Shopify plays video at 480p to 1080p: what a 4K source costs on Sume

On Shopify, a 4K source does not play at 4K on streaming browsers, so a 10-second Gemini Omni Flash clip at 4K costs $3.75 on Sume against $1.88 at 1080p, for a stream that tops out at 1080p. Shopify's "Product media types" page (read 2026-10-08) says uploads can be up to 4K (4096 x 2160 px), and that playback resolution adjusts between 480p, 720p and 1080p based on the viewer's connection in browsers that support streaming.

What Shopify says

The page lists .mp4, .mov and .webm, up to 1 GB, up to 10 minutes and up to 4K. It says Shopify converts all videos to .mp4 or HLS for delivery. It also notes that videos embedded from YouTube or Vimeo do not need to meet these requirements.

The playback range is the useful sentence. It is limited to browsers that support streaming, so a browser that plays the stored MP4 directly may show the source resolution. The page does not say which browsers those are.

What each resolution costs on Sume

Sume prices video per second by resolution on some models and by tokens on others. Gemini Omni Flash 1.1 lists 360p, 720p, 1080p and 4K, with a 3 to 10 second range. Wan 3.0 lists 480p, 720p and 1080p at 2 to 30 seconds. Sume sells at list times 1.25 rounded up to the cent per job.

What follows from it

For a clip that streams on a product page, the playback ladder ends at 1080p, so 4K spends the most for a source Shopify does not stream at that size. Shopify still accepts it, and a 4K master has uses in a zoomable or downloadable file.

At a 100-clip catalog, Omni 1080p is $188.00 and Omni 4K is $375.00, a difference of $187.00 for the same 10-second clips. On Wan 3.0 the 720p to 1080p step doubles the price, from $1.25 to $2.50 per 10 seconds.

• Shopify may still serve the original file to some players, so the saving depends on your audience.
• Seedance 2.5 at 1080p is priced at a higher token rate than 720p, in addition to more pixels.
• Product page clips are usually short; the 1 GB and 10 minute limits are far from binding.

A default

Start at 720p for a product clip and move to 1080p only for hero slots. Keep 4K for assets that leave Shopify, and confirm your theme's video behavior on a real phone.

To test it cheaply, render the same 5-second scene at 720p and 1080p, upload both as separate products or media items, and compare them on a mid-range phone on a mobile connection. If you cannot see a difference there, the cheaper row is the right default for the whole catalog. At 100 clips of 5 seconds on Wan 3.0 the gap between 720p and 1080p is $63.00 against $125.00, since each job rounds up to the cent.