Shooting in 1080 vs 4K: SEE the difference

[@RealJamesArcher]

Update (2023-01-03): Better video here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/imbdaIysjc6VY7M It turns out my camera has soft 1080, so this isn't a great comparison. The new video does a much better job illustrating the difference.

[@LuisCardenasrompcbsa]

I’m about 8ft away from a 43in 4K tv. I was able to accurately spot the 4K clips due to the details in smaller objects like grass or the folds in the flag. The night time scenes were the hardest for me. I didn’t have as many of the tell tale signs I was looking for, and I would imagine that higher ISO can soften an image more. My take away was that I was actively looking for differences in parts of the image the ultimately didn’t matter. If these were dialogue scenes, I wouldn’t care about the detail in the foliage.

[@perryomodeizorini6952]

Viewed on my iMac 2019 27 inch 5K on full screen, the difference is huge. The 1080 footage is way softer, but not in a pleasing cinematic way. 1080 still good more than enough when viewed on smaller screens with less definition. Thank you for posting this test.

[@ahran_in_seattle]

I was viewing your footage on my laptop in 4k, and it was really easy to spot the difference. I don't export in 4k so I guess it doesn't matter if I don't film in 4k, but I can see the clear benefit of filming in 4k for those who do

[@rudy1197]

All other things being equal, it's all about the size of the monitor you are viewing with. Smaller monitor = cant tell 1080 vs 4k. Its that simple. Larger screens means the higher resolution makes a difference because of the pixel size. IMO, a monitor 50" or less means a 4K is most likely a waste of money. Those of us who were around back when SD (480) was the standard remember how 480 seemed crisp and detailed on 12" or less TV's. The bigger the screens became in those days (up to 30" or a little more) the more obvious it became that 480 was terrible. So again, it's all about monitor size.

[@vladimirputin9321]

I’m just using my iPad but I can tell the difference between 1080p and 4K Japanese Adult Video 😉 Edit: Don’t mind my name.

[@tonymeadows100]

On an iPad 10.5” (2,224x1,668 @ 254ppi) I could tell six out of eight times which clips were 4K, but for me, on an iPad, the differences were slight and not relevant for my viewing pleasure.

[@bltzcstrnx]

Try looking at text and diagram. You can tell the difference even at smartphone size screen.

[@WILLFRANCA1]

It obvious the difference. Specially when there is movement.

[@arneczool6614]

Ok my PC (32 inch 4K Display) the difference is like night and day. On the iPad I first checked it with (basically HD resolution) I still got a majority right. Simply a downscaled video (4K to HD) is most of the time much more detailed then one being recorded in HD initially. This is even more extreme, when the content goes through a lot of image processing. 4K you can crop / angle / adjust, and still have a good result, but on HD, every bit of additional information you loose can end up being a distortion in the final product.

[@iragrahamiii6367]

I love how short sweet and to the point your videos are. Great job!

[@Vimbasiwarrior]

This video was SO WELL DONE. Thank you for making it so clear between the two while keeping it clear of common cognitive biases.

[@pf4773]

Such an important video! Because of how well you created the comparison between 4k and 1080p it was easy for me to decide: I will definitely be shooting the vast majority of any future video documentary in 1080p, NOT 4k. I found NO difference in the videos with my macbook pro with M1 chip. People have little idea of how significant it is to shoot in 4k in terms of storage space issues. Thanks again.

[@salvadorvizcarra769]

Yup... The difference between 1080p (60 fps) and 4K (60 fps) is tiny. And, you can barely appreciate this difference only if you watch it on a huge TV with a 75' or 90' inch screen. The difference is in the storage. The 4K images take up a lot of space SanDisk. And that's not worth it.

[@alpha-betthemaestro6603]

Watching on my Macbook Pro, full screen, watching at the KZbin settings I usually watch on (1080 HD setting), no pausing, no rewinding, and no pixel stalking. I honestly did not see a huge difference. Slight more detailed in some 4k shots, but if I'm just casually watching the content for what it is and not looking for resolution, the differences were not that significant.

[@matiasmuttoni9044]

Watched this on my iPhone 8+.. personally, the 4K seemed noticeable. But I was watching it on 1080p since my phone has a 1080p display.

