Uploading 4K videos to YouTube – Things you should know

In this
article literally
everthing you need to know about uploading
video files to YouTube and the different resolutions like
1080p, 4K, 8K.

Overview of common resolutions

In
aspect ratio 16:9:

Standard

Resolution

Fancy name

480p

720×480

DVD video

720p

1280×720

“Fake” HD

1080p

1920×1080

Full HD

2160p

3840×2160

4K

4320p

7680 × 4320

8K UHD (Ultra HD)

Video
resolutions and YouTube

Can
you upload 4K or 8K to YouTube? (also in 60 fps)

YouTube
supports uploading in all standard resolutions, including 1080p, 4K
(2160p) and 8K (4320p).
Most common frame rates are 24,25, 30
and 60fps, but other frame rates are also accepted.

You don’t
have to do anything extra, other than uploading a video file to
YouTube.
YouTube will figure out all the necessary details; you
don’t have the manage a setting or so.
When you upload a video
in 4K, after the video is processed (happens automatically in the
background), the video will be available in 4K.

What
is the best resolution to upload to YouTube?

The
short answer: 4k.

Although
not every viewer can watch videos in 4k, it makes sure you have the
highest quality possible available to your viewers.
If 4K is not
an option 1080p, uploading 8K has little to no upsides (yet).

Should
you upload in 4k to youtube?

You
should upload in 4K to YouTube for the best image quality, even if
you recorded in 1080p and upscaled to 4K (not a joke).

I’ve tested
this and seen the results.
Recording, editing in 1080p,
exporting in 4k and the playback is sharper on the 1080p setting on
YouTube.

This is
probably due to the vp09 encoder YouTube uses for 4K footage (even
when watched on 1080p) instead of av01 for most videos uploaded in
1080p.

When
you upload 4K (even if it is shot and edited in 1080p) it enforces
the vp09 encoding.

Does
4K help with YouTube ranking?

I’ve
not seen dramatic differences between the promotion of the videos
uploaded in 4K versus 1080p.

In other words:
even if it is, it is a super duper very extremely minor ranking
factor.

You might be
confused because all the top results in YouTube Search are 4K
videos.
But let me ask you this: do these channels upload in 4K
because they are big and have the funds to produce 4K, or did they
get big because of the 4K files.

I
think, it is the first.

Look at this
from YouTube’s perspective:
YouTube’s business model is to
sell ads, they do this by giving the best viewer experience possible
(because only satisfied viewers click on ads).
If a 1080p video
has a higher viewer satisfaction than a 4K video, why would they
serve the 4K video to the viewer?

They
wouldn’t.

The
algorithm looks at human behavior and adjusts its promotion based on
that.

Do
viewers watch videos in 4K on YouTube?

Regretfully
YouTube Analytics doesn’t give us conclusive answers.

But
we can use our magic powers of deduction to get an idea.
We can
see device types in Analytics:

On
my DJ channel:
Device
% of views

Computer

46%

Mobile Phone

44%

Tablet

4%

TV

4%

Game console

1%

To
get more clarity I did 2 polls on my DJ YouTube channel.

“what device
you use MOST to watch YouTube” (270 votes)
Device
%

Mobile phone

78%

Desktop computer

6%

Laptop computer

8%

Tablet

4%

Other (Tv, beamer, etc…)

4%

“at what
resolution do you watch videos on YouTube” (170 votes)
resolution
%

4K

11%

1080p

54%

Don’t know/ Don’t care

18%

Other resolution

18%

I
can’t explain the huge discrepancy between the device stats in
YouTube Analytics and the device poll.

Maybe
a mobile phone is more the go-to device, but you don’t watch a lot
of videos in consecutive order because the small screen is not
convenient to watch (but viewers watch more consecutive videos on
larger screens).

The
only candidates for views in 4K are the TV, game console and
computer.

Since laptops
are hugely popular but very little have 4K screens, I would say that
most will watch in 720p or 1080p on a laptop.

Since the
YouTube app on phone defaults to 720p (not even full HD – because
most screens aren’t capable of higher resolutions), it is pretty
safe to say that mobile phone users don’t watch in 4K.

I’ve been
uploading 4K to YouTube for a while now, but I’ve never seen a
comment of someone noticing my 1080p to 4K upgrade.

Concluding: not
a lot of people use 4K.

Is
it worth it to invest in 4K for YouTube?

Short answer: no not for now, but maybe for the future.

