does the quality of downloaded youtube video increase after being downloaded?
from kionite231@lemmy.ca to nostupidquestions@lemmy.world on 02 Oct 11:27
https://lemmy.ca/post/52667158

Hello,

what I mean by that is that whenever I download a song from youtube using yt-dlp and listen to it using mpv it always feels like I am listening to a higher quality version of the music, I don’t know it it’s just me or there is some scientific reason behind it.

#nostupidquestions

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First_Thunder@lemmy.zip on 02 Oct 11:33 next collapse

Probably because youtube is using transcoding while streaming and serves a worse version while streaming for the sake of keeping the trasnmission uninterrupted

[deleted] on 02 Oct 11:44 next collapse
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Substance_P@lemmy.world on 02 Oct 11:49 next collapse

What codec are you downloading? My internet is a joke, its slow and vids are always compressed in real-time to adapt to the connection speed. Downloading the video (audio) gives you the option to get the original or uncompressed audio stream, you can set yt-dlp to download at the best available quality, so that could be the reason.

kionite231@lemmy.ca on 02 Oct 12:03 collapse

I am using the default mp4 and webm file format to download the music.

Substance_P@lemmy.world on 02 Oct 13:34 collapse

Quick question, why do you choose mp4 rather than say opus? Just wondering because I can’t often tell the difference on my subpar headphones. Do you choose high bitrate settings?

Edit: you mentioned the default, so I guess the bitrate falls somewhere in the middle for quality.

AnAmericanPotato@programming.dev on 02 Oct 12:17 next collapse

yt-dlp requests a specific format and downloads that in its entirety. When you use the YouTube web site, it dynamically adjusts based on your internet connection. If there’s lag, then it’ll drop you to a lower bitrate. So that’s one possible explanation.

There’s a little gear button on the YouTube page that lets you manually select the quality you want. If you specifically select e.g. 1080p then it won’t drop you down, it’ll just lag if your internet is too slow. I’m not 100% sure if that also applies to audio.

AstralPath@lemmy.ca on 02 Oct 12:19 next collapse

Turn off “Stable Volume” in Youtube’s video settings to disable dynamic range compression.

This is a must if you listen to music on Youtube.

Steve@communick.news on 02 Oct 12:53 collapse

Volume and Dynamic Range are different things. One doesn’t effect the other.

Stable Volume just uses a form of ReplayGain to adjust volume for each track so they don’t swing so much.

It’s not doing any dynamic range compression, like some Nighttime Listening mode.

Hond@piefed.social on 02 Oct 13:08 next collapse

But YT definetly fucks something up when stable volume is enabled. My non audiophile ass can notice it instantly even with podcasts. It sounds significantly worse.

AstralPath@lemmy.ca on 02 Oct 16:35 collapse

Tell that to the GuitarTubers whose audio get squashed to oblivion.

I can literally hear pumping clear as day in response to loud moments. It absolutely is doing dynamic range compression.

Its so obvious that I realized I was logged out of my Youtube account after a browser update and had to disable it again.

relativestranger@feddit.nl on 02 Oct 12:20 next collapse

it’s not happening ‘after’. ytdlp is likely downloading a higher quality file than what the browser or app is receiving for streaming.

AnUnusualRelic@lemmy.world on 02 Oct 13:54 next collapse

As they mature on your disk, the quality slowly increses. Although after a while, videos get overripe and eventually dissolve in a mess of macro blocks. That’s why it’s important to know when to move them to cold storage.

slazer2au@lemmy.world on 02 Oct 14:21 next collapse

Bit rot is the accepted term I believe.

circuscritic@lemmy.ca on 02 Oct 15:18 collapse

That’s why it’s so important to always store your backup media inside your refrigerator for ISO certified cold storage.

circuscritic@lemmy.ca on 02 Oct 15:16 collapse

I don’t know where you’re from, but for the Americans who are confused by the term cold storage, their talking about refrigeration.

Zwuzelmaus@feddit.org on 03 Oct 11:29 collapse

Yes of course!

Like fruits ripen. Some do so later, after being picked from the tree.

/s