 
:thumbsup: Hooray! Netflix is coming to the PS3 in November - can't wait!!!

The best site I've have found for downloading YouTube videos is Keep Tube, which is excellent.

Using the method I described in my previous post, this site permits you to download multiple files simultaneously with the ps3's "Download in background" feature. You can then continue browsing YouTube etc (I have YouTube in one browser window and Keep Tube in another and switch between them).

Also, instead of changing to the actual YouTube video page to get the video address, you can instead position the cursor on a video link and press the ps3 triangle button and select "Copy address of this link" from the File menu and paste this into the Keep Tube URL text box.

You can watch videos you have downloaded and the ps3 will continue to download files in the background. If you try to watch a dvd/blu-ray disc, any files you were downloading in background stop downloading, permanently...

Since writing my previous post Keep Tube no longer offers HD MP4 downloads and as far as I know, this was the only site offering this feature. Hopefully this is only temporary.
 
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wait wait wait wait

I dont think everyone understood. Here, look at this video:

YouTube - Asteroid Impact (HD)

You have the option right there to watch it in HD, the quality is very good. It should even play well on ps3 if you play HD. BUT when you go to youtube on the same link on the PS3 browser, you wont get the option for HD at all. Sorry if this isnt what you meant OP, but I think he is asking why the HD option doesnt even come up on the PS3 version
 
You can't have read my previous posts...

I've been enjoying Blade: The Series on Veoh, streaming directly to the ps3 browser and the video quality and sound is excellent. The only annoying thing with these videos from TheWB (played in full-screen) is when an advert plays, the Flash video navigation bar re-appears and doesn't disappear and the cursor doesn't disappear at all (I move the cursor to the bottom right corner and move it up and down to get rid of the navigation bar). This navigation bar re-appearing also happens on a pc, so this is not a ps3 / Flash version issue.

Anyway, this is more evidence that the ps3 browser can stream at least high quality flash videos no problem and YouTube simply hasn't spent any time optimizing their web site for the ps3... (I've left them a second bug report, to which no one replied... I'll try again at some point).
 
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Thanks for the info on the video grabber daniel b, i never knew about that! :thumbsup:
 
You used to be able to choose the HD option (when available) on Youtube using the PS3's web browser. It worked perfectly and you could definitely see an improvement in PQ. Unfortunately, at some point in the past the option disappeared, either because of a PS3 or Youtube update. I think the option disappeared when Youtube XL was introduced for PS3.
 
By visiting this website in your PS3's browser: PS3 Youtube !! Try it you won't be disappointed.

Remember: this website only works as intended in the PS3's Internet Browser!
 
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I've posted the following video on YouTube, to highlight this issue, which demonstrates to PC / Mac owners the video quality PS3 owners have to put up with:

YouTube (Google) Has No Love For The PS3

NOTE: to experience this video as intended (in full screen mode) it looks like you'll have to view this on YouTube itself (right click video) as the full screen button does not work here.

If you want YouTube (Google) to hopefully do something about this, please view this video and rate it five stars.

BTW, I mentioned in a previous post I had been enjoying Blade: The Series and gave a link on VEOH. The bad news is VEOH now only works on a PC (requires plugin) and the good news is you can view TheWB's (Warner Brothers) videos, on their web site, such as:

Blade: The Series

NOTE: you may notice the videos appear to have a slightly reduced frame rate (a tad jerky), which is just as apparent on a PC as on the PS3, i.e. not a PS3 issue.

Also, I found the following TV Listings site (for the United States) which works fine on the PS3 (other sites, such as Comcast's and the TV Guide don't work):

Zap2It
 
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By visiting this website in your PS3's browser: www.ps3youtube.com !! Try it you won't be disappointed.

UPDATE!!! I've actually found BOTH HQ & HD playback stop and start several times a minute, with the PS3 "Buffering..." message appearing for a short time, which makes the viewing experience not good, especially for music videos! So, unless this issue can be addressed, it looks like downloading videos is still the best option, from sites like Keep Tube. Also, where the video would most likely benefit from the best quality possible, I would go for a HD video as HQ my not be up to scratch (a 16/9 HQ video is only 480x270 resolution).

Until YouTube sorts out this issue, this is a good stop gap solution, for HQ videos at least.

With the HD playback I would find the frequent appearance of the "Buffering..." message too distracting, but as I've said before, HQ quality is perfectly acceptable.

The first time I tried this today I got an error page and the URL appeared to be direct video feed from YouTube - very interesting!

As the site can not hope to match YouTube's search and navigation options, I would use this site and YouTube in combination, as follows:
  1. Open YouTube in one window and PS3YouTube in another window (to open another window, press L3 (left stick) and then triangle button and select "Open New Window" ideally selecting the previously bookmarked PS3YouTube site, pressing L2 / R2 to navigate between windows).
  2. Use YouTube as normal to locate a video you wanted to watch in HQ and then copy the address of the video (if on actual video page, press triangle button and select "Copy address of this page" from File menu or if video is listed in search results, position cursor on video link and press triangle button and select "Copy address of this link" from File menu.
  3. Switch to PS3YouTube page (press R2 etc) and press R3 to zoom page, so you'll easily be able to read text in PS3YouTube's search text box.
  4. Paste video link into PS3YouTube's search box (with cursor on search text box, press x button and click bottom right button in PS3's text entry dialog).
  5. Using L1 button (and R1 if necessary) to move text cursor and square button to delete unwated text, delete all but the video's ID. For example, take the URL " www . youtube . com/watch?v=vdw673DNxnM&feature=popt1cus06 " you'd use the square button to backspace upto and including the '&' and then L1 to move the text cursor on to the first character after "v=" ('v' in this case) and then hold down the square button to backspace the remainder of the URL. Other URL's may only have the "v=" URL parameter, in which case, you wouldn't have to delete the extra parameter(s).
  6. Press PS3 Start button, to close PS3's text dialog and click PS3YouTube's search button. This should show search results usually with only the desired video.
  7. Click video and then click HQ button to watch video.
Although with practise you'll be able to do the above in under thirty seconds, PS3 YouTube should ideally recognize a full YouTube video link (no editing of URL required), as on a YouTube video downloaded site, and do the necessary to jump directly to the video display page, i.e. bypassing the search results page completely.
 
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