[GUIDE] 4K Youtube On Non 4K Android Device (Requires Root)

[iamdarkyoshi]

XDA style disclaimer:

Quote

I am not responsible for bricked devices, dead SD cards, thermonuclear war, or you getting fired because the alarm app failed. YOU are choosing to make these modifications, and if you point the finger at me for messing up your device, I will laugh at you. A lot.

 

So as many of you may know, youtube mobile doesn't let you set a quality higher than your device's screen. I'm sure a lot of you know that 4k youtube looks better than 1080p youtube on a 1080p screen due to the increased bitrate, so lets fix this issue on mobile.

 

Here's my 1080p Mi Max 2:

 

 

How did I do this? Just download a build.prop editor such as this one

 

Then add or edit a new property called sys.display-size and set a value of 3840x2160

 

Then reboot.

 

That's literally all you need to do.

 

My lowly snapdragon 625 struggles with 4k60, but 1440p60 is rock solid. 4k30 and lower works perfectly.

 

Example screenshots from this video

 

1080p:

 

4K:

[Daniel Z.]

I should try this but I doubt it would matter much on my S7

[iamdarkyoshi]

22 minutes ago, Daniel Z. said:

I should try this but I doubt it would matter much on my S7

Added some screenshots that may change your mind. The difference is pretty noticeable

[Daniel Z.]

28 minutes ago, iamdarkyoshi said:

Added some screenshots that may change your mind. The difference is pretty noticeable

K I'll give it a try. Thanks!

[Daniel Z.]

You need root for this and I haven't rooted my S7

[vanished]

Here's that video in case you want to try it first hand:

11 hours ago, Daniel Z. said:

I should try this but I doubt it would matter much on my S7

With some content, admittedly there's little if any difference, but with others, it's night and day obvious.  That said, the smaller your display is, the less you will notice, but it should still be significant in the more extreme cases, such as this video.  Another great one to check out is https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6qEdtxp_IAaVrNAHUIhHbQ

They do lots of 4K60 fps videos that contain tons of fine detail, which often causes the 1080p versions (and certainly anything less) to turn to complete mush.  Even the 4K one has trouble staying sharp but it's rather noticeable how much better it is if you watch them back to back.

 

Here's some more screenshots I did on this a while back:

[YedZed]

Must root?

 

[YedZed]

*doesn't see much difference in posted pics* 

*realizes its on a 1000x1000 monitor*

[iamdarkyoshi]

46 minutes ago, YedZed said:

1000x1000 monitor

How and why does exist

[YedZed]

1 minute ago, iamdarkyoshi said:

How and why does exist

I rounded, it's more like 1024 by 1280

 

[vanished]

6 hours ago, YedZed said:

I rounded, it's more like 1024 by 1280

 

The cropped shots should look pretty much the same anywhere since they're not scaled down, but the fullscreen screenshots obviously are scaled down unless you click to view them in a new tab, so that would certainly hide the benefit since you'd be comparing 4K vs 1080p at like 800 x 500 instead of at 1080p   More bitrate helps despite the lack of additional pixels, but only to a point