YouTube has hit a milestone. An 8K video has been uploaded—and is impossible to watch for almost everyone.



What is an 8K video and why is it so special? In a nutshell, 8K resolution—or Full Ultra HD—is the highest ultra high definition resolution to exist in digital cinematography. This particular clip, which was uploaded on Tuesday, according to Engadget, is called "Ghost Towns" and is a series of slow shots of an abandoned mining settlement.

The problem: Nobody really has the hardware to watch it.

First of all, few people have a monitor or television that supports 4K resolution—which is four times less the resolution of an 8K video.

"4K is so 'early 2015.' 'Ghost Towns' in 8K," the video's description reads.

While 8K monitors are not impossible to find, they are incredibly difficult to come by. "Even if you had [an 8K monitor], you'd need some pretty powerful hardware to be able to watch the video stutter-free," Mashable explains.



"YouTube faces a chicken and egg problem. Without 8K content, there's less incentive to buy hardware which supports the playback of it, and without hardware that supports 8K video there's less incentive to produce and share it," 9to5Google reports.



For those who do have the means to watch the new clip, it will run in Chrome and Safari.

