Get Those 8K Monitors Ready: YouTube Supports Uploading Of 8K Video

We can’t go a day without hearing about 4K content, but despite that, there’s just not that much 4K content out there. The situation is a bit better on the TV, as some services, such as Netflix, allow you to stream some content in Ultra HD, but on the computer? We’re mostly limited to running our games at 4K, and that of course some serious GPU horsepower.

With such a tepid start to the 4K realm, it was humorous to see Dell release a 5K monitor this past fall. The difference between 4K and 5K is stark – 4K is 1080p x 4, whereas 5K is 1080p x 7. 8K? Such as the resolution some displays were shown-off at January’s CES with? That’s 1080p x 16. In another way of saying it, that gives us the pixel equivalent of 4 x 4K displays. This is the kind of resolution where even mere video require some serious horsepower for smooth playback.

Enough of that, because none of it matters. Despite the unbelievable exclusivity of 8K, YouTube actually offers people the ability to upload video with the mammoth resolution. So, naturally, one video production company did, with a short called Ghost Towns:

For those who can’t check out the video, here’s a screenshot of the player itself, and two screenshots of the video running at 4K resolution.

If 8K resolution didn’t seem ridiculous enough already, take note of the fact that this footage wasn’t even shot on an 8K camera. Instead, the producers recorded the entire film with a RED Epic Dragon 6K camera in portrait mode, and then stitched it all together afterwards. Not even all of the footage is “native” 8K; some is scaled up from 6K to 8K, but it’s not so noticeable when viewing on a display with a resolution lower than either of those.

Believe it or not, 9TO5Google reports that YouTube has actually had 8K support for quite some time. “Google responded to our request for comment by saying that 8K video has been supported since 2010, but that labeling for 8K video (the 4320p/8K quality setting like pictured above) was added “earlier this year.”

All I know is, 8K is an incredible resolution, and I am rather impressed that YouTube has supported it for so long – even if none of us knew it.