YouTube enables 60FPS video playback, and the results are stunning

Last May, when Youtube announced that they would be allowing users to upload videos encoded at 48fps and 60fps, most cast an eye on the reactions of the gaming community. Most gamers (PC gamers especially) have had the luxury of playing games at a consistent 60fps with relative ease for a few years now, but they have had nowhere to upload it.

Youtube has stepped up and have enabled the ability for people to upload their own high quality clips at 60fps.

FPS means frames-per-second, meaning that in a single second of video you will now be able to see 60 frames, instead of the standard 30. What this results in is an overall smoother picture, with an incredible immersion in what you are seeing.

And while people who record games are an obvious target, this has plenty of other people excited. The Hobbit was released into cinemas at 48fps last year, and while the public reaction were mixed, it was pushing a technology that has, up until now, been reserved for gamers.

This is a logical step for Youtube. People have wanted this feature for years and if Youtube hadn’t stepped in, I think Amazon, with their recent Twitch acquisition, could have won the hearts of gamers who currently rely on Youtube for their video hosting.

Its not for everyone. Some people even have been reported to get motion sickness during Hobbit screenings. But for people who like to see new media technologies are enabled for the masses, this update is more than welcome.