4K videos raise the bar by running in a resolution of 4096 x 3072, that’s almost four times the size of the full HD resolution.

But 4K videos raise the bar not only resolution wise. The hardware requirements to play those movies on Youtube have gone up a lot.

Youtube visitors need a ultra-fast broadband connection and a computer system capable of displaying the videos smoothly in the web browser.

First user comments in the official announcement mention that the videos are not running properly on their computer systems.

Youtube 4k

But then again, it does not make lots of sense anyway to run 4K videos on a netbook screen or on a computer screen considering that the best screen size for 4K video is 24 feet, according to Youtube that is.

Our Core-i7 860 test system that’s connected with 50 Mbit
to the Internet was able to display the videos smoothly.

The test videos in 4K resolution are available here on Youtube. They are currently not offered for HTML5 Beta users, only Flash users are able to select the Original resolution to watch the movies in 4K.

4k videos youtube

We all know that resolution is not everything, a low bitrate can turn a 4K resolution video in an unpleasant experience. The sample videos seem to suffer from a low bitrate. What’s your take on the 4K addition? Good move or publicity stunt?

The so called 4K standard offers a resolution of 3840×2160 which equals four times the resolution of the current full HD standard. This would theoretically mean that the 4K TV is capable of displaying four full HD screens at the same time.

Panasonic for example showcased their new 4K TV at the Ceatec convention in Japan last month. Other companies like Sony also showcased their 4K TVs already.

But who needs such a display? There are definitely some uses in the high-end professional market but what about end users? The main culprit here is that end users won’t have anything to watch or play on these devices for a very long time. Especially considering that the full HD standard has not even reached a critical level of distribution. But then again, who needs 4K if the next standard called Ultra High-Definition Video (with a proposed resolution of 7,680 × 4,320) is already in development?

What’s your opinion on the matter?