4K video streaming has already entered the commercial arena and it is no wonder that YouTube is about to hit the bandwagon. The service will show off 4K video at CES this year, using the Google-owned VP9 codec.
Currently, the most widely used video codec for 4K video implementation is H.265. The codec is commercial and so, companies have to pay a fee for the license of using it in their 4K streaming. Google, however, has other plans.
The company has developed the VP9 codec in a bid to break free of this dependability and create an open-source, free codec that would be easily accessible to all. Google has made similar attempts in the past but companies with interests in commercial video codecs opposed the move.
This time, the search giant has made sure that it has a handsome number of allies to back the effort. At CES 2014, YouTube will demonstrate 4K video streaming at the booths of Sony, LG and Panasonic. Moreover, YouTube has announced that it already has 19 hardware partners on board who will be supporting the new VP9 codec. These include some industry heavy-weights such as Intel, Marvell, ARM, Broadcom, Toshiba, Sharp and Samsung.
The best thing about this new codec is that it will trim down the size of HD videos, making it easier for YouTube to stream them at better speeds. In fact, the streaming speeds will be improved so much that ‘By 2015, you’ll be surprised every time you see that spinning wheel’, says YouTube’s global director of platform partnerships Francisco Varela.
Courtesy: Giga Om
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