{"id":5171,"date":"2008-12-22T08:57:20","date_gmt":"2008-12-22T03:27:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/?p=5171"},"modified":"2026-10-13T13:36:42","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T08:06:42","slug":"find-high-definition-videos-on-youtube","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/12\/find-high-definition-videos-on-youtube\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Find High Definition (HD and 4K) Videos on YouTube in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>How do you find high definition videos on YouTube? When we first wrote this in 2008, YouTube had just added a &#8220;Watch in HD&#8221; link and a hidden page with only about 100 HD videos. Today almost every new upload is HD, and millions of videos stream in 4K and even 8K. The trick now is finding them quickly and making sure YouTube actually plays them in top quality. Here is how to find and watch <strong>high definition videos on YouTube<\/strong> in 2026.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-63956\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/high-definition-videos-youtube-1024x538.webp\" alt=\"Find high definition videos on YouTube\" width=\"1024\" height=\"538\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/high-definition-videos-youtube-1024x538.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/high-definition-videos-youtube-300x158.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/high-definition-videos-youtube-150x79.webp 150w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/high-definition-videos-youtube-768x403.webp 768w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/high-definition-videos-youtube.webp 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Quick answer:<\/strong> Search YouTube, click <strong>Filters<\/strong> and choose <strong>4K<\/strong> or <strong>HD<\/strong> under Features to show only high definition videos. While watching, click the gear icon &gt; Quality and pick 1080p, 1440p or 2160p (4K). To make HD the default, set Video quality preferences to &#8220;Higher picture quality&#8221; in the YouTube app or website settings.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_89 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6af97eae8e12d\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"ez-toc-cssicon\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #1a202c;color:#1a202c\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #1a202c;color:#1a202c\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6af97eae8e12d\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/12\/find-high-definition-videos-on-youtube\/#How_to_search_for_HD_videos_on_YouTube\" >How to search for HD videos on YouTube<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/12\/find-high-definition-videos-on-youtube\/#How_to_watch_a_YouTube_video_in_HD\" >How to watch a YouTube video in HD<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/12\/find-high-definition-videos-on-youtube\/#Make_HD_the_default_quality\" >Make HD the default quality<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/12\/find-high-definition-videos-on-youtube\/#Why_a_video_is_not_playing_in_HD\" >Why a video is not playing in HD<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/12\/find-high-definition-videos-on-youtube\/#What_is_1080p_Premium\" >What is 1080p Premium?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/12\/find-high-definition-videos-on-youtube\/#FAQ\" >FAQ<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/12\/find-high-definition-videos-on-youtube\/#Which_resolution_counts_as_HD_on_YouTube\" >Which resolution counts as HD on YouTube?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/12\/find-high-definition-videos-on-youtube\/#Can_I_watch_4K_YouTube_videos_on_my_phone\" >Can I watch 4K YouTube videos on my phone?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/12\/find-high-definition-videos-on-youtube\/#Does_HD_use_more_data\" >Does HD use more data?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_search_for_HD_videos_on_YouTube\"><\/span>How to search for HD videos on YouTube<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li>Type your search on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">YouTube<\/a> and press Enter.<\/li>\n<li>Click <strong>Filters<\/strong> at the top of the results (on mobile, tap the three dots and choose Search filters).<\/li>\n<li>Under <strong>Features<\/strong>, select <strong>4K<\/strong>, <strong>HD<\/strong> or <strong>HDR<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Combine with Upload date or Duration filters to narrow the list further.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>You can also add &#8220;4K&#8221; or &#8220;8K&#8221; to your search, such as &#8220;nature 4K&#8221; or &#8220;drone footage 8K&#8221;.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_watch_a_YouTube_video_in_HD\"><\/span>How to watch a YouTube video in HD<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Computer:<\/strong> click the gear icon in the player &gt; <strong>Quality<\/strong> &gt; choose the highest number. 720p and above are HD, 1080p is Full HD, 1440p is 2K and 2160p is 4K.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Phone:<\/strong> tap the video, tap the gear icon, then <strong>Quality<\/strong> &gt; <strong>Higher picture quality<\/strong> or <strong>Advanced<\/strong> to choose a resolution.<\/li>\n<li><strong>TV:<\/strong> open the video settings in the YouTube TV app. 4K needs a 4K TV or streaming device.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Make_HD_the_default_quality\"><\/span>Make HD the default quality<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In the YouTube app go to <strong>Settings &gt; Video quality preferences<\/strong> and choose <strong>Higher picture quality<\/strong> for both mobile networks and Wi-Fi. On the website, choose Higher picture quality from the gear menu, and YouTube remembers it for future videos. On mobile data, high quality uses much more data.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_a_video_is_not_playing_in_HD\"><\/span>Why a video is not playing in HD<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Slow connection:<\/strong> YouTube lowers quality to avoid buffering. 4K needs about 20 Mbps or more. Check your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2010\/11\/fastest-internet-connection-speeds\/\">internet speed<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Small player:<\/strong> YouTube may pick lower quality for small windows. Try full screen.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Uploaded in low quality:<\/strong> some videos simply do not have an HD version.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Still processing:<\/strong> new uploads show in SD first while HD versions process.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Buffering problems? Try these tips to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2011\/06\/make-youtube-videos-load-faster\/\">make YouTube videos load faster<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_1080p_Premium\"><\/span>What is 1080p Premium?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>YouTube Premium members get an &#8220;Enhanced bitrate&#8221; 1080p option on many videos, which looks sharper than standard 1080p, especially in fast-moving scenes.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"FAQ\"><\/span>FAQ<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Which_resolution_counts_as_HD_on_YouTube\"><\/span>Which resolution counts as HD on YouTube?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>720p and above. 1080p is Full HD, and 2160p is 4K Ultra HD.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Can_I_watch_4K_YouTube_videos_on_my_phone\"><\/span>Can I watch 4K YouTube videos on my phone?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Yes, on many phones, even if the screen is not 4K. It looks sharper but uses a lot more data.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Does_HD_use_more_data\"><\/span>Does HD use more data?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Yes. A 1080p video uses roughly 1.5 to 3 GB per hour, and 4K can use 7 GB or more per hour.<\/p>\n<p>For more ways to enjoy YouTube, see our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2006\/10\/the-amazing-youtube-tools-collection\/\">best YouTube tools<\/a>. What is your favourite 4K channel? Share it in the comments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How do you find high definition videos on YouTube? When we first wrote this in 2008, YouTube had just added&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":63956,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[111],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-apps"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5171","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5171"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5171\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65282,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5171\/revisions\/65282"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}