While Facebook has pretty easily toppled or swallowed up most of the low hanging social fruit, YouTube is a serious player that can’t be so easily brushed aside.

However Facebook is nothing if not persistent. Now testing 4K video uploads, Facebook is creeping into YouTube’s high-end turf.

Clear as day

Select Facebook Pages and profiles are now posting 4K videos, and Facebook is also dabbling with the 2160p UHD-1 Ultra-High Definition Television standard. Translated, this means videos will look gorgeous on your big screen TV at home.

While a lot of Facebook video is user generated and shot on mobile, content such as sport, fashion, and documentaries will be noticeably improved in 4K.

Grand standing?

YouTube has been playing around with 4K videos since 2010, and last year updated so brands can live stream in 4K.

While 4K videos look amazing, most viewers consumer online videos on mobile and desktop. The standard 1080p is more than ample when viewing on devices of this size.

The other downside is that 4K videos can be big, meaning greater loading times and lag during playback.

Facebook and chill

However where 4K comes into its own is in the living room, which dovetails nicely with Facebook’s latest video app, Watch.

By offering 4K in the home, Facebook is positioned to compete with heavyweights like Netflix and Amazon as it moves into longer form, original programming.

Do you use Facebook Watch? If so let us know which programs rock, in the comments.