1080p HD Is Coming to YouTube

We're excited to say that support for watching 1080p HD videos in full resolution is on its way. Starting next week, YouTube's HD mode will add support for viewing videos in 720p or 1080p, depending on the resolution of the original source, up from our maximum output of 720p today.

As resolution of consumer cameras increases, we want to make sure YouTube is the best home on the web to showcase your content. For viewers with big monitors and a fast computer, try switching to 1080p to get the most out of the fullscreen experience.

Just how much larger is 1080p? Take a look at the following screenshots from this video:


Have an HD camera? We would love to see your awesome 1080p videos! Be creative and choose subjects that really show off the beauty of your camera. We will run the best examples on our homepage in a future spotlight.

And those of you who have already uploaded in 1080p, don't worry. We're in the process of re-encoding your videos so we can show them the way you intended.

Billy Biggs, Software Engineer, recently watched "Toy Story 3 - Official Teaser Trailer [HD]." … Continue

How We Think About Social

Social features like commenting, rating, video responses and even just emailing or IMing a video's link have always been a part of the YouTube experience. So that's why we spend a lot of time here thinking about how to make the site an even more social place. We're especially focused on wanting to make it as easy as possible for you to find the people you know on YouTube and to follow their activity (what videos are they rating? favoriting? commenting on?) by subscribing to their channel; it's a great way to stay up on what they're into as well as discover new content yourself. As you consume these videos and start sharing your own, you in turn "feed" your friends a tasty helping of video goodness. It breaks into this virtuous distribution cycle:




As we've built these tools directly into YouTube itself, with things like friend suggestions based on your Gmail address book and connecting your YouTube account to social networks via our AutoShare feature, we've started to see people becoming even more social. Some of this activity is hard to quantify -- every day millions of YouTube links are sent via email, IM, Twitter and other communication methods -- but we can tell you that:

• Over one million people are AutoSharing videos to Twitter, Facebook and Google Reader
  
• Each AutoShared Tweet you send out from YouTube turns into an average of seven new sessions on YouTube.com
  
• Over a million people have found and subscribed to at least one friend on YouTube based on our Friend Suggest feature
  
• Most Tweeted video yesterday? Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance"
• More than one million new subscriptions are created every day
  

We hope these numbers will only rise as we focus on giving you the tools you need to connect with the people who matter most to you. In the process, expect to be entertained and informed by the videos circulating amongst your most trusted friends, subscribers and networks. You can get started today by ensuring that you're discoverable on YouTube (click here and check off "Let others find my channel on YouTube if they have my email address") and by connecting your account to your external networks via AutoShare (click here to set that up).

What do you think "social" on YouTube means, and where would you like to see it go? Leave a comment below.

Brian Glick, Product Manager, recently watched "Michael Jackson - Beat It," and James Phillips, Software Engineer, recently watched "New Wearable Feedbags Let Americans Eat More, Move Less." … Continue

YouTube Salutes Vets and Their Supporters

Today, we're shining the spotlight on the men and women who have bravely served -- and are presently serving -- in all branches of the U.S. military. Video has become a vital tool for current soldiers who are trying to communicate their wartime experience to the public and for older veterans who want to share their stories from past battles, like Lewis Bennett, the youngest member of the 84th District in World War II:



In addition, on the homepage, we're featuring content from those institutions and organizations that provide much-needed support to veterans. For example, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America has created a social network specifically for veterans and their families, while UCLA provides an adaptive sports therapy program for injured soldiers from the U.S. Army, including a regiment of rock climbing, wheelchair basketball, and table tennis. Here's a preview:

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We're Hiring Engineers!

A billion video views per day. Twenty hours of video uploaded every minute. Social and political impact. The latest in pop culture. Second only to Google in search traffic. YouTube is constantly evolving and finding the right talent to go on this journey with us is of paramount importance. Think you have what it takes to join the ranks?

