In a statement provided to Reuters, YouTube said “we are making a commitment to temporarily switch all traffic in the EU to standard definition by default,” or 480P. The company clarified this includes Britain despite Brexit, and that the slowdown will be for 30 days initially. Luckily, it seems users still have the option to switch to a higher resolution if they’re concerned about the missing pixels. Apple has so far not issued an official statement on the matter, but multiple sources have reported a blatant reduction in image quality. 9to5Mac says “Apple appears to be serving video streams with resolutions as low as 670 pixels tall. In addition to lower resolution, the streams appear heavily compressed with visibly blocky artifacts.” CultOfMac cites a couple of AppleTV users in Europe, claiming the differences are “primarily fast-moving content that is slower to refresh, heavily compressed, and more pixelated.” This degradation is particularly noticeable since AppleTV+ has flaunted its 4K HDR content since its inception. Fortunately for me, the companies have not issued similar restrictions on US networks this far. Now excuse me while I go watch another 12 episodes of Chopped Junior.
