M: Can I upload a higher quality version of a video I added to YouTube 12 years ago, and use it to replace the original? It isn’t even necessarily a higher quality – it just was that 12 years ago, what was the “highest quality“ is now the default.

G: TL;DR: No, YouTube doesn’t allow you to replace a video while keeping the same URL, views, comments, or stats. If you want a better version up, you'll need to upload it as a new video.

Options:

Upload the new version as a separate video, and:
- Add a link to the new one in the description or pinned comment of the old video.
- Title it clearly (e.g., “Remastered” or “Updated 2025 version”).
- Optionally, set the old video to “Unlisted” so old links still work but it won’t show up in search.
Use YouTube’s editor to make small trims or blur sections, but not swap the video file—that’s never been supported.

Let me know if you're trying to preserve some part of the original (like a comment thread or embedded link trail).

M: The funny thing is, it’s not remastered – it would still be exactly the original. What I did was I pixelated the opening to Rocky horror picture show, then super imposed video game sprites. But the quality pixelation makes it difficult to see… So I decrease the quality to get an effect, then when I uploaded the quality got reduced again. So all I need to do is find and re-uploadthe original and it will be exactly the right quality.

G: Got it. That makes perfect sense—and yeah, YouTube's old compression was brutal, especially on intentionally low-res or pixelated content where every artifact ruins the intended effect.

Since you're re-uploading the original source (not remastering), and you’re just trying to restore how it was meant to look, here’s the best strategy:

What You Can Do:

Upload the original-quality version as a new video.
Title it something like “Original-quality upload” or “As intended (2025 re-upload)” to clarify it’s not a remake.
In the old video’s description and pinned comment, say:

“This was double-compressed back in the day. Here’s the version that looks as originally intended: [link]”

Optionally set the old one to Unlisted to preserve comments while directing all traffic to the correct version.

YouTube still won’t let you replace the original, but this approach maintains continuity and preserves the context.

If you'd like, I can help draft a description/pinned comment combo that covers this smoothly.