Youtube is starting to push into Twitch’s turf. Recently they announced that they will be adding a brand new feature to their site, the ability to live stream at 60fps. The feature will only be available in browsers compatible with HTML 5, and currently is not available for replay on mobile platforms, however, anyone watching your stream on these platforms will be able to see the recording at 30fps.
“When you start a live stream on YouTube at 60fps, we’ll transcode your stream into 720p60 and 1080p60, which means silky smooth playback for gaming and other fast-action videos,” YouTube said in a statement. “We’ll also make your stream available in 30fps on devices where high frame rate viewing is not yet available, while we work to expand support in the coming weeks.”
Most video games run at 60fps, and this framerate is keyed in to many aspects of gameplay. Fighting games, for example, use frames in order to determine character hit-states. A move’s timing is completely measured in frames, and so 30fps videos lose some of the fighting game nuance.
Youtube also announced new variable speed playback for live streams, which is the first of its kind. HTML 5 browsers will now be able to go back in time during a stream in order to catch what they missed, and then speed recording up in order to catch up.
This is all part of Youtube’s new attempt to compete with Twitch in the streaming world. The features are still experimental, however, and may have bugs. Youtube is asking for your feedback during this preview period in order to further fine-tune their user experience.
Source: Youtube