Video Resolution

What is video resolution on YouTube?

Video resolution is the pixel size of the frame you upload to YouTube, written as width by height or in shorthand such as 1080p. It sets how much detail the player can show: 1920x1080 holds 4 times as many pixels as 1280x720.

Why resolution matters

The YouTube player adapts to the size of each individual video and to the viewer's device, but it can only show the detail you supplied. Upload at 1280x720 and 1080p playback is never an option for anyone, on any screen.

Resolution also works together with bitrate and aspect ratio. A large frame starved of data still looks soft, and a frame that does not match the standard 16:9 shape gets padding instead of a full player.

Recommended resolutions for 16:9 video

For the default 16:9 aspect ratio, YouTube recommends encoding at these resolutions:

• 4320p (8K): 7680x4320

• 2160p (4K): 3840x2160

• 1440p (2K): 2560x1440

• 1080p (HD): 1920x1080

• 720p (HD): 1280x720

• 480p (SD): 854x480

• 360p (SD): 640x360

• 240p (SD): 426x240

In 2022 YouTube started removing support for playback at resolutions between 4K and 8K, so a 5K master may no longer play back at its native size. To watch new 4K uploads in 4K, viewers need a browser or device that supports VP9. The full reference is in the Help Center article on video resolution and aspect ratios.

How to upload at the right resolution

Export in the resolution you actually shot in, and keep the rest of the file close to YouTube's recommended upload encoding settings: an MP4 container, the H.264 video codec, progressive scan, and AAC-LC or Opus audio at a 48 kHz sample rate. Recommended bitrates differ for every resolution and frame rate, and the Help Center publishes the full table.

Encode and upload at the same frame rate you recorded. Common frame rates are 24, 25, 30, 48, 50 and 60 frames per second, and interlaced footage should be deinterlaced first, so 1080i60 becomes 1080p30.

Do not bake padding or black bars into the file. Padding stops the player from resizing itself to your video, and YouTube already adds its own padding where it is needed — for example around 9:16 vertical video in a computer browser, where the padding is white by default and dark gray in Dark theme. That matters most for Shorts and other vertical formats, which we cover in more depth in keeping your vertical videos safe.