YouTube TV offers improved picture quality to some

Google’s YouTube TV is rolling out several updates, including improvements to picture quality and a “major” update for Apple TV users.

in Posted on the YouTube TV subreddit, the YouTube Community Manager explains what updates YouTube TV is doing at the moment, which includes collecting some previously detailed information. First, the post reiterates that Multiview is now available to YouTube TV subscribers after March Madness, with the “improvements” slated to come before the NFL season. On that note, the post also reiterates Google’s launch of the NFL Sunday Ticket pre-sale on YouTube TV, including eligible discounts for subscribers.

Related: Here’s how much the NFL Sunday Ticket costs on YouTube TV and Primetime channels

More interestingly, however, is the mention of a “major update” that’s now being rolled out to YouTube TV subscribers on Apple TV.

This update, version 1.13, aims to fix long-running YouTube TV issues on Apple TV including a black screen on startup, address 4K playback issues, as well as turn on HDR support. The post also mentions that a fix for the crash on first-generation Apple TV 4K units will be fixed with a new app update hitting the App Store “soon.”

Finally, it has also been confirmed that YouTube TV will make transcoding changes which include increasing the bit rate for 1080p content. When active, this should result in better picture quality in YouTube TV for most users, although the change is only being tested on devices that support VP9 and high-speed internet. These image quality improvements are only being tested at the moment, but may become “permanent” over the summer.

The post also briefly mentions a 5.1 surround sound sync issue that many subscribers have been experiencing, with the YouTube TV teams working on a solution.

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