Adult industry professionals had mixed reactions to the news because of YouTube's prohibition against adult content and the difficulty of shooting and distributing HD content.
Ycaza Thrush, chief technology officer for OC3 Networks, told XBIZ that as of now, only 2-3 percent of U.S. Internet users have computers powerful enough to stream HD videos as quickly as regular YouTube videos stream.
"You're talking about power users who have big machines with high bandwidth connections – gamers, for example – we could [play HD videos easily] now," he said.
What qualifies as a big system? Thrush said the specs needed to quickly and easily play HD video are:
Thrush estimated that it would take 3-5 years for 40 to 50 percent of average Internet users to acquire that level of technology.
For performers and producers, HD content is great for websites and DVDs, but it may be more trouble than it's worth to generate HD videos for YouTube.
More and more adult performers keep video blogs about themselves in YouTube, including Trina Michaels, Joanna Angel, Dana DeArmond and Nikki Benz, among others.
Benz told XBIZ that while she shoots content for her site in HD in anticipation of putting it on DVD, she prefers to shoot her video blogs on the fly with a less expensive — and lower quality — camera. DeArmond told XBIZ that she has no plans to start shooting her video blog in HD.
But publicist April Storm told XBIZ that while she plans to keep her adult performer clients on the cutting edge with video blogs, she remains dubious of HD's appeal.
"I'm not clear on the thrill of hi-def versus regular stuff," said Storm, who promotes high-profile stars like Tera Patrick, Gina Lynn, Shy Love, Nicki Hunter and Taryn Thomas. "It's not like it's an action flick or something. I personally, and I repeat personally, don't want to see every pore or freckle. That said, everyone should keep up with the times, so I suppose to stay on top [my clients] should consider it."