[@brandonburum8279]

@@matiasmuttoni9044 - That could be an anti-aliasing thing.

[@xeroyuri]

Hey man, I watched some of your vids and it really helped! just keep up the good work :)

[@adamrafferty]

My eyes are so bad, I can only see 480 anyway...

[@ObscureTech]

In doing some research on video related content...you have been suggested to me 3 times now... Gotta say, KZbin nailed this one...as your channel fits exactly what I want in information and delivery. Thank you

[@Szymks]

I didn't think I could tell the difference since I'm watching on a 1080p monitor, but I actually got every single one of the tests right. I am amazed by how much better 4K looks even when you don't have a 4K display.

[@2cool0]

its probably because since you have more pixels and stuff from a 4k footage you don't see as many compression artifacts when youtube compresses it. so the 1080p is not like the maxed out 1080p that you might see on a bluray disc. the 1080p here is compressed and the 4k is also compressed but the 4k will look better without the extra pixelation that you would get on a 1080p video

[@africanhistory]

I got them on most shots on a 1080. But I was looking for it. Had he said nothing, I would have thought nothing""-- Heat

[@bltzcstrnx]

Yep, this is a known fact. Many games for example looks better when rendered at higher resolution than the output display. This is why some creators record at 4K even when the final output is in 1080p.

[@asheeshkchopra]

Good test to take ...it was quite visible viewing on a 4K monitor , but not that obvious on my iPhone. Really appreciate your stating your preference too ...i see a lot of people just saying in their videos that 1080 is much better , which to me seems like an attention grabbing tactic. However, i would be keen to know your views in end of 2023 (three yrs from when you published the video) ...do you feel that the trouble of handling 4k is justified by the quality ? 🙂

[@RobManser77]

I’m genuinely surprised by this. I’m 46 years old and going long sighted and am watching this sat up in bed tired on an old iPhone XS. The difference is clear. 😮 A real surprise.

[@DavidAyotte-p5u]

THANK YOU ! Just getting started . It's so complicated !!!!! Appreciate you humbly make it easy for me to understand.I bought a camera. And now know my next steps because of this video. THANK YOU !!!

[@TwerpXNation]

4K LG OLED TV (B7A to be specific) 1-6 (daytime shots) I could immediately tell 1080 vs 4K when the first image (image A) was shown. 7-8 (nighttime shots) I could only tell the difference after both shots were shown and the difference wasn't as pronounced, especially with the last shot. 60 and even 30 frames give me a hyperreal soap opera effect that I don't like but increased resolution does not do this at 24 frames. I prefer it. I'd like to know how long editing in 4K extends your workflow, if at all.

[@4inkid]

The Most Underrated Channel 🙌🏾

[@RealJamesArcher]

Thank you!! 🙌

[@gluteusmaximus7608]

Great comparison. A lot of comparisons show a side by side which makes it hard to notice the difference, but here the difference is clear.

[@mango_wm]

I think it depends on whether the camera is with or without movement. With movement, FHD will not be much different. But without movement, you can see every detail or sharpness. In your video examples, 4K is clearly better. Thank you for your comparison!

[@myles26]

Thanks for the vid! Watching on a Samsung S22 Ultra @1440p. I got all of them correct. The only one I wasn't 💯 on was shot 6. Took a best guess but got that one right also. Looks like you can definitely tell a difference with individual shots. I don't think it would be as obvious within the context of a full story or video. The differences don't seem drastic enough to be important in most cases.

[@Mocorn]

Many people watch this kind of content on their phones so I thought I would contribute with some thoughts having watched this on my phone. I tried watching this on a Samsung s21 ultra with the KZbin playback setting change to Max quality. Even on the phone in landscape mode I could tell the difference, not in every clip but particularly in those with movement in the grass. Having said that the difference wasn't exactly striking and if you're not actively looking for it I don't think most people would even realize that there's a difference in quality. The one exception (again from the perspective of viewing from a phone) might be nature shots with lots of branches, fields of grass and that sort of thing slowly moving in the wind. That's where I saw the biggest difference.

[@photographsbyvincent]

Definite difference - 4K definitely makes a difference, and for anything shown in a classroom, or on a screen that isn't a phone or tablet, 4k feels well worth it. Thanks for the side-by-side comparison.

