It looks like Google is doing its part to make 4K video available to the masses. The company will reportedly show off 4K on YouTube via its own ultra HD VP9 codec at the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas next week.

This is according to GigaOm’s Janko Roettgers, who reports that Google has “lined up a whole list of hardware partners” to kickstart deployment of the codec, which is to serve as a royalty-free alternative to the H.265 codec used by others. According to Roettgers, YouTube has nineteen hardware partners including ARM, Intel, Broadcom, Marvell, Samsung, Sharp and Toshiba, and will be demonstrating the video at the booths of LG, Panasonic and Sony.

The codec is expected to hit PCs and mobile devices first and TVs by 2015.

Netflix recently revealed that its upcoming second season of House of Cards will be its first Ultra HD offering though few will likely view it that way for some time.

These two streaming heavyweights, however, will no doubt usher in mainstream viewing of 4K video, even if it doesn’t happen for a while. The wheels are in motion.

Image via jm3, Flickr Creative Commons