There
are some downsides to 4K:

• Equipment that
  can handle 4K is quite expensive (cameras, computers, etc).
• Also file
  sizes get bigger, so you need more storage capacity.
• Transcoding
  and editing is slower (compared to 1080p)
• not a lot of
  viewers watch videos in 4K.

Since I’ve
seen no tangible yields at this moment, it is not worth it in my book
to invest.

An
exception would be if you are a brand that is highly dependent on
looks (like fashion, photography, real estate).
4K might give
you just that extra little bit of professionalism.

Nevertheless,
if your old equipment is broken or you are already looking to buy new
equipment, I would suggest investing in 4K.

4K after all is
where we are going.
If you are prepared equipment-wise for 4K,
you don’t have to replace equipment once the 4K moment has come.

How
do I upload to YouTube in high quality (HD/4k/8k) 2023?

Uploading
a high quality video file, works exactly the same as a regular
non-high quality file.
You don’t have to set any settings or
anything, everything works “automagically”.

The video file
itself needs to contain the high resolution footage, otherwise it
won’t work.
YouTube doesn’t upscale to a higher resolution,
but it does downscale so viewers can select a lower resolution in
their video player on the YouTube video watch page.

So YouTube
doesn’t upscale an HD video to 4k, but a 4K file will be downscaled
to HD.

The exact steps
to upload a YouTube video, you can find in the

Why
is my 4K video 360p on YouTube?

YouTube
processes a video first in SD (360p), then in HD (1080p), then in 4K
(2160p).
This processing can take a while, so if this happens,
be patient.

Because
of this I would recommend not to publish your video right after
you’ve uploaded the video.
The processing of the videos in
higher resolutions is not done yet and viewers see the low resolution
version (360p) of your video.

Personally,
I never run into this low-res-problem, because I always schedule
video uploads so my subscribers know when to expect a new upload.
I
schedule videos often days, sometimes weeks ahead, by that time the
videos have been processed long before release.

Why
is my YouTube video stuck on processing?

It isn’t. It
may seem stuck, because it can take a long time on a small channel.

I uploaded over
500 videos to YouTube already and have never
had one of my uploads stuck at in the processing phase.

So
be patient!

How
long is the 4k/1080p video processing time on YouTube?

If it is rush
hour on YouTube’s servers this can take a while.

20-30 minutes
is quite normal for a medium size channel, but it can take sometimes
up to 48 hours for small channels.

The
advantage of having multiple different sizes YouTube channels is, is
that I can see the dramatic differences between the processing times.

How
to speed up video processing on YouTube?

There is
nothing you can do to speed this up.
You just have to
wait.
Remember, processing can take up to 48 hours.

Some say
that keeping your browser open helps, but from a software engineering
perspective, that is highly unlikely, because processing on the
server is much safer, easier and more reliable.
(This is where
my degree in software engineering pays its dividends).

When I
look at the processor load on my Windows computer, I can’t see
evidence for client-side processing either.
Idle processor usage
is 2% for Firefox, uploading a file is around 20%, processing a file
around 12%.
In comparison, when I click on the “content”
page, it ramps up to 30-50% for a short amount of time.
The
reason why usage is higher than idle, is because of all the
Javascript YouTube uses to show you the user interface with the
upload and processing progress.

Video processing is
entirely done on the servers of YouTube.
It isn’t done in
order of upload (as you might expect).

I sometimes
upload 5 videos at once and often video number 2 and 3 for example
finish processing sooner than the others.
I couldn’t find any
connection with video length.

Best
export settings for YouTube in video editing software

YouTube
export settings Davinci Resolve (Windows)

Don’t use the “YouTube” preset,
use “custom” with the following settings:

Format

Quicktime

Codec

H.265 *

Encoder

Nvidia **

Resolution

3840×2160 Ultra HD ***

Frame rate

24, 25 or 30 FPS ****

Quality

Automatic, Best

Encoding profile

Main

Keyframes

Automatic

Check: Frame reordering

Rate Control

VBR High Quality

Lookahead

16 frames

Uncheck: Disable adaptive
I-Frame scene cuts

Check: Enable adaptive B-Frame

AQ Strength

8

Uncheck: Enable non-reference
P-Frame

Uncheck: Enable weighted
prediction

*
The free version of Resolve on Windows doesn’t support h.265
encoding due to licensing issues.
Despite YouTube’s official
upload recommendations being h.264 encoding, I’ve seen much
cleaner/sharper results with h.265 encoding.

YouTube
does transcode (convert) your video behind the scenes your upload to
yield better playback support.