[@wilkbor]

I watched on an 11-year old Imac with a 21.5 inch screen that has 1920 X 1080 resolution. I expanded the video to the full width of the screen and had to watch each one a couple of times to see the difference. The differences, in terms of detail, were subtle, but I guessed correctly 7 out of 8 times. The last one, with the skyline at night, was really hard to distinguish. I suspect that the differences might have been more apparent on a larger screen with a higher resolution. I'm not sure which one I prefer, as I watched them only looking for detail. I guess it depends on what effect you're looking for and what the expectatoins of the client might be. Thanks for the video.

[@pauljacobus1066]

I know this video was done a few years ago, but I still want to thank you. I'm struggling with the decision as to what resolution to use. In any case, I did, in fact, get all but one of the clips correct in the test. I couldn't tell the difference between the two clips at #2. All the others I got correct. (I was kinda hoping I wouldn't see any difference so I could more easily justify using 1080). Thanks again.

[@muhammadreza8686]

The fact is that the minimum resolution needed to understand the difference between these two qualities is a 4K 42-inch monitor at a close distance (larger monitors are needed for far distances), so if you are making a video for social media such as KZbin, because users often use their phones or PC to see it, they don't see much difference in quality, so considering the costs, 1080 is better.

[@JeffBourke]

BUT You need to know if the A73 is over sampling the 1080 or pixel binning. This will be camera dependant.

[@tedek305]

Great comparison! Watched on my galaxy S21+, 1080p panel, and I barely noticed any differences with each pair.

[@fredericALTorres]

Hi James, thanks first for this video. my answers - I watched the video in you tube 4K mode, full screen on a 2K monitors - I got the 4k answer right for video 1,2,3,4,5,6,7. For video 8 I could not tell. - Regarding preferences, I prefer the 4k video. except for video 8 which I cannot tell

[@ChasingMermaids]

Thanks for video :-) Can definitely tell the difference. MBP both at 4K and at 720p, the latter being what we normally watch content at.

[@RealJamesArcher]

Thanks!

[@The_Youtube_Winner]

usually people bring down the in camera sharpness with 4k footage before hand by 7. sharpness gives the illusion of higher quality but this is not always the case (obviously 4k is higher quality but i’m talking generally). sharpness can always be added in post as well, but not taken away. i wonder what the difference will be compared to the 1080, because as you mentioned, often the sharpness doesn’t make things look good, especially for videos of people.

[@eike.zender]

Thank your for the video and your honest words in the beginning. But what still confuses me: I now watched all your 1080 footage in this clip in the 4k setting on youtube ... am i right, that this comparison is more a comparison between "real 4k" and "upscaled 4k" than "4k vs 1080"?

[@INBRO-VIDEO]

Unless I am doing something wrong your video on KZbin appears to be exported as 1080p so the 4K shots are not going to look much better?

[@mushrifahmed8107]

I watched it on a 13 inch macbook pro. And you really can tell the difference. You can even tell the difference on the clips of you speaking. The 1080p is a bit more blurred, and kind of "rougher." BTW that montage of going to shoot and while shooting was quite nice.

[@TonysComfortKitchen]

The differences you see on your monitor are one thing. The differences we see (or don't see) on our tablets or mobiles are another thing. Then there's the compression that KZbin uses that degrades the 4K more than the 1080p making them more similar. If you're shooting footage for clients then it's a no brainer, use 4K, but for social media? I'd say stick with 1080p. The only advantage I see with 4K is that you can crop into the footage much more than 1080p and still get decent detail

[@billchadwick672]

75” Samsung. 9 feet away. Easily could see the difference. Thanks for posting this experiment. I’m not longer considering 1080.

[@ScarboroughTourist]

I use Davinci Resolve 18.6. I tried super sampling (x2) the HD clips; then put them on a 4K timeline. I then export a video for 'max' parameters to a video file and then upload that to KZbin.

[@poojitha]

Watched only 2 videos and subscribed. Amazing content. Thanks.

[@JayRaby]

17" 4K monitor, yes the difference is noticable and my preference is for the clarity and detail of 4K but the 1080 is perfectly acceptable. Perhaps KZbin compression adversely affects the result though? A helpful comparison so thanks.

