What do you think of YouTube’s decision to go widescreen? Talk about quietly making the change heh

Here’s a screenshot of the new widescreen player — that’s the Rohan Online trailer from our official YouTube channel. We’ll switch our videos to the new aspect ratio.

Here’s an excerpt from the brief announcement on the YouTube blog.

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.

And here’s more info from the AFP story.

Personally, I think it’s great because for the past two years, I’ve been advocating the widescreen format and the importance of ensuring that the master files of your videos are already HD-quality, whether or not you’re already offering an HD service. See, content providers have to invest in the future, and make sure they’re protecting their digital assets.

Think long-term.