LinkedIn is a popular social media platform used by professionals and businesses to network, build their brands, and share content. With over 850 million members worldwide, LinkedIn provides a great opportunity to reach a large professional audience.
One of the ways to share content on LinkedIn is by uploading videos. With video being an engaging format that can help grab users’ attention, many wonder if they can upload high-quality 4K videos to LinkedIn.
What is a 4K video?
4K refers to a video resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels. This is four times the resolution of regular 1080p high definition video which has a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels.
Here are some key things to know about 4K video:
- Extremely high resolution providing very detailed and crisp picture quality
- Higher resolution than regular HD 1080p video
- Also referred to as 2160p, UHD or Ultra HD
- Requires more storage space and processing power
Due to the high resolution and resulting large file sizes, 4K videos provide an enhanced, visually-immersive viewing experience. However, they also require more bandwidth and storage capacity to share and watch online.
Can You Upload 4K Videos to LinkedIn?
The short answer is no, LinkedIn does not currently support uploading 4K videos natively. The maximum video resolution allowed on LinkedIn is 1080p HD.
Here are some key reasons why you cannot upload 4K videos directly to LinkedIn at the moment:
- LinkedIn caps video resolution at 1080p HD
- 4K video files are too large for LinkedIn’s bandwidth limits
- 4K videos would require extensive processing power
- Most users don’t have devices & internet speeds to watch 4K smoothly
LinkedIn limits videos to 1080p resolution and 1 GB file size. So if you try to upload a 4K video, LinkedIn will automatically compress it down to 1080p quality before processing and hosting it on their platform.
Workarounds for Uploading 4K Video to LinkedIn
While you cannot directly upload 4K videos to LinkedIn, there are a few workarounds you can use to still share high-quality 4K video content:
1. Upload to YouTube & Share Link
One of the easiest options is to first upload your 4K video to YouTube. YouTube supports videos up to 4K resolution and is optimized for streaming high-quality content.
Once your 4K video is uploaded to YouTube, you can then share the YouTube video link in your LinkedIn posts, messages or on your profile. When people click the YouTube link, they’ll be able to watch your 4K video content on YouTube’s platform in full resolution.
2. Compress to 1080p HD
Since LinkedIn only allows up to 1080p resolution, you can compress and export your 4K video to 1080p full HD before uploading it directly on LinkedIn.
This will reduce the video file size and optimize it for LinkedIn’s requirements. You’ll still be uploading a high-definition 1080p version of the video that will look great on LinkedIn.
3. Upload 1080p Preview + 4K YouTube Link
An ideal solution that combines both approaches is to upload a 1080p HD preview of your video to LinkedIn, and in the caption include the link to the full 4K version hosted on YouTube.
This way viewers get a great preview of the video in their LinkedIn feed, and can click through to watch the full 4K version if they want a more immersive viewing experience.
Maximum Video Resolution & File Size Allowed on LinkedIn
Here are the maximum video resolution and file size currently supported for video uploads on LinkedIn:
- Resolution: Up to 1080p HD (1920×1080 pixels)
- File size: Up to 1GB
- Aspect ratio: 16:9 widescreen
- File types: .MP4, .MOV, .AVI
Any videos exceeding these limits will be compressed and/or resized by LinkedIn before being published on the platform.
Tips for Uploading High-Quality Videos to LinkedIn
When uploading videos directly to LinkedIn, here are some tips to upload the highest quality within LinkedIn’s constraints:
- Export video at 1080p HD resolution
- Use 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio
- Keep file size under 1 GB
- Choose h.264 video codec for efficient compression
- Use dedicated video editing software to export
- Optimize video bitrate, frame rate and audio for web playback
Following these best practices will help ensure your videos look great to viewers within LinkedIn’s feed and page environments.
Does LinkedIn Support 4K Video Playback?
In addition to not supporting 4K video uploads, LinkedIn also does not currently support playback of 4K video content on their platform. LinkedIn videos are capped at 1080p resolution for both uploading and viewing.
This means even if you manage to link a 4K video from YouTube or another platform, it will be downscaled to 1080p when played within LinkedIn. Users won’t be able to watch it in full 4K quality.
So for the time being, 1080p HD is the maximum video resolution supported across the board for both uploads and playback on LinkedIn.
Is 4K Video Support Coming to LinkedIn?
LinkedIn has not made any official announcements about adding support for 4K videos at this time. However, given the increasing adoption of 4K across video platforms, there’s a good chance LinkedIn will boost its video resolution limits in the future.
YouTube added 4K video support back in 2010, so LinkedIn is behind some other platforms when it comes to high-resolution video. But with bandwidth speeds and device screen resolutions constantly improving, 4K video support would provide a more visually-immersive LinkedIn user experience.
For now though, 1080p HD remains the ceiling for LinkedIn videos. Any changes would likely be announced on LinkedIn’s Official Blog or in their Help Center documentation.
Is 4K Video Worth It for LinkedIn?
Given LinkedIn’s current limitations, is it worth creating and uploading 4K video content for LinkedIn? Here are a few things to consider:
- Future-proofing – Creating 4K video now means your content will be ready once LinkedIn supports it
- Cross-platform benefits – 4K videos can still be watched in full resolution on YouTube, Vimeo, etc
- Quality preservation – Gives you original 4K source to compress 1080p from vs upscaling HD
- Cinematography – Ability to crop/reframe 4K footage while retaining 1080p resolution
However, the large file sizes, production costs, and editing requirements of 4K may outweigh the benefits for some LinkedIn content creators.
As with any new technology, it comes down to assessing if 4K aligns with your specific audience, goals, and resources available for LinkedIn video content production.
Conclusion
While LinkedIn currently does not support 4K video uploads or playback, that doesn’t mean you are limited to low-quality video. You can still upload vibrant, 1080p high definition videos that will look great to LinkedIn audiences.
If you have existing 4K video content you want to repurpose for LinkedIn, you can compress 1080p versions or link out to your 4K videos hosted on other sites like YouTube.
LinkedIn may add official 4K capabilities eventually, but for now focus on producing the highest quality 1080p HD content possible. Well-crafted visual stories will connect with audiences and boost engagement even at 1080p resolutions.