[@derekm.]

Great video. Thanks for the honesty. I wonder if the “big” KZbin’rs are paid to push 4K by manufacturers who are looking to sell the “next thing”. I always hear, “you can zoom so much more” or “I use 4K to future proof my videos”. 4K does look slightly better, but it’s mostly seen on a bigger screen, which statistically, most people watch KZbin on their phones anyway. It might seem like a lot of waste of money for most KZbin creators, but I guess it’s your choice on how you do your channel. Thanks again.

[@rpospeedwagon]

4K is a huge difference. I was watching a football game this weekend at 4K on KZbin TV with a 55" LG OLED. It was so incredibly crisp. Moving back to 1080p was jarringly awful in comparison.

[@TopBillinSports]

@@rpospeedwagon - Are you a simpleton? The OP laid out it was about content creation not you watching a football game on a big TV. They literally said most people watch KZbin on their phone so 4K doesn't matter that much in that situation.

[@bltzcstrnx]

​@@TopBillinSportsthey edit the video though, so they'll see the difference. Filmmakers and creators tend to create for themselves first. They sought for satisfaction in their creations. If 4K looks better for them in their video, it doesn't really matter the viewers noticed it or not.

[@papsny]

nice test. i got evrything right viewing everything on a 4k screen. it was harder to figure it out on a 1080 screen. Shot 6 was the hardest to figure out but what made me decide were the railings

[@TheCryptoCurrentOC]

To those who want to view the difference, just zoom in on the video and you will see the difference. No need to watch on bigger screen to see the difference.

[@slojam100]

As a matter of interest have you considered using 2.7k..its a happy medium.. i noticed the difference watching on a 4k pc monitor... i guess it depends if you want to spend "even more money" on processing power to edit the footage great comparison BTW

[@MattMendians]

Viewing on my iPhone 8. Also I didn’t understand if you meant all the videos a or b? Or each video individually cause that would require pin and paper or something to pause each one! That would take some time!

[@ActuallySettle]

On my onePlus 9 screen (1080x 2400) I could tell a difference on shots that had small scale high contrast detail. However, a few caveats. One, I had to turn the quality up, which KZbin will not do on a mobile device by default. Two, any motion completely overshadowed the detail. I could only see the difference in stationary things. If you consider that in video the area of interest is often moving (like someone talking) and the area not-of-interest is out of focus (or has low detail to avoid distractions) the utility of 4k appears to be very low. At best the effect was similar to a very mild sharpening filter. I'm getting into video and I am pretty sure that for my needs 4k is not a priority in making engaging and watchable video compared to lighting and color. I think it's best to view 4k not as a necessity but as a creative choice. if you shot 4k of some crazy street scene in Times Square it might be overwhelming, but that might be the goal. Then again, maybe not. Our eyes have a limited depth of field I think and presenting this much detail on a flat display device is a bit overwhelming I think.

[@upstairsneighbor4182]

This is exactly what i needed. Thank you!

[@PhillipRPeck]

The 1080 coming out of the a7iii is not great. Getting rid of 6Ks worth of resolution requires destructive algorithms (not sure if it's pixel binning or line skipping in this case). I think a more accurate comparison would be either the 1080 from a native 1080 camera (like a C100 for instance), a camera which crops into the sensor to get Full HD resolution, or the a7s, a7sii, or a7siii which down sample from 4K to 1080 without destroying any of the information. Which is what the a7iii does from 6K down to 4K

[@RealJamesArcher]

That's what I've noticed as well. I would hope that the 1080 takes advantage of the bigger sensor to refine it, more like what Premiere does when I downsample, but I also understand that takes a ton of processing power the A7iii just doesn't have, so they have to take shortcuts that lose data. So, I could shoot in 4K and downsample afterward....but then I'm already working with 4K footage, so I figure I might as well just put it on a 4K timeline and export in 4K, which is where I'm at. What I really need to do, though, is try putting 4K footage on a 1080 timeline and see if that's easier to edit and still looks good. It still takes up the storage space, but might be a reasonable tradeoff.

