Viewers may see a new option in the resolution drop-down menu in YouTube on the web if they're paying for the video hosting platform's premium subscription service.
And according to The Verge, the option to play YouTube in 1080p with "enhanced bitrate" is now available on desktops worldwide. It's also above the regular 1080p option in the menu, and clicking it will prompt users to pay for Premium if they don't are currently subscribed.
And YouTube began testing 1080p Premium earlier this year, describing it as "the 1080p version that provides more information per pixel resulting in a higher quality viewing experience." A higher bitrate, used as a measure of how much video data is transmitted over a given time frame, can give viewers better quality without having to watch at a higher resolution. 4K is available for some videos, but that means having to stream a larger file that no one can communicate with. Dealing with it and it can eat up a large chunk of some people's data allowance.
The service also rolled out in 1080p enhanced resolution on iOS a few months ago, but now more people will have access to it. However, YouTube recently raised the premium subscription prices from $12 per month to $14 and from $120 per year to $140.
It also eliminates ads from the viewing experience, though, and comes with features other than enhanced 1080p, including offline viewing and background play.