YouTube's enhanced 1080p playback option is rolling out for Premium users on the web

Viewers may see a new option in YouTube's resolution drop-down menu on the web if they pay for the video hosting platform's premium subscription service. According to The Verge, YouTube's 1080p playback option with "enhanced bitrate" is now available on desktops worldwide. It's located above the regular 1080p option in the menu, and clicking it will prompt users to pay for Premium if they're not currently subscribed.

YouTube began testing 1080p Premium earlier this year, describing it as a "version of 1080p that provides more information per pixel, resulting in a higher quality viewing experience." The higher bitrate, which is used as a measure of the amount of video data transferred in a certain amount of time, could provide viewers with better quality without having to watch in a higher resolution. Yes, 4K is available for some videos, but that means having to stream a larger file that not everyone's connection can handle and which could eat up a significant chunk of some people's data allowance.

The service also rolled out enhanced 1080p to iOS a few months ago, but now more people will have access to it. That said, YouTube recently increased the prices for a Premium subscription from $12 per month to $14 and from $120 per year to $140. However, it eliminates ads from the viewing experience and it comes with features other than enhanced 1080p, including offline viewing and background playback.