Here is a hack to watch YouTube videos in crisp High Definition. This hack allows you to watch select YouTube videos in 1280×720; also known as 720p. To do it, just append “&fmt=22” to the YouTube video URL.

For example, to watch the trailer of Batman movie – The Dark Knight in 720p, you just append “&fmt=22” to the end of the URL. The quality of the playback is amazingly as good or even better than  when you view in television.

Watch the difference in quality by viewing the two versions of the same video below. The first video image is in ordinary mode and the second is in 720p mode. I may add that not all videos can be viewed in the high definition format and only those videos which have been uploaded in HD format can be viewed in this manner.

Ordinary mode image

http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=hl3Phe3HUZw

Now the same video in HD 720p format (Click on the image for a bigger picture).

In High Definition format

http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=hl3Phe3HUZw&fmt=22