**
You need an Nvidia graphics card to take most advantage of GPU
rendering

***
Export on 4K, even if the video is shot and edited in 1080p, for the
reasons mentioned earlier in this article.

****
take the same framerate as the timeline. 60 FPS might give an
unnatural feel to the video (“too smooth”).

YouTube
export settings Final Cut Pro X

• Use the Master file settings:
  File -> Share -> Master File
• Encoder: ProRes 422*
• Resolution: [editing resolution]
• Color space: Rec 709

*
Despite YouTube’s official upload recommendations being 264x
encoding, I’ve seen much cleaner/sharper results with ProRes 422
encoding.
The file (compared to x264) is huge, but the quality
difference is so big, that I’ve stored all my YouTube files in
ProRes 422 when I was still in the Apple camp.

Regretfully
the x264 encoding in Final Cut Pro X is terrible and results in
blurry YouTube videos.
On top of that, regretfully, you can’t
change anything in bitrate etc. to improve quality.

If you want
h.264, or even better h.265, you need to use a 3rd
party tool called Handbrake.

Tip: don’t
use the upload to YouTube function, as you might have noticed, it
will crash Final Cut Pro X once it rendered out the file.

When you are serious about YouTube and want to take it to the next level, take a look at my video training program:
The program takes you step-by-step through the process of getting views, subscribers and going viral.

For new creators I included a module that guides you step-by-step through the process of starting, creating and setting up a YouTube channel.

Share this article

If you took value from this article, please share it on social media.






Website url:

