Don't know how many people know about this, but I'll post it anyways. On some youtube clips, you can get a higher res playback. This doesn't work on every video, but it does on videos that used a higher res file to upload with.
put this at the end of the you tube url
&fmt=18
example.
low res
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5P1mj1n8aI
higher res
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5P1mj1n8aI&fmt=18
this at leasts make you tube worth something.
enjoy