YouTube Experiments With 4K Video At 60 Frames Per Second

News
By
published

YouTube recently tested new features for its videos, such as 360-degree videos and a multi-angle feature, but the popular video site is also looking to meet the demands of new technology before it becomes widely accepted. YouTube's latest experiment shows six videos playing at 4K resolutions and 60 frames per second.

The videos, which can only be viewed on Google Chrome, feature a variety of content from a volcano eruption to a fan-made film shot in the space-based game Star Citizen. These videos look beautiful on a full HD display at 1080p and 60 frames per second, but problems arise when you switch to 4K resolution.

The obvious issue is that it won't display properly since most people don't even own a 4K display yet. Another issue is bandwidth; the sheer amount of data put into 4K videos will have you watching the buffer loading icon for quite some time.

Like HDTVs in the past, 4K needs time to become affordable to be the new standard for display resolutions, but it's slowly being added into a few services such as DirectTV, Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, and the new Nvidia Shield. Unfortunately, a 4K display is still an expensive purchase, and only those with deep pockets can afford to buy both the display and the appropriate amount of bandwidth.

It's important to note that even though 4K at 60 frames per second is still in its experimental stage, YouTube already supports both the resolution and frame rate individually. The Google-owned company announced 4K support for videos back in 2010, and it was only last year that videos could be played at 60 frames per second. However, the combination of the two might take some time to be fully implemented on all supported videos on YouTube. Nevertheless, content for a new product is always an important issue for early adopters, and while at this time there are only six videos with 4K and 60 frames per second, it gives people another glimpse of what YouTube has in store for its viewers.

Follow Rexly Peñaflorida II @Heirdeux. Follow us @tomshardware, on Facebook and on Google+.

Rexly Peñaflorida
28 Comments Comment from the forums
  • dark_lord69
    "only those with deep pockets can afford to buy both the display and the appropriate amount of bandwidth."

    I disagree...
    I saw a 39" 4K TV yesterday at Tigerdirect for $299

    http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=8430969&CatId=8893

    Netflix requires roughly 25Mbps for 4K streaming.
    I'm lucky enough to get 56.8 Mbps and I'm currently on a deal for $64.99 per month WITH basic SD cable.
    Reply
  • TechyInAZ
    My goodness, 4k at 60FPS!!! Looks nice but you need at least 60mbps download speed to get that with no buffering issues.
    Reply
  • photonboy
    The linked UHDTV doesn't support 60Hz at 4K, only 30Hz.

    Probably 60Hz at 1080p and the "120Hz" is probably internal motion smoothing.
    Reply
  • photonboy
    re above: (I meant the Tigerdirect one linked by "dark_lord69" which I don't recommend)
    Reply
  • Larry Litmanen
    "only those with deep pockets can afford to buy both the display and the appropriate amount of bandwidth."

    I disagree...
    I saw a 39" 4K TV yesterday at Tigerdirect for $299

    http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=8430969&CatId=8893

    Netflix requires roughly 25Mbps for 4K streaming.
    I'm lucky enough to get 56.8 Mbps and I'm currently on a deal for $64.99 per month WITH basic SD cable.

    You always get what you pay for. Latest tech for only $300, there have to be some tradeoofs.
    Reply
  • dstarr3
    I can't wait for all of this to become reasonably affordable in ten years!
    Reply
  • Kewlx25
    No buffering issues, but my 3.3ghz quad core haswell was pegged. 100Mb/s for quite a while, then settled around the 50Mb range
    Reply
  • achoo2
    Meanwhile every 320x200 stream buffers and pops up a blue bar offering to explain the interruptions: your ISP sucks.
    Reply
  • dstarr3
    Well, the problem with this whole thing so far is that, if you have an internet connection that can handle that kind of bandwidth, awesome. But this kind of thing is going to fully saturate even the best connections. In America, at least. So if you want to watch YouTube or Netflix, nobody else in the house can use the internet.
    Reply
  • Emanuel Elmo
    "only those with deep pockets can afford to buy both the display and the appropriate amount of bandwidth."

    I disagree...
    I saw a 39" 4K TV yesterday at Tigerdirect for $299

    http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=8430969&CatId=8893

    Netflix requires roughly 25Mbps for 4K streaming.
    I'm lucky enough to get 56.8 Mbps and I'm currently on a deal for $64.99 per month WITH basic SD cable.

    what is a seike and UHD is not 4K. UHD resolution is UDH and 4K resolutions are 4K. There is a difference. The 4k moniker is just there for marketing.
    Reply