Are M1 Macs ready for 8K Youtube?

[skaertus]

Same things we said in 1999 about 2K...

8K will happen when hardware becomes cheap enough.

I expect 8K streaming to become mainstream as early as 2026.

8K Blu-ray discs could happen as early as 2026. This is assuming that 4k Blu-ray discs and players sell well enough.

I do not see the point in 8K for YouTube or for streaming.

I am perfectly happy with my Full HD TV and I can barely see the difference between it and a 4K TV. I like my 4K 32-inch monitor, but only because I look at it very closely when I use the computer. So, at least for me, 4K makes a real difference when using the computer, and is a nice feature to have on the TV, but the difference is by no means huge.

As for 8K, I cannot see the point. The images will not look any sharper in 8K unless I use a microscope. There are so many improvements in brightness, contrast, color, glare, that could be made that would make much more of a difference. Why focus on resolution alone, just to have the bigger number? An 8K video would require better more powerful hardware, would use massive amounts of data, and would put more strain on the Internet connection, for little benefit. So, why? Just to show off?

 

[JeepGuy]

So, in Chrome these new Macs have 4K and sometimes 8K available on youtube videos.

In a video I heard a guy say that if the machine is detected to be a MBA M1, the 8K option is not offered, whereas if it is a MBP M1 it is offered. Is that true? What about the Mac Mini M1?

Now, even when 8K is offered, can it actually run smoothly? I’ve seen it stutter in a video but it was not clear if it was a buffering problem.

What are the experiences of the owners here with 8K youtube?

(not that it’s a deal breaker, just a curiosity)

Considering that the M1 doesn't support 8K output what would be the point ?

 

[jeanlain]

Why 8K? Why 8K on YouTube?? Even 4K is overkill for 99,9999% of YouTube content, but 8K...

I'd go further and question the point of 8k content in general, except perhaps for VR.
There are more important things to do than consuming bandwidth and energy for no visible benefit.

 

[ArPe]

I'd go further and question the point of 8k content in general, except perhaps for VR.
There are more important things to do than consuming bandwidth and energy for no visible benefit.

Those of us who work with 6K or 8K have seen and know the benefit, at the right viewing distance of course. On a laptop screen no.

If you have ever put 8K content on a desk in front of you with a decent size HDR display and focus on the image it really tricks the brain into believing it’s a three dimensional scene in front of you. The effect with good footage really does have a leg up over 4K in tricking the brain.

It’s not that different from the reason why filmmakers shot on 65mm or 70mm film instead of 35mm. How many decades have they done that for? So to discredit 8K in 2020 is no different from those who discredited 70mm a century ago.

 

[Nathan576]

.

 

[JeepGuy]

This is why no one should take your opinion seriously lol. Either your eyes are blind, or your brain is. Some people just don't pick up on the differences, even if their eyes are good.

Also, does no one here understand what downsampling is and why it improves picture quality?

I think most of us understand downsampling, but from youtube's over compressed streams would you really see a difference?

 

[BeatCrazy]

8K YouTube working fine here on my base iMac Pro. I have AT&T 1Gbps fiber connection.

 

[Nathan576]

.

 

[skaertus]

This is why no one should take your opinion seriously lol. Either your eyes are blind, or your brain is. Some people just don't pick up on the differences, even if their eyes are good.

Also, does no one here understand what downsampling is and why it improves picture quality?

Well, no need for offense here.

I have some myopia, and my eyesight is not as good to see things at a distance. But, still, I can certainly perceive the difference between 4K and 1080p, especially when TVs are side-by-side.

However, the returns are diminishing. A 720p TV was far superior to a 480p one, which was miles ahead of CRT TVs. A 1080p TV is clearly superior to a 720p TV. A 4K TV is better than a 1080p TV. The differences are increasingly smaller. A 1080p TV is more tolerable to a person used to a 4K TV than a 720p TV is to someone accustomed to a 1080p one.

Perhaps I can even notice the difference between an 8K TV and a 4K one if I look at them side by side. But the 4K TV is so sharp that, unless I am really picky, why should I care? And would people really care and spend more money to buy another TV just to have 8K resolution and an increase that will hardly make any difference in the perceived quality and in the experience of the video being watched?

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

'Ready' for 8K YouTube?

Do you plan on watching it at an IMAX?

 

[NT1440]

'Ready' for 8K YouTube?

Do you plan on watching it at an IMAX?

