In the next few days I will have had 50 million views of my photos and videos for Google Maps. I take great pride in capturing special images that users choose to see.
I am really frustrated that Google chooses to not bother with the presentation or quality of lovingly created video moments or scenes. Contributors capture scenes in 4K and Google compresses them into less than HD so that they are a blocky representation, and do nothing to show the beauty or character that contributors want to get across. To make matters worse they then stick the video play controls over the top of the video so you can’t even see the images clearly.
I’ve uploaded about 4,300 photos, and only uploaded less than 100 videos, because it’s just that the videos are simply not treated with the respect that they deserve.
The two images, original upload next to Google Map’s compressed output, show a slow motion upload of seagulls flying in a local park so that you can judge for yourself:
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Videos are intended to be quick short snapshots from your phone @nigelfreeney I would recommend sharing at the native resolution of your phone to avoid this issue. Videos should also be shared in the portrait orientation in the same way that all phone oriented services want it e.g. YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, Vines, Tik Tok, etc.
Paul
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@nigelfreeney колоссальная разница
Hi Paul,
@PaulPavlinovich
Thanks for taking the time to respond. I see that you offer lots of advice and when I have time I will look through your back catalogue of YouTube videos. I did watch a little of one of your videos - great beard! You clearly have a great deal of knowledge on photography. Do you have one on taking videos for Google Maps?..
Videos are limited to 30 seconds. In that time you have the opportunity to both tell a story, present a moment, or demonstrate a sense of the vibe of a location.
The native resolution from my iPhone 12 Pro Max is 4K.
I choose the orientation between portrait and landscape depending on the subject but prefer to stick with landscape as this reflects the format that is used for most images I post on Google Maps - I have 52 million views - i.e. I have a little experience? If I was serving up images for other social platforms I might choose portrait because, as you point out, these platforms tend to serve an audience that expects this format.
Back to my original points. The resolution is awful - better not to provide the service at all than limit it to less than HD output. Why stick the controls over the video. Like I said Google does not appear to care about videos on Google Maps.
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Hi Nataliya,
For all the technological resources that Google has it is stabbing itself in the foot with this aspect of Google Maps. I have no doubt that there would be a huge increase in quality content if the videos were treated with respect - even just increasing the quality to full HD 1080p.
Thanks,
Nigel
Hi @nigelfreeney landscape will work, but it will be less than optimal as the expected format is vertical portrait. The majority of video users in Maps are from phone which is why this format is preferred. I’ve not done any video tutorials for Maps.
I am postulating here, but I expect that the issue is around cost. YouTube which allows 1080p, 2k and 4k content (if you meet criteria) is supported by ad revenue. Maps isn’t so there is nothing to cover the storage and streaming costs of high quality content.
Maps also needs to cater to the widest possible user base, most users are using a low to mid range phone.
As for the iPhone 12 Pro really being 4K… well… we don’t argue about such things on Connect as its against our values but hit me up on another forum and we can chat.
Paul
Hi @nigelfreeney
Congratulations for your photos views !
Also thanks for in informative post of uploading photos and videos!
Have a nice day my friend! 
Mahbub
Warm Greetings 
from Chittagong city
Bangladesh. 
Pls click here to see my recent posts!!
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