[@PhillipRPeck]

@@RealJamesArcher For professional jobs, i always shoot in 4k but edit on a 1080 timeline. You get the downscaling plus the ability to crop in and reframe if need be. For KZbin, i just shoot and edit in 4k 'cause it's just for fun and learning and stuff. For the a7iii, and cameras like it, 4k is where it's at

[@RealJamesArcher]

@@PhillipRPeck Nice. When you do 4K > 1080, do you export back at 4K? (And does your editor do okay with the 1080 timeline even though it's downsampling? I've always wondered if it was faster to edit 4K on a 1080 timeline because it's smaller (but downsampling) or on a 4K timeline because it's not downsampling (but larger).

[@PhillipRPeck]

@@RealJamesArcher I just export in 1080. Never had a client request 4k! I've not done any a/b comparisons, but I dont think timeline performance is any worse with 4k footage in a 1080 timeline but that would be an interesting test

[@orebabaalibaba]

Hi James, I could clearly see the difference too. I was viewing your video on my 2K resolution monitor, thus it makes perfect sense that the 1080p looked a bit blurry. I find this all the time (and do struggle a bit with it) when editing my travel videos as I alternate between footage from my action cam shot at 2.7k and that shot on my DSLR shot on 1080p

[@mariyasemenova9244]

Thanks, James, for yet another informative video! I was watching it on a 1080p 40 inch tv screen and I could see the difference though it was pretty subtle. I got 6/8 correct.

[@krzysiekj2522]

after 3rd set I did not have to see B part to know which res I am looking at in A scene. That is after I got a grip of your camera. I am looking at the footage on 2 screens: 2k rog pg279qm and 4k LG C1. When watching movies, I preffer 4k. But I mostly game. And due to not having a beast pc, and the fact I need over 100fps for my shooters, I stay at 1440p most of the time. In just few games I am able to crank it up to 4k. For me priority goes: framerate>resolution>details As for pinned comment- the phone's small screen is the only place where 1080p still looks passable :D

[@HalfIdeas]

Watching on a desktop browser with a larger monitor. I could see some differences but it wasn't super obvious. I did notice that the max resolution on KZbin is currently 1080p for this video. You may want to re-upload a 4K version so that we can see the details. A 4K video when downsampled to a 1080P should look close to identical to a 1080P original recording unless you cropped in on a scene. (Does KZbin take longer to process a 4K resolution upload?)

[@RealJamesArcher]

Urffff. I'm 99% sure I uploaded in 4K and gave KZbin a day and a half to convert it, but maybe that's not enough time!? I'll go double check. Thanks for the heads up!

[@RealJamesArcher]

Update: I'm seeing 4K on my desktop, but a max of 1440 on my phone earlier which was weird. Maybe it finally updated it, or it's limiting options on some devices?

[@HalfIdeas]

@@RealJamesArcher I’m seeing 4K on my phone now. The mystery continues. Will check desktop later again.

[@HalfIdeas]

One more nugget of data. Turns out that 4K just isn't available from the Safari browser on the Mac desktop. If I go into Chrome the 4K option is available. The more you know™

[@RealJamesArcher]

@@HalfIdeas Yeah, I just learned that myself today about Safari. Crazy!

[@globalfunseeker6733]

Hi, Thank you for taking the time. I found your video very informative and helpful. I viewed the comparisons twice on my 19.5" desktop monitor. The first time, I focused on particular areas containing detail, e.g., trees, leaves, etc. Then again, from edge to edge, as you would when viewing a video. In the first viewing, I noticed a slight improvement in the 4K footage; there was more detail. But when watching the video from edge to edge, I could not discern one from the other despite knowing one was better. On a large monitor/TV, the difference might be more pronounced. But if your target audience intends to view the video on their desktop or mobile device, I don't see the benefit of recording in 4K.

[@Hendeeillus]

"Marketing people are the worst". Subscribed.

[@GeorgeToft]

Viewed on a 55" LG HD TV - can totally see the difference!!!

[@Yu2beFool]

I prefer 2k export, no matter what the initial resolution was. 2k gives crisp images and the bitrate can be a tad higher than in 4k. I've never heard someone notice the difference of footage played on a 4k monitor / projector. Besides that, its critical to focus accurately (and use high resolution optics) in 4k to even get the resolution that 4k theoretically provides. To me 2k is the ultimate compromise between large files and brilliant footage.

