#1 YouTuber uploads videos in 720p

GHKAM

GHKAM

Well-known member
PewDiePie, now with over 52.5 million subscribers uploads 720p videos in 2017. Typically with a mediocre quality camera, no attention to quality such as locking exposure, framing, etc.

Here's a video from yesterday, 1/17/17:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Jd1bHVYV2M

All videos:
https://www.youtube.com/user/PewDiePie/videos

I understand it's all about content...

Perhaps there is a method to PewDiePie doing this? Maybe it would alienate his audience to upload polished looking videos or part of the appeal is he acts like he doesn't care? Maybe this lower resolution helps with worldwide audience/bandwidth considerations?

He's certainly very wealthy at this point, so it's not a matter of being able to afford equipment.

Although I know many on this site are professionals or serious enthusiasts that bring attention to detail, perhaps it's something to keep in mind for when uploading to YouTube. You will almost never see people complain about quality, although I think some complaints may be justified to an extent.
 
That's interesting. I hadn't heard of him, but after your post checked out his channel.
Something to think about
 
He's been doing it for 6-7 years now. I follow lots of different YouTubers (in different industries - fitness, sports, pranks, animals, food, etc.) and they all use mediocre cameras.

It's funny because as the ultimate pixel fanatic and critical viewer, I never give it a second thought as I'm so interested in the content. I just hope the audio is good. The people I watch have all been doing it for years now too, and have millions of subscribers and I feel like I know them. Video quality is the last thing that comes to mind.

But with that said, I think if the regular Joe or Jane was starting out now, they would have a difficult time building a channel/brand with mediocre quality production-value.

I also think it depends on the type of videos you shoot/industry you're in.
 
NorBro said:
He's been doing it for 6-7 years now. I follow lots of different YouTubers (in different industries - fitness, sports, pranks, animals, food, etc.) and they all use mediocre cameras.

It's funny because as the ultimate pixel fanatic and critical viewer, I never give it a second thought as I'm so interested in the content. I just hope the audio is good. The people I watch have all been doing it for years now too, and have millions of subscribers and I feel like I know them. Video quality is the last thing that comes to mind.

But with that said, I think if the regular Joe or Jane was starting out now, they would have a difficult time building a channel/brand with mediocre quality production-value.

I also think it depends on the type of videos you shoot/industry you're in.
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yeah, same here, been pixel-peeping on camera forums.. I only see PewDiePie if one of his videos is trending and just realized how bad his video quality is. In that first video I linked, his face is so washed out.it looks like it may even be a 720p webcam.

Of course, I still think we should strive to make quality videos.. You may be right, newcomers may need the quality edge.

It makes me wonder if the average viewer, who I guess are mostly oblivious to the nuances of video, just see an image as if it were a painting. Like some artists of the past used to use "pointillism", dots that make up a painting...or other brush strokes, separate from the subject in the content.

edit: In other words, it's assumed to be artistic intent to make it look that way.
 
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I have thought for a long time that lower quality productions are more approachable. Too much quality and people get uncomfortable or do not relate as much. Sort of like bringing it down to their level (their level being a non-video producer person). Very complex as this does not apply to major release movies but does in so many other areas of content. Overall, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that MOST people do not care about images as much as we do.
 
A large view count often means a bad video (i.e. millions of teenagers watching pewdiepie). So the big numbers act as a signal to not click on them. Sometimes.
 
Bassman2003 said:
I have thought for a long time that lower quality productions are more approachable. Too much quality and people get uncomfortable or do not relate as much. Sort of like bringing it down to their level (their level being a non-video producer person). Very complex as this does not apply to major release movies but does in so many other areas of content. Overall, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that MOST people do not care about images as much as we do.
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It's like it is with Trump- the crudeness is perceived as authenticity. The crudity is an asset. If it is highly polished and sophisticated it is less perceived as authentic and "real".

I have many times had the thought of how silly it is for us video professionals to obsess over resolving ability of lenses and so complicate things with S-log, RAW, 6K and such in a quest for better latitude and higher resolution when the reality is that most consumers don't give a sh*t about image quality and are perfectly fine with content shot on a potato cam as long as the content is compelling and attention holding.

Content is king.
 
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It's too easy nowadays not to at least have decent production values, but I would wager that for youtube content, personality/charisma is many times more important than tech.
 
JPNola said:
It's like it is with Trump- the crudeness is perceived as authenticity. The crudity is an asset. If it is highly polished and sophisticated it is less perceived as authentic and "real".

