WhatsApp will soon allow sending of high quality videos

WhatsApp Beta Testing HD Video Sending Feature

WhatsApp, a popular chat app today, is closing the gap between it and rival messaging platforms with its recent experimental feature. Beta testers of WhatsApp’s new Android version have spotted an “HD quality” option now available when sending videos.

Spotlight on Video Quality Improvement

Currently, Telegram stands as one of the leading messaging apps that permits the transmission of uncompressed photos and videos, subject to certain size limitations. Contrarily, the Meta-owned WhatsApp continues to apply some compression to clips before their dissemination.

Previously, WhatsApp had rather restrictive video file size limits compared to other platforms. Users could send up to a maximum file size of 16GB, far below Telegram’s maximum of 2GB. For optimal use of this capacity, users would need to share videos or photos as documents or compress their media files into a zip folder before transmission.

New HD Option in WhatsApp Beta

The introduction of the HD button in the latest WhatsApp beta release (version 2.23.14.10) signals WhatsApp’s move towards parity with its competitors in terms of video quality offered for sharing.

However, users must manually select “HD quality” every time a video is chosen for sending. The default resolution is still set to “standard quality”. This will therefore require some user intervention in order not to compromise the video quality once sent.

Additionally, similar to high-definition photos sent over WhatsApp, videos shared at higher quality will be identified with a corresponding overlay in the conversation view. This HD tag only appears for videos large enough to justify HD quality; smaller-sized videos are restricted to being sent in SD.

Rolling Out High-Definition Capabilities

WABetaInfo reports that this feature will become available to more beta testers over the coming weeks. The official timing for a wider rollout remains unconfirmed but one can expect these high-definition photo and video sharing options to be deployed together at a future date.

WhatsApp’s preceding focus on optimizing photo-sharing quality saw them recently testing the ability to send HD-quality photos via their beta version. This represents a significant development given prior criticism had cited heavy compression applied to shared images and videos as a key drawback.

Despite allowing sharing of files up to 2GB in size, WhatsApp limited videos to an insufficient 16MB limit — a fraction of what is required for high-quality 8k output common amongst modern smartphones’ capabilities.

Future Expectations for Quality Improvements

Looking forward, improvements are expected from WhatsApp’s enlistment of light compression technologies rather than heavily compressing input as done previously — even for HD selections where some level of detail-loss may still occur.

This opportunity for beta testers first emerged on version 2.23.14.10 where sightings of new functionality such as the ‘HD’ button were first documented.

While awaiting broader availability on iOS and direct integration into Windows, Mac, and web platforms soon after Android coverage has been achieved, these updates hint at promising prospects regarding future developments by Meta era-WhatsApp.

Finally, note that the option for sharing HD videos appears limited strictly within chats; status updates continue utilizing heavy compression technology reducing overall video quality options — this amenity may also see progress in near future updates.