YouTube TV has now removed the 48-hour limitation on its Broadcast Delay feature, making it possible to enable the setting on a permanent basis. YouTube first made Broadcast Delay available back in December, allowing subscribers to manually reduce broadcast delays on their TV on a temporary basis.
Enabling the feature ensures there is less of a delay between the camera capturing a live event and what the viewer sees, making it ideal for homes that often watch live sports and want to ensure their feed is as live as possible. However, the feature also increased the likelihood of playback interruption and issues, due to a buffer reduction.
While the potential for playback issues was thought to be one of the reasons why YouTube originally opted to implement a 48-hour limitation, that restriction has now been removed completely. According to YouTube, the ability to enable the feature for longer was something users had specifically requested.
Following this change, subscribers will now see the option to choose between “Decreased” and “Default” instead of “Decrease for 48 hours” and “Default” when enabling the feature.
For those now interested in permanently decreasing Broadcast Delay:
- Select the three dot more menu
- Select “Broadcast Delay“
- Select “Decreased” or “Default“
Presumably, the fact that YouTube has opted to remove the limitation would suggest that the lower buffer zone hasn’t proved to be as much of a problem as previously thought. That said, the same general warning remains and subscribers should continue to be aware that decreasing Broadcast Delay runs a higher risk of performance issues and playback interruptions.
Due to this, the YouTube TV Help post continues to recommend leaving “Broadcast Delay” set to “Default” for those wanting to minimize playback interruptions.
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