4K video
Also known as: UHD, 2160p, Ultra HD
Video about 4,000 pixels wide, usually 3840 x 2160 UHD. It has four times the pixels of 1080p and is the standard high-quality mode on action cameras.
Updated
What it means
4K describes video roughly 4,000 pixels wide. In consumer cameras that almost always means UHD, 3840 by 2160 pixels at a 16:9 aspect ratio, exactly four times the pixel count of 1080p Full HD. Cinema 4K, or DCI 4K, is slightly wider at 4096 by 2160 and shows up on drones and pro cameras as a separate option.
For action footage the extra resolution is about more than a sharp picture on a 4K TV. It gives you room to crop and punch in while still delivering a crisp 1080p result, and downscaling 4K to 1080p produces a cleaner image than recording 1080p directly.
How it works in practice
Nearly every current GoPro, DJI, Insta360 and Sony action camera records 4K at 30 and 60 fps, and many reach 4K at 120 fps for slow motion. Some also offer 4K in 4:3, a taller frame that captures more sky and ground for later reframing.
Files are big: at 100 Mbps, an hour of 4K takes around 45 GB, and the high frame rate modes usually require HEVC. A sensible setup for most riding is 4K at 60 fps in HEVC with high bitrate on, which balances detail, smooth motion and the ability to slow clips down by half on a 30 fps timeline.
What to watch out for
Resolution is not quality on its own. 4K at a low Bitrate, like many phone and budget camera modes, can look worse than well-encoded 1080p, especially in fast motion through trees or water.
Watch heat and battery as well. 4K at 120 fps is among the most demanding modes on most action cameras and can trigger overheating shutdowns on a hot day when the camera is not moving through air. Some cameras also crop the sensor at their top frame rates, which narrows the field of view you expected. And editing 4K on an older laptop is often painful without proxies.
How RawClip handles it
RawClip accepts 4K uploads alongside 1080p and 5.3K clips, including high frame rates of 60-120 fps. The finished highlight is delivered in both 4K and 1080p as MP4, so you get one version for big screens and a lighter one for sharing, without touching a timeline.