Windows 7 - would this have caused the quality of this video i converted to reduce

i used a website that converts youtube videos into an mp4 video that will play on windows media player. then i uploaded the video to my own youtube channel. in looking at it afterwards it looks like the quality has been reduced. i didnt expect that. its very subtle. so subtle that i even could be mistaken but i do think that i see a difference. could this have caused that?

if it might have. do you know a way to do this without reducing the quality? im talking about visually. not the sound.

also the converter recommended 480p but i did 720 instead because i assumed that the hd would be a higher quality. could that be a factor?

I use a Firefox add-on called DownloadHelper to grab YouTube clips. Most are FLV, whilst the HQ ones are usually mp4.

If you use that app you'll probably find the original clip was FLV and this could be re-uploaded to YouTube with minimum re-encoding. Any re-encoding reduces quality.

Also upscaling from 480px to 720px will not help since you cannot 'invent' new pixels/data.

The question is: Why would you want to download a video from YouTube (presumably someone else's), convert it from one format to another, and then upload it back to YouTube, this time under your channel?

I was going to mention copyright . . . but maybe the OP wants an email like this



perhaps I was wrong to pick a fight with Rupert Murdoch

nowadays I only upload my own video content and use Creative Common Licence music (with credit and url of band/musician)

i used something called youtube video converter to convert a video that is on youtube (someone elses channel) to windows media player format.

would that reduce the quality or no?

if it would, would a better alternative be to use the firefox plugin to download youtube videos?

thank you.

Download programs and plugins do just that: Download a youtube clip unaltered.
Every attempt to convert those clips however will diminish the quality. By how much depends on the quality of the source and the actual settings of your converter. But the old rule still applies: garbage in garbage out

-DG

hi sledge, im confused about something you said. in the first line you mention that download converters will download it unaltered. and then the next line you say that every attempt to convert those clips will diminish the quality.

it sounds like a contradiction. im assuming im misunderstanding you though. can you please clarify? thanks.

The contradiction lies in a naming confusion: I was talking about plain downloaders that don'n alter the material. Not about downloaders that convert in the same process. With Youtube and other streaming sources you're best off to keep the material in it's "original" format like .flv for Flash-types .rmvb for Real-Media types etc.
If you must convert though, you'd rather go for a smaller screen size (like converts for cell phones) that way you keep distortions and blocks to a minimum)
Since Youtube clips are usually offered in different qualities, you want to make sure you always get the best possible(mostly .mp4) There are helpers out there that can grab those unaltered right off the page. Just check in the plugin/extension section for chrome or Firefox

If you get this player, you don't need to convert anything, they all play just fine

@3D Jed: It's the uploaders who get those notifications, so no need to worry about it.


-DG

DG - I mentioned copyright because the OP wants to download YouTube clips and re-upload to his channel which would result in a warning if the clip was copyright.

It has actually happened to me - I saw a George Benson music clip on YT with the wrong aspect ratio (everyone looked fat !) so I downloaded it, fixed it and re-uploaded with correct AR. Result - warning from his Music Label.

OK, Jed got it
Thanks for clearing that up