Author

Worth reading

In aspect ratio 16:9:YouTube supports uploading in all standard resolutions, including 1080p, 4K (2160p) and 8K (4320p).Most common frame rates are 24,25, 30 and 60fps, but other frame rates are also accepted.You don’t have to do anything extra, other than uploading a video file to YouTube.YouTube will figure out all the necessary details; you don’t have the manage a setting or so.When you upload a video in 4K, after the video is processed (happens automatically in the background), the video will be available in 4K.The short answer: 4k.Although not every viewer can watch videos in 4k, it makes sure you have the highest quality possible available to your viewers.If 4K is not an option 1080p, uploading 8K has little to no upsides (yet).You should upload in 4K to YouTube for the best image quality, even if you recorded in 1080p and upscaled to 4K (not a joke).I’ve tested this and seen the results.Recording, editing in 1080p, exporting in 4k and the playback is sharper on the 1080p setting on YouTube.This is probably due to the vp09 encoder YouTube uses for 4K footage (even when watched on 1080p) instead of av01 for most videos uploaded in 1080p.When you upload 4K (even if it is shot and edited in 1080p) it enforces the vp09 encoding.I’ve not seen dramatic differences between the promotion of the videos uploaded in 4K versus 1080p.In other words: even if it is, it is a super duper very extremely minor ranking factor.You might be confused because all the top results in YouTube Search are 4K videos.But let me ask you this: do these channels upload in 4K because they are big and have the funds to produce 4K, or did they get big because of the 4K files.I think, it is the first.Look at this from YouTube’s perspective:YouTube’s business model is to sell ads, they do this by giving the best viewer experience possible (because only satisfied viewers click on ads).If a 1080p video has a higher viewer satisfaction than a 4K video, why would they serve the 4K video to the viewer?They wouldn’t.The algorithm looks at human behavior and adjusts its promotion based on that.Regretfully YouTube Analytics doesn’t give us conclusive answers.But we can use our magic powers of deduction to get an idea.We can see device types in Analytics:On my DJ channel:To get more clarity I did 2 polls on my DJ YouTube channel.“what device you use MOST to watch YouTube” (270 votes)“at what resolution do you watch videos on YouTube” (170 votes)I can’t explain the huge discrepancy between the device stats in YouTube Analytics and the device poll.Maybe a mobile phone is more the go-to device, but you don’t watch a lot of videos in consecutive order because the small screen is not convenient to watch (but viewers watch more consecutive videos on larger screens).The only candidates for views in 4K are the TV, game console and computer.Since laptops are hugely popular but very little have 4K screens, I would say that most will watch in 720p or 1080p on a laptop.Since the YouTube app on phone defaults to 720p (not even full HD – because most screens aren’t capable of higher resolutions), it is pretty safe to say that mobile phone users don’t watch in 4K.I’ve been uploading 4K to YouTube for a while now, but I’ve never seen a comment of someone noticing my 1080p to 4K upgrade.Concluding: not a lot of people use 4K.Short answer: no not for now, but maybe for the future.There are some downsides to 4K:Since I’ve seen no tangible yields at this moment, it is not worth it in my book to invest.An exception would be if you are a brand that is highly dependent on looks (like fashion, photography, real estate).4K might give you just that extra little bit of professionalism.Nevertheless, if your old equipment is broken or you are already looking to buy new equipment, I would suggest investing in 4K.4K after all is where we are going.If you are prepared equipment-wise for 4K, you don’t have to replace equipment once the 4K moment has come.Uploading a high quality video file, works exactly the same as a regular non-high quality file.You don’t have to set any settings or anything, everything works “automagically”.The video file itself needs to contain the high resolution footage, otherwise it won’t work.YouTube doesn’t upscale to a higher resolution, but it does downscale so viewers can select a lower resolution in their video player on the YouTube video watch page.So YouTube doesn’t upscale an HD video to 4k, but a 4K file will be downscaled to HD.The exact steps to upload a YouTube video, you can find in the YouTube
video I made about uploading 1080p/4K to YouTube (opens YouTube in new tab).YouTube processes a video first in SD (360p), then in HD (1080p), then in 4K (2160p).This processing can take a while, so if this happens, be patient.Because of this I would recommend not to publish your video right after you’ve uploaded the video.The processing of the videos in higher resolutions is not done yet and viewers see the low resolution version (360p) of your video.Personally, I never run into this low-res-problem, because I always schedule video uploads so my subscribers know when to expect a new upload.I schedule videos often days, sometimes weeks ahead, by that time the videos have been processed long before release.It isn’t. It may seem stuck, because it can take a long time on a small channel.I uploaded over 500 videos to YouTube already and havehad one of my uploads stuck at in the processing phase.So be patient!If it is rush hour on YouTube’s servers this can take a while.20-30 minutes is quite normal for a medium size channel, but it can take sometimes up to 48 hours for small channels.The advantage of having multiple different sizes YouTube channels is, is that I can see the dramatic differences between the processing times.There is nothing you can do to speed this up.You just have to wait.Remember, processing can take up to 48 hours.Some say that keeping your browser open helps, but from a software engineering perspective, that is highly unlikely, because processing on the server is much safer, easier and more reliable.(This is where my degree in software engineering pays its dividends).When I look at the processor load on my Windows computer, I can’t see evidence for client-side processing either.Idle processor usage is 2% for Firefox, uploading a file is around 20%, processing a file around 12%.In comparison, when I click on the “content” page, it ramps up to 30-50% for a short amount of time.The reason why usage is higher than idle, is because of all the Javascript YouTube uses to show you the user interface with the upload and processing progress.Video processing is entirely done on the servers of YouTube.It isn’t done in order of upload (as you might expect).I sometimes upload 5 videos at once and often video number 2 and 3 for example finish processing sooner than the others.I couldn’t find any connection with video length.Don’t use the “YouTube” preset, use “custom” with the following settings:* The free version of Resolve on Windows doesn’t support h.265 encoding due to licensing issues.Despite YouTube’s official upload recommendations being h.264 encoding, I’ve seen much cleaner/sharper results with h.265 encoding.YouTube does transcode (convert) your video behind the scenes your upload to yield better playback support.** You need an Nvidia graphics card to take most advantage of GPU rendering*** Export on 4K, even if the video is shot and edited in 1080p, for the reasons mentioned earlier in this article.**** take the same framerate as the timeline. 60 FPS might give an unnatural feel to the video (“too smooth”).* Despite YouTube’s official upload recommendations being 264x encoding, I’ve seen much cleaner/sharper results with ProRes 422 encoding.The file (compared to x264) is huge, but the quality difference is so big, that I’ve stored all my YouTube files in ProRes 422 when I was still in the Apple camp.Regretfully the x264 encoding in Final Cut Pro X is terrible and results in blurry YouTube videos.On top of that, regretfully, you can’t change anything in bitrate etc. to improve quality.If you want h.264, or even better h.265, you need to use a 3rd party tool called Handbrake.Tip: don’t use the upload to YouTube function, as you might have noticed, it will crash Final Cut Pro X once it rendered out the file.When you are serious about YouTube and want to take it to the next level, take a look at my video training program: Viral Strategy The program takes you step-by-step through the process of getting views, subscribers and going viral.For new creators I included a module that guides you step-by-step through the process of starting, creating and setting up a YouTube channel.If you took value from this article, please share it on social media.Website url: