You can now download but not stream 4K videos on Vimeo

YouTube embraced 4K video a long time ago, but Vimeo is at last catching up… well, more or less. The internet media hub now lets you download 4K clips from both Vimeo Pro members and Video On Demand providers. If you just snagged a Retina iMac or a lower-cost 4K display, you now have one more source that will do justice to your extra-sharp screen. However, there’s no streaming here.

Vimeo-loving video producers can finally put that expensive Red camera to good use: Vimeo is now allowing Pro subscribers to offer 4K downloads of their movies, and anyone who wants to sell their videos through Vimeo’s VOD platform can also offer those paid downloads in 4K to consumers. However, Vimeo isn’t offering 4K streaming just yet. “It’s pretty early for streaming,” said Andrew Pile, Vimeo CTO, during an interview last week. That’s in part because there are simply not that many devices that stream 4K content out there yet. There is no affordable streaming device capable of 4K playback, and few people have a 4K monitor for their desktop computer. But that could change soon, according to Pile. “The new iMac is gonna be a turning point,” he told me.