Why is YouTube playback blurry, fuzzy, or unreadable?

Why is YouTube playback blurry, fuzzy, or unreadable?

YouTube re-encodes uploaded videos to a few different quality settings and will default to playing the lower quality version when you first watch in your browser.

To switch playback to HD quality:
  1. Click the Gear icon (lower-right corner).
  2. Select 720p or 1080p (if available).
If 720p or 1080p are not available options, YouTube may still be processing your video if it was uploaded recently.  Check back later to determine whether this may be the case.

If the higher resolution never appears as an option, you may want to check whether the video was recorded in a lower resolution.  This article provides further details regarding how to check and update a video's Canvas size.  You may also find this video tutorial helpful, as it walks through how to set the Size when recording.  For best results, set the recording Size to 720p or 1080p (if available) when you plan on uploading to YouTube.