[@bd048]

I shot standard def television professionally from 1978 to 2010. I didn't switch over to HD until I was done doing that. I did experiment with 720P at the beginning but went 1080p by 2015. I can see the difference there and so I will continue to shoot 1080 or 1.9 k. I just don't need the 4K difference even though one of my cameras will shoot it. Believe me shooting something that's more than four times the quality of 720 or 8 times the quality of standard deaf it makes me very happy. I just don't need it or want it.

[@Kalashnikow42]

Nice Test! I put on another test: Do you see, if the video was shot 4K and 1080p, when the final video was exported in 1080p? I see a difference, when I set this video in 1080p. Watched it on a MacBook 14"

[@RuckingGoodStats]

I film my son's field hockey game every week so I can see the difference in 4K and 1080p, so cna the teams. I have 2 cameras next to each other (Coach like a long view so can see the width of the game and the lines and players like it tighter so they can see the action) so 4K for the long view and 1080p for the tight view. As soon as you watch one and then the other for the same play, you can see the different. The 4K (25fps) is one of 6 pre set positions (I can't fully operate two camera as the same time) so there is lots of same scene to compare each week. Both are Panasonics (VX1 & V800 respectively, with same size sensors as there are lots of night games). We also run two side static views at each goal (Panasonic V180 & V380), & a reverse angle just at the opposition's goal (Panasonic 4K VX980 25 fps, but static). The 1080 are 50fps because we want to slow it down to see what happens in game. The 4K can see so much more and combined with 50fps (1080p) we can see what we want (5 cameras means nothing can be hidden). As coaches and players are viewing it to watch the game the editing is putting it into quarters with the score overlaid so not a lot of effort in editing computer power needed. So it depends on what the needs are and the players comments on 1080 not being as good as 4K. Watched these on iPad air (1080) and could really see the difference but on the computer monitors only the 6th clips I had trouble seeing and 1-2 I had to go back and forth to try and see the difference. The monitor was showing $K on KZbin but iPad would only go up to 1080.

[@durianepicurean]

To me, it's about the bitrate that counts. You can have a 1080p video with 5000kp/s and a 4K video with 2000kp/s and the 1080p video would look better.

[@TheShabazzProduction]

Awesome test James, I'm hard pressed to see the difference. I'll have to watch this a few more times.

[@Titancarreon]

okay. slight difference on sharpness. but if I will have to choose between sharpness or rewinding/ or pushing my mobile data limit every single time for slight sharpness, I would choose FHD for faster viewing without disruption although 4k is a nice option to have when using unlimited data at home wifi.

[@ralex6786]

Cool video. Question please. Why does no one ever talk about 2.7k ??? If there is a debate on which is better between 1080 and 4k then why not just settle on 2.7k ? 😂 i can't find any info on this lol. Thanks

[@paultaylorphotography9499]

Nice comparison, I could tell for the most part but not enough to worry me. I've been uploading content t my channel for years in 1080p, yesterday I decided time to actually up my efforts, so I recorded in 4k, and bought a new mic (wirelessME) game changer for me I love it, I have a voice that sounds like a walrus getting his piles lanced, so the new mic actually makes a huge difference, no more lancing just soothing cream being applied, anyway, re. 4k christ it's grinding my macbook to a halt, footage looks good but will my regular viewers in their hundreds appreciate how much ball ache I went through to produce it in 4k....I think not. My usual video editing takes a few hours in 1080....this 4k lark is killing me once it's done I'll upload it and get back to shooting 1080. Liked and subbed thanks for the vid.

[@daraoladapo]

Viewed on an Iiyama 27" 4K 30Hz Monitor. I got most right. Thanks for this video.

[@askabibleprof7099]

So what if I a simple content creator that is doing educational videos and not creative videos? I'm thinking about getting a canon 90D. So if I shout in 4k abut edit it in 1080, will I notice an improved picture quality, of should I just shot in 1080? If there is really no appreciable difference, is the 90D worth the upgrade? Any suggestions? Does this make sense?

