In the early days, many videos were 480p and still looked clear. Today we have 1080p and higher, but the picture can sometimes look rough.
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Why old 480p often looked good
YouTube had fewer uploads, and people watched on smaller screens. The site did not need to shrink files very hard. Compression means shrinking a video so it uses less data.
Many music videos were made in standard definition, so 480p matched the real source. No upscaling was needed, and the result looked natural on the devices people used then.
More pixels today, but not always more data
We now have 720p, 1080p, and 4K. More pixels should look sharper, but the data budget did not always grow with it. Bitrate is how much data a video gets each second. If the bitrate is low, a 1080p video can still look blocky or blurry in fast scenes or busy backgrounds.
Read: Bitrate vs Bandwidth: Watching and Live Streaming
Why 1080p can still look rough
Stronger compression
To stream quickly for everyone, YouTube squeezes videos more than before. A hard squeeze throws away small details, so edges can look soft and patterns can break into blocks.
Bitrate caps
Even at 1080p, the bitrate may be limited. When action speeds up, the picture may smear because there is not enough data to describe every change.
Weak source files
If the upload is already compressed, the final result gets worse. It is like making a copy of a copy. Each step loses a little more detail.
Mobile first settings
Many people watch on phones, so the system favors quick loading on small screens and slower networks. That is fine on a phone, but on a big monitor the flaws are easier to see.
What helps a video look better
Uploading at 1440p or 4K can help because higher uploads often get more bitrate. Using good codecs and settings also helps. A codec is the tool that packs and unpacks video data. Simple scenes with less motion survive compression better than fast action with lots of fine detail.
To put it simply,
Old 480p looked good because compression was lighter and screens were smaller. Today we have more pixels, but stronger compression and limited bitrate can hold back quality. With careful uploads and clean sources, creators can still get a sharp result.
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