Instagram reserves the best video quality for the most popular content.
It's not just your imagination, but it might not be important either.
The quality of videos on Instagram can vary significantly, raising the question of why some appear blurry while others are sharp. According to Adam Mosseri, the head of the platform, the quality of a video is related to the number of views it receives. Mosseri mentioned in an AMA video that Instagram prioritizes showing the highest quality content possible, but if a video does not receive enough views in a short period, the platform opts for a lower quality version.
Mosseri added that when a video regains attention and is viewed more, it is re-rendered in a higher quality. This strategy is designed to ensure that users see the most relevant and high-quality content, prioritizing videos from creators that generate more views.
In response to questions about whether this methodology could hurt smaller creators, he clarified that quality is not the only factor influencing audience interaction with a video, as the content itself is what truly matters. In previous years, Meta had warned about the challenges of managing the growing volume of videos published on its platforms, indicating that around 4 billion video views are generated on Facebook in a single day.
To optimize computing resources, Meta provides new video uploads with basic and quick encoding. As a video's viewing time increases, it is subjected to more advanced encoding, ensuring that the most popular videos receive the best treatment in terms of visual quality.
