Fix: Loom “Resolution Mismatch” (1080p recording showing as 720p)

A resolution mismatch where a 1080p Loom recording appears capped at 720p means the published video is either still undergoing high-definition cloud processing, was recorded from a screen canvas smaller than 1920×1080 physical pixels, or was downgraded by plan tier limits or hardware encoder fallbacks. Viewers and creators will notice that the player settings gear icon only offers playback quality up to 720p.

Fast Fix

Wait 5 to 15 minutes for Loom’s cloud servers to finish the high-definition transcode pass. Loom immediately serves a fast 720p preview while the 1080p/4K streams encode in the background. If the video remains locked at 720p, confirm your Loom account is on a paid Business or Enterprise plan and verify your display’s native pixel resolution is at least 1920×1080.

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Diagnostic Snapshot

Parameter	Operational Detail
Failure Layer	Cloud transcode queue lag, physical canvas downsampling, or account plan cap
Symptoms	Gear icon maxes out at 720p; downloaded MP4 file is 1280×720
Account Tier Factor	Free/Starter plans are limited to 720p output
Average Delay	5 to 15 minutes for 1080p stream availability post-recording

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Why Videos Default to 720p

When you finish a recording, the file does not instantly become available in every resolution. Loom handles media processing in progressive pipeline stages:

[Recording Uploaded to Loom Cloud]
                 │
                 ▼
    STAGE 1: Low-Latency Transcode
                 │
                 ▼
      [720p Stream Published]  ◄── Available immediately for instant playback
                 │
                 ▼
    STAGE 2: High-Definition Pass
                 │
                 ▼
      [1080p / 4K Stream Added] ◄── Takes 5-15 mins depending on file length

If your finished video never upgrades beyond 720p, one of four bottlenecks is responsible:

1. Asynchronous Transcode Queuing: Loom prioritizes speed by making a 720p transcode available within seconds. The 1080p render takes longer because it requires significantly higher compute resources.
2. Physical Canvas Downsampling: Loom cannot invent pixels. If you capture a 13-inch laptop display set to a scaled resolution of 1440×900, or record a cropped window whose dimensions are less than 1920×1080, Loom caps the output at 720p to prevent upscaling distortion.
3. Plan Tier Ceilings: Loom’s Free (Starter) plan caps video quality at 720p. 1080p and 4K recording are exclusive to paid Business and Enterprise tiers.
4. Hardware Encoding Exhaustion: When local GPU video engines run out of memory or thermal throttle, Loom’s local client falls back to low-impact software encoding, dropping resolution targets to keep audio and video in sync.

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Step-by-Step Resolution

Step 1: Allow Cloud Transcoding Time to Complete

Before changing settings, verify if the video is simply still processing:

1. Open your video page on Loom.com.
2. Check the bottom edge of the video player:
   • If a small banner says “We’re still processing your video at higher quality,” the 1080p pass is still compiling on Loom’s servers.

• If a small banner says “We’re still processing your video at higher quality,” the 1080p pass is still compiling on Loom’s servers.

1. Videos longer than 10 minutes can take up to 15 minutes to process full 1080p streams.
2. Refresh the page after 10 minutes, click the Gear (Settings) icon in the video player, and check if 1080p is now selectable.
3. If the video remains permanently frozen at the processing stage, refer to Fix: Loom “Processing” Loop (Video stuck at 0%).

Step 2: Confirm Physical Display and Window Resolution

Loom will not encode in 1080p if your source screen or window does not contain at least 1920 horizontal and 1080 vertical pixels.

• On Windows:
  1. Go to Settings > System > Display.
  2. Under Display resolution, make sure your screen is set to 1920 x 1080 or higher.
  3. If your display is set to 1366 x 768 or 1600 x 900, Loom can only output 720p.

1. Go to Settings > System > Display.
2. Under Display resolution, make sure your screen is set to 1920 x 1080 or higher.
3. If your display is set to 1366 x 768 or 1600 x 900, Loom can only output 720p.

• On macOS:
  1. Go to System Settings > Displays.
  2. If using a MacBook with Retina scaling, ensure the resolution is not set to a low-DPI scaled space.
  3. Note that capturing a Window rather than the Entire Screen will drop the recording to 720p if that application window’s dimensions are smaller than 1920×1080.

1. Go to System Settings > Displays.
2. If using a MacBook with Retina scaling, ensure the resolution is not set to a low-DPI scaled space.
3. Note that capturing a Window rather than the Entire Screen will drop the recording to 720p if that application window’s dimensions are smaller than 1920×1080.

Step 3: Verify Account Tier Permissions

Loom automatically enforces tier caps based on workspace subscription status:

1. Go to your Loom dashboard.
2. Click your workspace name in the upper-left corner and select Settings > Plan & Billing.
3. Confirm that your account shows an active Business or Enterprise subscription.
4. If your seat is provisioned as a “Creator Lite” or free user, your recordings will be automatically downsampled to 720p regardless of your local desktop app configuration.

Step 4: Lock Video Quality in the Desktop App

Prevent the recorder from dynamically lowering resolution due to perceived system load:

1. Open the Loom Desktop App.
2. Click the three dots (…) in the upper right of the control panel and select Preferences.
3. Under the General or Video Quality tab, locate Recording Quality.
4. Change the dropdown from Auto to 1080p.
   • Setting this to “Auto” permits Loom to downgrade you to 720p if your processor experiences transient spikes.

• Setting this to “Auto” permits Loom to downgrade you to 720p if your processor experiences transient spikes.

"Auto" Quality Setting ──► Local CPU/GPU Spike ──► Loom Drops Capture to 720p
                                                          │
"1080p" Locked Setting ──► Stable Pipeline    ──► Full 1080p Maintained

Step 5: Check for Hardware Encoding Degradation

If your computer struggles to encode 1080p frames, Loom silently drops the resolution to prevent choppy playback.

• Review system performance bottlenecks and software fallback triggers in Troubleshooting: Loom “Hardware Encoding” vs “Software Fallback”.
• If high-motion screen demos are causing stutter alongside resolution drops, consult Troubleshooting: Loom “Frame Rate Drop” during Software Demos.

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How to Confirm Output Resolution

To verify that your recorded file is truly 1080p:

1. Open the video page on Loom.com.
2. Click the three dots (…) above the video and select Download.
3. Open the downloaded file properties:
   • Windows: Right-click the .mp4 file, select Properties, click the Details tab, and check Frame width (1920) and Frame height (1080).
   • macOS: Select the file, press Cmd + I, and look at the Dimensions field under More Info.
     If the downloaded file confirms 1920×1080, but the browser player looks blurry, check Fix: Loom “Cloud Sync” delay causing “Media Offline” in Browser to rule out local browser CDN delivery delays.