@Gargron please add support for 4K videos (could be downscaled on client or on server end), its frustrating to wait for it to upload and only after a few minutes being shown an error message
@paul@Gargron@selea Sure but Mastodon server operators are already bound to whatever the source code has as limits (apparently hardcoded) and that went from 8MB to 40MB in a few years. It should be configurable and also communicated to clients so clients don't push data over the network only to have it denied by the sever. (source code: https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/blob/main/app/models/media_attachment.rb)
@thomasfuchs@Gargron@selea a server storing one video file is one thing, having to store two versions, one of them being a huge 4k file is unfair - instances are going to have to start asking for higher donations just to cover it 4k simply uses more storage space and energy. I'm not saying it's inefficient in isolation, but it is inefficient in comparison to lower quality videos which for almost all cases are perfectly suitable
that said, maybe this is something the more media focussed instances like pixelfed or goldfish.social would be happy to do, not so much for conversational instances in my opinion
@paul@Gargron@selea The obvious solution is to create different versions of the video server-side.
This is a major advantage that proprietary social networks have over Mastodon—and I think a big deal in holding up adoption.
Unfortunately I don't know how to solve this issue without overloading small instances and servers with work. Only idea I have is to outsource transcoding to volunteers, and do it on their devices/computers and write back transcoded media to original server.
@paul@Gargron@selea That arguments makes no sense, any modern computer or phone uses hardware to play back videos, and this hardware is extremely efficient. E.g. Phones can easily play back 20 hours of video these days on single battery charge.
Anyway, this should be a client thing and settings in the client to allow or disallow playback or autoplay of videos, with size limits and probably other options, like don't autoplay on cellular connections.
@selea@thomasfuchs@Gargron there's multiple reasons 4k isnt implemented... one of the main ones is please remember the fediverse is not just mastodon!! other instances have a stake in it all as well, so things have to remain compatible besides, as somebody whose eyesight is poor enough that 4k vs 1080p vs 720p really doesn't make much difference I'm happy with whatever we currently have 4k videos also use a considerable amount more power to decode... I don't want to be unknowingly decoding 4k video client-side... there is an energy crisis at the moment you know!