lol @ Kelly. I suppose it's true though, if juggling is something else associated with mp3's or whether it's not, you can still gather the gist of the comment. Although I have to say I disagree. There are some rather good piano videos on youtube, and even crappy bad ones with amateurs ruining songs (such as myself lol) often have their friends look at it who often comment how amazing it is, when blatently is isn't. But at least they are hearing the music, all beit in a rather pityful manner.
TBH, it's precisely because there are some good pianists on there that I moaned about the quality of some of the videos.
Amateurs are neither here nor there. Any buffoon can laugh at a piece on there [or in the audition room here] and then point to a video of, or make a comparison with the playing of Cziffra, Horowitz or whoever else. As you say, they most probably aren't making the comparison themselves and it's a comparison which most fail. If you're under 10 you'll get away with it because folk are suckers for the cute kid playing.
But for people that can play perhaps the trick is to keep your sunglasses on the entire time until you get a decent recorder - and there's not much hope for the concert pianist being recorded by a fan from the farters and coughers row.
That said, I think you can tell who can play without the sound on, just by looking at them play, certainly in a broad sense. Perhaps there's some use in the recordings from that pov. It'd also be interesting to know how those folk are taught - especially if they aren't self-taught.
Topic: wow! incredible piano videos on youtube!