YouTube has reportedly brought back its streaming quality to default 1080p for Android and iOS device in India. The streaming platform had restricted the video quality 480p to save bandwidth after India went into a complete lockdown owing to the COVID-19 crisis.
The outbreak of the coronavirus global pandemic forced a majority of India’s work force to work from home and the compulsion put a huge pressure on the network across the country.
To ease the pressure streaming majors such as YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, Netfilx, Hotstar, Zee5 and Sony Liv decided to cooperate with Cellular Operators Association of India’s (COAI) request of bringing down the default streaming video quality.
YouTube is the first streaming platform to go back to its default video quality of 1080p in India. However, this resolution is only available if your device is connected to WiFi.
The streaming quality for devices using the cellular network is still going to remain on 480p.
None of the other streaming apps or platforms have gone back to higher quality as of now. The 4k resolution is still out of the question for both WiFi and cellular networks. The Google company is yet to make any announcement with regards to the upgraded video quality.
The COAI had approached the streaming networks and the Indian government after the Indian Prime Minister announced a 21-day complete lockdown across the country to contain the increasing numbers of coronavirus cases. The association has also urged the government to issue immediate instructions to streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime and others to take measures that will ease pressure on network infrastructure.