HD Video

Recently we improved our infrastructure to enable video playback in HD quality. From August 2021, all NEW videos uploaded can be watched in HD (previously limited to SD). The process to make the same possible for older videos in your timeline has started, but this will take some time.

Below, find your questions and answers on this topic:

When will all the videos in my timeline have been reprocessed?

It depends how far back your timeline stretches and whether all the original videos uploaded were in an HD (or better quality) format. The reprocessing works backwards, one day at a time, swapping in the improved copy automatically. The whole process will be complete by August 2022. 

What does ‘reprocessing’ even mean in this context? 

A process whereby we retrieve, from safe storage, the original video that you uploaded and create two copies in a standardised video format - one SD, one HD. The original video is returned to safe storage and the copies are what we use for the service day-to-day. 

My original video was HD, why are you not just using that? 

There are 100s of types of video format and not all work across all platforms. Because BackThen supports multiple platforms (iOS and Android apps and web) we need to create a set of copies in a standardised video format that we can guarantee will work across all our platforms. 

I’m not seeing videos in HD, even newly uploaded videos.

This is likely tied to the quality of your connection. Where internet speed is good, the HD copy is used. If the internet speed is poor, or variable, the SD copy will be used instead. This SD/HD decision is made automatically by our BackThen clients (meaning the iOS and Android apps and website) and can switch mid-video if a change in conditions is detected.