Today at the VidCon 2010 conference, Google announced Youtube's support for videos shot in 4K, meaning that now Youtube supports original video resolution from 360p all the way up to 4K.

To give some perspective on the size of 4K, the ideal screen size for a 4K video is 25 feet; IMAX movies are projected through two 2k resolution projectors.

In December of last year, Youtube announced support for 1080p, or full HD. At 4096 x 2304 pixels, 4K is over four times the size of 1080p. To view any video in a source resolution greater than 1080p, select "Original" in the video quality pulldown menu:



To illustrate the power of 4K, check out the videos in this playlist; each one was created by a filmmaker with access to a 4K camera. However, make sure your internet connection is ultra-fast.

Because 4K represents the highest quality of video available, there are a few limitations that you should be aware of. First off, video cameras that shoot in 4K aren?t cheap, and projectors that show videos in 4K are typically the size of a small refrigerator.