YouTube quality difference between Wi-Fi and 3G?

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daihard

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Hi.

I've noticed that the same YouTube movie shows up with a significantly lower resolution when my iPhone uses 3G compared with when it uses Wi-Fi. I tried three different movies and saw the same pattern in all of them.

Is it because the YouTube site has two versions for the iPhone, or does YouTube apply further resolution reduction dynamically when the connection is via 3G/EDGE?

I personally find this to be highly annoying. The resolution on the movies via 3G is so low, I'd rather not watch them. That may be excusable with EDGE, but not any more with 3G if you ask me. What do you guys think?
 

thoang77

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I was expecting wi-fi quality videos on 3g, very disappointed to find out that you only get the edge crap. yea it pretty much makes them unwatchable
 

daihard

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thoang77 said:
I was expecting wi-fi quality videos on 3g, very disappointed to find out that you only get the edge crap. yea it pretty much makes them unwatchable
YouTube should give us the high-res version based upon the connection speed, not the protocol. I get 1.3 to 1.4 Mbps on 3G at home, which should be enough for high-res videos, yet I get crappy versions.
 
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Yes, it's a YouTube issue, since videos streamed from other sites (ie, via Safari) do not exhibit the same problem.

I'm guessing that YouTube is lowering the streaming bandwidth for a cellular connection, rather than looking at the actual bandwidth available. Whether this problem is in the YouTube application on the iPhone or on the YouTube servers I'm not sure, but it's definitely a problem specific to YouTube.
 

RTiii320

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I agree! I orginally bought my 3g praying that the YouTube videos would have a better resolution then my edge iPhone, boy was I wrong!is this something that could be fixed in dare I say 2.0.2??
 
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If they were deliberately trying to save bandwidth, I would expect to see the same quality reduction on all streaming video, and not just those videos streamed from YouTube via the YouTube app.

You'll note that you can go to any other site on the Internet with iPhone-compatible streaming video, even Apple's own Movie Trailers site, and they look fine over 3G.
 

Ed2020

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Why? If the connection type is being detected by YouTube (rather than the mobile carrier or the iPhone OS), and resolution restricted accordingly, then I can't see any reason why that would have any effect on video streamed off websites.

YouTube has an agreement with Apple (and therefore presumably, indirectly with the mobile carriers) as they have the app installed on iPhone. Websites don't (or at least most of them don't), so have no reason to unnecessarily restrict video quality.

Granted the quality on Apple's own site being fine does seem a bit inconsistent.

Ed.
 

Deltido

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Well, not sure if talk about this is forbidden or anything..but I just discovered that (if you have a jailbroken iphone) you can use the application called mxtube (install through cydia or installer 4) to download/stream youtube videos with Wifi quality video over 3g(edge is too slow). Just when you boot it up and search for your video tab on "download" and you'll have the option to download (or stream) it wifi quality or edge quality (of course you'll be choosing wifi :p) hope this helps someone, Laters:cool:
 

Deltido

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TheMBC said:
Since this was brought back, you might want to use Truveo from AOL, a free app. The quality is GREAT.
Well, I've tried out that application you listed. You're not lying...but the mxtube is still pretty handy with the ability to download the videos.
 

daihard

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Deltido,

Thanks for the suggestion. Do I need to jailbreak my iPhone to use mxtube? It looks like it, but I'm double-checking...
 

Deltido

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daihard said:
Deltido,

Thanks for the suggestion. Do I need to jailbreak my iPhone to use mxtube? It looks like it, but I'm double-checking...
Yep, as Mr.2020 said, You've gotta jailbreak it to use the mxtube application. I say jailbreaking is well worth it, I can't believe the official application store doesn't have a video recorder..but the 'cydia' for the jailbroken phones have 2 of them for use. Things like that, and many other variables that make it really worth it to jailbreak your phone especially because of how easy it's become to do. Well, if you decide to jailbreak, I hope all goes well. Laters:cool:
 

daihard

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Deltido said:
Yep, as Mr.2020 said, You've gotta jailbreak it to use the mxtube application. I say jailbreaking is well worth it, I can't believe the official application store doesn't have a video recorder..but the 'cydia' for the jailbroken phones have 2 of them for use. Things like that, and many other variables that make it really worth it to jailbreak your phone especially because of how easy it's become to do. Well, if you decide to jailbreak, I hope all goes well. Laters:cool:
Thanks. Being a chicken by nature I'll probably hold off for another while. I still appreciate all your help, though. :cool:
 

Ed2020

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daihard said:
Thanks. Being a chicken by nature I'll probably hold off for another while. I still appreciate all your help, though. :cool:
Jailbreaking is pretty much risk free (at least in my experience, and others' who post here). I have heard people claim it has "bricked" their device, but they have all subsequently managed to revive it. Apple have done an excellent job of ensuring you can recover, even from a seriously borked OS. I tested it once by pulling the USB cable out during a restore process on my iPod. It needed forcing into DFU mode and restoring again, but it was fine afterwards.

I'd go for it if I were you.

Ed.
 

Urrl

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Actually Wifi may have little to do with it. I am using a Sprint Expresscard (EVDO) in my laptop, which is actually a little slower than my iPhone 3G, yet with the card YouTube looks just like a Wifi signal while the 3G iPhone gives a crappy image at the same location, so I will definitely re-jailbreak my iPhone 3G when I have the time...:)

I am using 2.0.2 firmware on the iPhone 3G.
 
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stopthepain

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Does anybody know if this has been fixed with the 2.1 update. Knowing Apple's track record, my guess is "no".
 

kloan

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Quicktime trailers look just as crappy on 3G, so I'm not sure why you guys think it's only YouTube that's the problem.
 

deadlysin420

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There is a workaround to this problem.

Go the appstore and download a program called "TRUVEO" from AOL. You can search for AOL or truveo, doesn't matter. Search for anything, or put youtube + searchterm and it will find the same youtube videos but display them in the HQ version. Basically its a video search program that uses multiple sources like youtube, dailymotion, cnn etc and displays the HQ version.

I know this will help some people. This should be stickied!

Not bad for a first post, Cheers:cool:
 
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