No. SmartVideo accepts 4K source files and converts them to delivery encodings of up to 1920 × 1080; it doesn’t create a 4K (2160p) rendition.
What resolution is delivered?
SmartVideo creates a single H.264 MP4, packaged for DASH streaming, with a maximum size of 1920 × 1080. It preserves the source’s aspect ratio and does not upscale smaller videos, so the actual dimensions may be lower.
The default HLS quality levels have these maximum dimensions:
- 1920 × 1080 at a target video bitrate of 4.8 Mbps
- 1280 × 720 at 1.8 Mbps
- 960 × 540 at 0.8 Mbps
These are limits, not a guarantee that every video gets all three levels. HLS conversion preserves the aspect ratio, does not upscale, and skips levels whose target bitrate is too high for the source. The available levels can also vary with conversion settings.
See also: What bitrates do you encode in?.
What should I do with my 4K master?
Keep your original 4K file somewhere you control. It’s a great file to give SmartVideo: we scale it down, so the 1080p encodings start from all the detail in your footage, and the original costs you no storage because we don’t keep it after encoding (see How much storage does one video use?). Don’t rely on SmartVideo’s converted playback as a 4K copy. Video backup best practices covers keeping your own backups.
Keywords: 4K, 2160p, UHD, ultra HD, max resolution, 1080p, encoding ladder, top rendition, m3u8, HLS, quality levels, high resolution upload, masters