Youtube launches 60fps video playback

YouTube is finally adding support for 60fps video playback, along with a new set of creator tools and a tip jar for donating to individual channels.

The announcement, which was posted to the official YouTube Crator blog last night, coioncided with the start of Vidcon, the biggest online video convention in the US. YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki led the keynote address, where she revealed the site's new features.

According to the blog, "video game footage with crazy high frame rates will soon look as awesome on YouTube as it does when you’re playing, when we launch support for 48 and even 60 frames per second in the coming months". Wojcicki was unable to give an exact timeframe as to when 60fps playback would be rolling out to all users, but the first test clips are already beginning to appear.

One of the first videos to show off 60fps playback was the latest trailer for upcoming fps Battlefield: Hardline, which we've embedded below. The higher frame rate certainly makes the intense gunplay and Levolution destruction look a lot more fluid and visually impressive.

The new Creator Studio app will let content creators check video analytics and manage videos on the move. It is available for Android now, and will soon be arriving on iOS as well. Other new additions include a public domain pool of sound effects which can be used free of charge by content creators, a fan subtitle service for viewers to suggest their own translations, and the ability to attach crowdfunding services like IndieGoGo or Kickstarter to videos in order to raise funds from viewers.

Some of the new features have already rolled out, but it looks like fans of high frame rate video will be waiting a while yet for 60fps playback to arrive for everyone.