No no you don’t understand, some people here are video professionals...which is why they’re interested in buying the lowest end device because it *might* be juuuust capable, instead of waiting for the tools actually designed for that kind of workflow.

 

[Apple_Robert]

I wasn’t aware there was a big demand for watching YouTube in 8k, not to mention lots of YouTubers with the ability to create content right now in 8k.

 

[kazmac]

iJustine ran an 8k test on the M1 Macs and the MBP could handle 8k playback without stuttering The MBA and Mac Mini, stuttered in a bit in playback.

8K edits on MBP > Mentioned at 4:31 * 8K Edits starts around 6:51

Had fun with this video.

 

[Acidsplat]

Isn’t it quicker to just ask the tens of owners here? That’s why I opened the thread.
Probably that guy is wrong but he made me question it.

Owners of the M1 Macbook Air: do you see the 8K option for 8K youtube videos in Chrome (native ARM version)?

I have a MacBook Air M1 and see 8K options in all videos I've tried in Chrome Version 87.0.4280.67 for Apple Silicon.

 

[ArPe]

iJustine ran an 8k test on the M1 Macs and the MBP could handle 8k playback without stuttering The MBA and Mac Mini, stuttered in a bit in playback.

8K edits on MBP > Mentioned at 4:31 * 8K Edits starts around 6:51

Had fun with this video.

FCP uses proxies to play back video. That’s not the same as playing back actual 8K files in a stand alone player or steaming it in a browser. Lightroom also uses proxies for editing images and only applies those edits on to the high res when exporting. Wish more reviewers would understand these things that have been known for two decades. ?

 

[kazmac]

FCP uses proxies to play back video. That’s not the same as playing back actual 8K files in a stand alone player or steaming it in a browser. Lightroom also uses proxies for editing images and only applies those edits on to the high res when exporting. Wish more reviewers would understand these things that have been known for two decades. 😜

This is news to me. Thanks for the clarification.

 

[ArPe]

This is news to me. Thanks for the clarification.

To lower the bit rate of the proxies in FCP, Premiere, Resolve or After Effects just change the preview quality in the main viewport.

Just about any application for video or still images uses a cache or proxy. Photoshop uses a lower res proxy to preview effects inside every filter plugin and the Liquify module. iPhoto/Photos uses low res proxies which you can see inside the library folders.

 

[JimmyjamesEU]

FCP uses proxies to play back video. That’s not the same as playing back actual 8K files in a stand alone player or steaming it in a browser. Lightroom also uses proxies for editing images and only applies those edits on to the high res when exporting. Wish more reviewers would understand these things that have been known for two decades. 😜

This is incorrect. You have the choice to use proxies in fcp, but all the tests I have seen, whether on intel or the m1 specifically have proxies off. These tests are using the actual file. By the way, Justine knows a great deal about fcp and has presented seminars about it. It is unlikely she is stupid enough to confuse a proxy with the actual file.

 

[ArPe]

This is incorrect. You have the choice to use proxies in fcp, but all the tests I have seen, whether on intel or the m1 specifically have proxies off. These tests are using the actual file. By the way, Justine knows a great deal about fcp and has presented seminars about it. It is unlikely she is stupid enough to confuse a proxy with the actual file.

Are you saying no proxies/render cache are used during filters, colour corrections, titling and transitions? If so you’re wrong. Apple themselves talk about how proxies are used in traditional workflows during their Afterburner presentations.

I’m not talking about Justine and said ‘reviewers’.

 

[toxotis700]

on those tests proxy are not used...its the native files.

 

[ArPe]

on those tests proxy are not used...its the native files.

By proxies meaning also the render cache. Please guys. ? should be so obvious. Soooo soo obvious.

 

[toxotis700]

no renders too... real time playback.

 

[ArPe]

no renders too... real time playback.

I give up. Some people don’t understand how apps create and use temp data.

Playback an 8K file outside an NLE and you’ll understand. Over and out.

 

[toxotis700]

i am editing now in my new mb air with fcpx, 4k native files, no proxy, no background render, no render caches in real time, 4 layers , color correction, several titles.... if fcpx tried to make internal cashes , it could not keep up with my changes every second .

 

[JimmyjamesEU]

Are you saying no proxies/render cache are used during filters, colour corrections, titling and transitions? If so you’re wrong. Apple themselves talk about how proxies are used in traditional workflows during their Afterburner presentations.

I’m not talking about Justine and said ‘reviewers’.

There are no proxies used or cache. I don’t know how to be more plain than that. You’re wrong and you are doubling down on your mistake.