[@Mocorn]

This is a very interesting question in that the people who produce the content often have a trained eye for this kind of thing but the people consuming the content might not. Then there's also the fact that people who shoot in 1080 with good lighting and equipment, who know what they're doing is ultimately going to produce better content than someone less knowledgeable producing the same stuff in 4k.

[@dennisthebrony2022]

I still noticed the difference between 1080p and 4k even on a smartphone screen! I use a Galaxy Note 9 BTW

[@XtianApi]

My 4k footage is only slightly larger than my 1080 since the bitrate mostly determines the file size. People say 4k is 4 times larger files, but it's not really. Thanks

[@kelalamusic9258]

I'm watching this on my iMac 24 with a 4.5k retina display, and I can see a distinct difference between 1080p and 4k. It pops!!

[@cpcomarhernandez]

Watched on a 14" MacBook Pro 2021 with the M1 Pro chip with a resolution of 3024x1964, I was able to correctly identify all of them... But... making the conscious attempt to discern which was which and "cheating" in the sense that I needed to focus on very small details in order to achieve this, if one is casually glancing at the whole screen, then it's very difficult to see the difference, at least in a small screen as I have. Nice video. As to which one do I prefer, for the night scene with the buildings, 4K all the way, you want to see that! But for the grass, 1080 is more than adequate.

[@DungarooTV]

Very easy to follow and 'real life' experiment. Personally, I shoot my family videos in 4K 30fps as it looks more crisp and vibrant - however, I prefer to watch movies and documentaries in 1080p 24fps as it feels a little softer and more 'cinematic'! I don't know, maybe I'm just weird.

[@diegoforest]

Totally can tell on my standard desktop with YT set at 4K. Not sure if its worth it though. Great video.

[@DylanAndElsa]

I did notice 4K is sharper with tiny details and far details. I'm using my Razer Blade 18, which is 2560x1600.

[@SlaughterHausD]

That was interesting as I was only watching on a HD laptop screen. I didn't have any trouble spotting the difference.

[@Anonymous-ft7ut]

Good evening sir... Not only you look and speak like 'Ben Affleck' but you are awesome in narrating story and jokes with a straight face. That's so amazing and unique at the same time 😄👍 Also, the information you provide is definitely not biased (Unlike many other channels) ... Infact you guide us to a right direction in terms of decision making. Esp. Video on A73 vs A7s3 Best of luck for all your future endeavours. 🙂🌹

[@JohnSmithWesson]

Watched on my 22-inch 1080p IPS monitor. Difference is noticeable in scenes 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 if you look more closely, but during lowlight it's way harder to tell. Also, it's been recorder on expensive digital camera where even 1080p footage looks very good, what about smartphones such as iPhone or Galaxy S Ultra, is there more or less difference?

[@MUTEant44]

I watched the examples on a 32" 4k (still cheap) Dell monitor. Except frames 6 and 8 the difference is obvious. In frames 6 and 8 I can see as they switch but it's hard to tell which one is which without A/B switching.

[@stevespain6445]

(cheap) AOC 32" 1440p monitor. The comparison very easy to pick. The only one I had any difficulty with was the darkest one, #8, but still picked it correctly.

[@ZJ-ne9kn]

This stuff has always interested me and how upscaling works even tho im watching a dvd or whatever i have a 4k tv and upscaling newere dvd blu ray player so that would be my guess that even tho its not all actually in 4k it makes it all look better then usual.

[@JamesLMason]

Watching on my 1080p phone screen, I could only tell a noticeable difference on 3 of the examples. On those 3, it was pretty obvious which was the 4K. This surprised me, I didn't think I'd be able to tell any of them apart.

[@Shneepster]

Thanks, I could see the difference, and watched it on my iPad Pro as well as my OLED, 65 inch, although, not as big of a difference as I thought it would be. So in the end, will continue to shoot in 1080 for most things. Strange though, when I watch a movie that is in 4k, I do notice a big difference. Most likely better cameras to begin with as well as color grading etc.

[@havoc-ado]

I can't help but see the difference because I'm watching this from a 4K TV, have very high speed internet and regular watch streaming in 4K, so I'm used to it. On my phone though, I highly doubt there's going to be a difference considering pixel density. I usually max out my phone resolution on KZbin to 1080 or even 720 because I don't need the extra clarity on such a small screen.