I have many times had the thought of how silly it is for us video professionals to obsess over resolving ability of lenses and so complicate things with S-log, RAW, 6K and such in a quest for better latitude and higher resolution when the reality is that most consumers don't give a sh*t about image quality and are perfectly fine with content shot on a potato cam as long as the content is compelling and attention holding.

Content is king.
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Yes especially since 4k has arrived to lower priced cameras. I would say there is enough resolution now for twenty years worth of creation. After a certain point it just does not matter as much.
 
DBP said:
but I would wager that for youtube content, personality/charisma is many times more important than tech.
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I would say that applies in nearly every field. There are some fields, like nature photography, where the tech will make a big difference. But I'd 10x rather watch a 360p youtube webcam of Olan Rogers telling a story, than watch any "indie romcom" shot on a 6K Red.
 
720P is actually pretty good, especially when viewing on a small computer screen. You can still go in any TV store and buy an "HD" TV that is 720P, it's the lower tier of HD. I've been TV shopping lately and find it very hard to tell the difference between smaller 4K and 1080P TV's sitting side by side playing the same content. It's a little more obvious on the larger, higher dollar sets. But for the internet, 720 is often perfectly fine.
 
What exactly do you want to do, though?

Do you just want to be popular? Talk about video games?

If all you want is a following, then you don't need great quality, and as others said, it might work against you.

I personally am not much interested in video game or makeup videos, but they do seem to be very popular.
 
mainstreetprod said:
720P is actually pretty good, especially when viewing on a small computer screen. You can still go in any TV store and buy an "HD" TV that is 720P, it's the lower tier of HD. I've been TV shopping lately and find it very hard to tell the difference between smaller 4K and 1080P TV's sitting side by side playing the same content. It's a little more obvious on the larger, higher dollar sets. But for the internet, 720 is often perfectly fine.
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I recently made a video for a school dinner where there would be ~600 people attending. I was devestated when I heard my videos would be projected at standard def off of a DVD. After thinking about it more though, I realized that even though the screens are 10 foot wide most people would be watching the video from far enough away that there is no resolution gain by projecting in HD. Sure enough the videos looked suprisingly good as long as you didn't get too close to the screens. Tha being said I just shot a music video in 4K and all that resolution just makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
 
This is the conundrum of our current digital moment. More and more resolution and dynamic range in our glorious cameras. But most of us have our final deliverables for web only.
And we get what we want...concerning content. Rather makes me a bit depressed. Going back to bed now. :smile:
 
Barry_Green said:
I would say that applies in nearly every field. There are some fields, like nature photography, where the tech will make a big difference. But I'd 10x rather watch a 360p youtube webcam of Olan Rogers telling a story, than watch any "indie romcom" shot on a 6K Red.
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No doubt! It's fun being a camera nerd, but always good to maintain this perspective.
 
I would point out that many content creators not just create for the present but also the future.
While perhaps 4k on YouTube is overkill right now it won't be say 10 years from now.
 
rob norton said:
A large view count often means a bad video (i.e. millions of teenagers watching pewdiepie). So the big numbers act as a signal to not click on them. Sometimes.
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I agree with this 110%. I trust a million hits on a vimeo video before i'd trust a million hits on a youtube video. YouTube is mostly just full of crap, mind numbing reality entertainment.. not art. Granted there is plenty of art on YouTube, but not many with the hits these "MEME" videos targeted toward teens get.
 
rob norton said:
A large view count often means a bad video (i.e. millions of teenagers watching pewdiepie). So the big numbers act as a signal to not click on them. Sometimes.
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This is too much of a generalization, and it's often the opposite.

If the source is legitimate, a large view count (or a large number of likes) usually means it's a great video.

If you get "Rick-Rolled", maybe, but there are hundreds of thousands of videos with a high number of views that are quality content.
 
Cary Knoop said:
While perhaps 4k on YouTube is overkill right now it won't be say 10 years from now.
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Ten years from now, people will not be putting their faces four inches from their laptop screens, nor will they be sitting two feet from their big-screen TVs. Therefore, 10 years from now, 4K will be just as invisible as it is today.

TVs may grow and grow, but having the screen cover more than 30 or 40 degrees of your angle of view is uncomfortable. And that is right at the cusp of where you start to see the pixels of 2K. So I think for most people, 4K will continue to be just a gimmick.
 
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