Earlier this month, YouTube conducted an experiment where it asked some free users to upgrade to a premium account to watch videos in 4K resolution. The company appears to have ended this test – likely due to the uproar caused among users.
See also: handle: New way to identify your YouTube channel
YouTube revealed on Twitter that it has “fully disabled” its experiment that required a Premium subscription to play videos in 4K resolution. Earlier this month, users began reporting on social networks like Reddit and Twitter that when they accessed the drop-down menu for resolution options, the word “Premium” was right next to 4K/2160p. However, not everyone needed a Premium subscription to play 4K videos, suggesting that it was an experimental feature that was being rolled out to a limited number of users.
See also: YouTube Shorts gets voice narration
It's unclear why YouTube decided to cancel the experiment, but as 9to5Google notes, it received a significant amount of negative feedback. Users were understandably unhappy about being asked to pay $12 a month or $120 a year to be able to play videos in the highest resolution available on the site . And those who didn't participate in the experiment were concerned that it would be widely released and become a permanent "perk" for Premium subscribers.
See also: YouTube: “Personal Stories” section coming to health search results
YouTube hasn't said whether it's definitively rejecting the idea of locking 4K videos behind a Premium subscription. In a tweet written in Japanese, YouTube invited users to leave feedback about the experiment, which could help it ultimately decide how to move forward.
Information source: engadget.com