We're especially interested in recruiting top engineers. In return for your mean coding skills, we offer a dynamic environment that fosters openness, creative freedom, and a ton of interesting problems to be solved. "I'd compare it to working on an open source project with friends; people want to know what you're working on, have advice and help out however they can," says Phil, an engineer who's been with YouTube for 1 1/2 years. A typical day might entail intra-cube technical collaborations, tech talks, team lunches and "Don't bother me, I'm coding" sessions. There's also the leeway to work on projects you're passionate about, great perks and, ahem, a bunch of awesome people who work hard but also love to have fun.

Check out our listings and apply today!

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Last Chance for "Bram Stoker's Dracula"

Update (9pm PT): Unfortunately, this viewing party had to be canceled. We're sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused.

Update (6pm PT): We're experiencing a technical glitch in the Screening Room, so we'll be pushing the viewing party back 1 hour to 7pm PT. See you there!

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Tonight is your last chance to watch "Bram Stoker's Dracula" on YouTube, and your only chance to watch it with other vampire lovers from around the United States.

Join us in the YouTube Screening Room at 6pm PST for a live viewing party. To the right of the player, you'll see a Twitter feed collecting real-time tweets from other fans watching the film. If you want to contribute to the conversation, just login to your Twitter account through the gadget and send your tweets, being sure to use the default hashtag, #screeningroom.

We'll be there, along with our friends at Crackle, reacting to your thoughts and dropping a few of our own.

Remember to subscribe to Crackle's YouTube channel to stay on top of new feature-length movies coming to YouTube.

See you at the party - we'll be "stoked" to have you...

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Android 2.0 Introduces Improvements for Mobile Video

Earlier this year, we revealed the rapid growth in mobile video uploads to YouTube, largely spurred by the launch of powerful devices (like the iPhone 3GS and increasing Android adoption).

Uploading and sharing mobile videos on YouTube are getting kicked up another notch with today's launch of the Verizon Droid by Motorola. The Droid is the first device to run the latest version of Android (version 2.0) and introduces some remarkable improvements:

• DVD quality recording and easier sharing: It is now possible to shoot DVD-quality videos and upload them to YouTube with a single flick of a finger. Droid is the first Android powered phone with DVD-quality recording, and it offers the ability to add effects like sepia, solarization and red tint to your videos. In addition, the new YouTube widget gives single-tap access to recording and sharing capabilities right from the home screen, making it even easier to broadcast those special moments or sights, or even silly ones like this video exploring six ways to have a fruitful finish to a lunch meeting:

• It's more like the YouTube you're used to: The controls on the new YouTube application on Android 2.0 now have a look and feel that's much more like the YouTube desktop experience. We've also added the ability to manage personal subscriptions in 'My Account,' and so now, with the ability to search, share, rate, comment and of course view videos, the on-the-go YouTube experience is closer to the one you're used to on your computer.

• High quality playback and brilliant screen: The Droid by Motorola has a brilliant 3.7 inch screen with noticeably high resolution and crisp colors: 854x480 pixels with 16M colors. The YouTube App on Android 2.0 plays videos in HQ automatically when you are on wifi, bringing the best possible YouTube watching experience to a mobile device. And if you are out of wifi range, you can still watch videos in HQ by selecting "Menu -> More -> Watch in high quality."
  

Happy watching, recording and sharing -- if you like, include links to your best Android-filmed videos below. We'd love to see the creativity that springs forth from this technology.

Jonathan Matus, Android Lead Product Marketing Manager, recently watched "Stealth Bomber." … Continue

Funny or Die Joins YouTube

We're happy to welcome a comedy legend to YouTube today, as Will Ferrell's comedy think-tank Funny or Die joins YouTube as a partner. YouTube viewers around the world will now have access to a collection of Funny or Die classics, plus a steady stream of new videos being uploaded each week.

As comedy fans know, Funny or Die works with some of Hollywood's top comedic talent to create a trademark blend of humor, celebrity and web originals. Jack Black, Natalie Portman and Lindsay Lohan are just a few of the famous names you can catch in hilarious Funny or Die sketches, and you never know who will show up next.

To celebrate this new partnership, Will Ferrell has selected his favorite Funny or Die clips for the spotlight on today's YouTube homepage. Here's a message from the man himself, and his Funny or Die co-creator Adam McKay :
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Help the Hungry This Thanksgiving

On World Food Day, we asked you to donate to feed the billion hungry people in the world and your response was incredible: over 140,000 children got meals because of you. Thank you.

Now, we're looking at the facts close to home: one in eight Americans don't have enough food to eat, a fact that becomes even harder to digest at this time of year, as we prepare for Thanksgiving, a celebration of food and family.

Through Video Volunteers, we're hoping you can make a video for any nonprofit tackling the issue of hunger in America. You could create a video profiling the work your local food bank is doing or even volunteer to serve a meal at a shelter and record your experience. Hear more from David Arquette, our guest curator for this month's edition of Video Volunteers:



The top three videos submitted on the YouTube Video Volunteers channel will be featured on the YouTube homepage around Thanksgiving, alongside a video from our partner in this effort, Feeding America. Videos must be submitted by November 21 for consideration.

Ramya Raghavan, Nonprofits & Activism, recently favorited "Raising Malawi with Madonna."

Can You Beat Michael Phelps?

Face facts: in a swimming race against 14-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer Michael Phelps, you'd have no chance whatsoever...but you may be able to beat him in speed putting! If you can make more than 12 five-foot putts in a minute, you'll have bragging rights forever:



This is "The Best of Us Challenge," presented by the International Olympic Committee, where Olympic athletes challenge the YouTube community to compete in some truly unique events. For example, you can challenge American Olympic gold medalist gymnast Shawn Johnson by tapping-your-ears-while-doing-a-handstand. (FYI: she did it 54 times in 30 seconds.) Or take on one of the world's fastest men, Jamaican sprinter Asafa Powell, who balanced a stick on his foot for two minutes and 30 seconds. Six-time Grand Slam winner and Olympic gold medalist Rafael Nadal picked up 24 tennis balls in 30 seconds (making great use of his groin area) — how many can you get?

If you've got the moxie to best these world class athletes, check out the The Best of Us Challenge channel on YouTube to learn how to submit your video. Prizes include a trip for two to the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games in February 2010 and a trip for two to the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore in August 2010, as well as T-shirts, video games and posters. Submissions end on Sunday, November 15, so whatever your skill is — putting, hand-standing, hula-hooping, etc. — get out there and show the world your best.

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Now Playing: "Bram Stoker's Dracula"

Update (11/1) Thanks to everyone who voted. Here are the final results of the "Who's the greatest Dracula" poll:


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Everywhere you look, vampires seem to be all the rage. But before the broody youngsters of "Twilight" and the Southern nightwalkers of "True Blood" took center stage, there was one Count who ruled the bloodsucking roost: Dracula.

In honor of the world's most famous monster (and everyone's go-to Halloween costume), we're pleased to bring you Bram Stoker's Dracula, courtesy of our friends at Crackle. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Gary Oldman in one of his most memorable roles, it's the story of darkness's cursed prince searching for his suicidal bride in 18th-century England. With Academy Award-winning costumes, killer performances from Anthony Hopkins, Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder, and a healthy dose of horror, this flick has something for film buffs of varying tastes.

Before you watch, there are a few things we need to note. First, this film is rated R for violence and brief nudity. This means that you'll need to verify that you're 18 years of age or older by either signing into your existing YouTube account or creating a new one. Second, this video is limited to audiences in the U.S. (apologies to our international users). And, third, the film will only be available on YouTube through November 9.

How do you think Gary Oldman ranks in the pantheon of Count Dracula actors? Cast your vote in the poll in the upper right hand corner.

Happy Halloween!

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