YouTube Starts Supporting 4K x 2K Resolution Content

So you probably know about 1080p by now. It's "Full HD" resolution, and it's the highest resolution that you can reasonable buy on an HDTV right now. But if you think 1080p is dense, you should have a look at 4K. 4K is short for 4K x 2K, which is an extreme high resolution that is generally only used when making a film. RED is probably the most famous camcorder company that produces 4K cameras, and a number of major films have been shot (and are being shot) on 4K cameras. Select high-end cinemas across the world have huge 4K projectors, which are unreasonably large and extremely expensive.

In other words, 4K is the format of the future, and it's a long, long way from being useful and affordable in the home. But that's not stopping YouTube from moving forward and staying one step ahead of the adoption curve. This week at the VidCon 2010 conference, YouTube announced support for videos shot in 4K resolution. There's obviously going to be a severe shortage of 4K displays and projectors, but having the ability to view 4K content from a web portal is still a monumental move forward.


So now, if you happen to grab a RED camera or some other 4K camcorder, you can upload that raw footage to YouTube and it'll support it. It'll take an awful long time to upload, but at least it'll be in 4K once it all gets to the server. There's even a few 4K samples on YouTube for users to view right now, but you'll need a killer broadband connection and a crazy high-res monitor to really enjoy it.