[@francescoiaia2o]

What if you export them both at 1080? Would the 4k (downscaled) still look better?

[@blackmamba6938]

I watched it on a 14" Macbook Pro. I could tell the difference just because the 4k is sharper, but it doesn't matter that much if I was just watching it on a KZbin video. In my opinion, the only time 4k matters is when you have to crop the image, which does happen often in certain scenarios.

[@mopeybloke]

I was surprised that I could tell the difference watching this on a 1080p IPS display. I loaded the video in 1080p too. Was this all shot with the same camera?

[@ogshotglass9291]

I know I'm late, but... I'm watching this using a standard Google Pixel 6 without "zoom to fill screen" at 2160p. Essentially it's downscaling to 1080p. I can definitely tell the difference between the two. I feel like 4K is worth shooting in most situations now, unless you are going for the old camcorder/film look. Personally, if I had to upload in 1080, I would go ahead and shoot in 4K and then export in 1080 to reduce compression effects. And with your issue of having temperature (and time) problems with your computer, get a gaming-grade computer with a decent graphics card (like a 2080 Ti), switch your video processing to GPU (if you can), and you won't be disappointed.

[@RobertMacCready]

Did you shoot in 24, 30, or 60 fps? Just curious and I would imagine whatever you shot in, it was the same for 1080 and 4k.

[@Sutterjack]

Thanks for the comparisons - viewed on a Apple HD monitor - I actually missed a couple on the tests, I shoot with a "ancient" C100 M2 - (4k sensor that downsizes to 1080) I have a problem that my files right out of the camera look decent by themselves at 4.20. 8bit, but when I when I output in Premiere at 10Mbps the quality really degrades - banding and pixelation in shadows is really bad. I almost always up my output bitrate to get a little edge on quality without making the file size too crazy. Yes I do have 4k envy for detail and higher quality files, but can't justify it yet cost-wise.

[@thehelpfulchemist]

Viewing on a 12 inch iPad Pro. I could spot the difference on every daylight shot but the night ones were 50/50. The clearest difference was probably the flag shot, the detail in the moving folds gave it away. However, both sets were perfectly usable for professional purposes.

[@TheKamrenB]

Viewing this video on a UHD 15-inch laptop. On fullscreen, the 1080 footage is very fuzzy. The 4K footage is amazingly crisp.

[@Aristedes_Mr.Melody_TM]

Not always. Is this all @30FPS? Watching on my computer screen @720P.

[@danimalforlife]

Viewing on a PC with an older HP Compaq LA1905wg monitor using a DVI cable. Screen resolution is 1440*900. Pausing at 5:26 and not spoiling for myself, here are what I believe are the 4K footage: 1-A 2-A 3-B 4-B 5-B 6-A 7-B 8-A (this one was difficult due to the darker footage and changing lights)

[@notmyname8527]

I got 1 to 7 correct, 8 I could not guess. Full HD 24" monitor. I could only tell by starting at a small object like text. Which is more pleasing? No idea.

[@georgejames3868]

Watching on a macbook pro, I could see all the differences. It's pretty interesting. There is more details on the 4K, if you look at the American flag it has so much more details on the 4k

[@jakehoward1160]

Maybe my TV isn't big enough (55 inches) or I just don't sit close enough but I honestly struggled to find any difference between any of these. When there was a switch between 480 to 720p or 1080p there was a drastic difference but whenever I see these 1080p to 4k comparisons Im just not wowed.

[@johnglavey808]

Hi James, love the channel and your communication style. I would love if you could cover what our eyes actually see. Do i see in F3.6 or F22 . i suspect i see in F 5.6 and then change focus to another point in the frame which then becomes sharp ? Is this why 24FPS is more pleasing ????

[@renevandeesschert1211]

Watched on an iMac 27". Could really see the difference! My 4K answers were all right ... Watched it once; no pixel peeping. Definitely prefer 4K!

[@miguelmercedez7771]

you should do a comparison between 2k and 4k.

[@strizzy773]

Fished all day for this exact topic thank you

[@crc9564]

Watching with youtube settings set to 720 on a.... tv.... no idea what its screen is. Everything looked identical.