YouTube goes widescreen

Could HD on YouTube be far away? YouTube has today announced its first ever overhaul of the YouTube video player, with a new aspect ratio of 16:9.

The announcement (which I had to read through a proxy….f&*k you Google, so I’m not linking to it) notes:

We’re expanding the width of the page to 960 pixels to better reflect the quality of the videos you create and the screens that you use to watch them. This new, wider player is in a widescreen aspect ratio which we hope will provide you with a cleaner, more powerful viewing experience. And don’t worry, your 4:3 aspect ratio videos will play just fine in this new player.

It’s good news for videos uploaded in the increasingly common 16:9 aspect ratio, and deals YouTube back into the high end video market, although without obviously offering HD yet.

(via Mashable)