What can you actually watch on a 4k TV?

4K TVs were definitely a hot gift this past Christmas — and now that you’ve had time to set it up, it’s time to truly enjoy the 4K viewing experience. But what can you actually watch on a 4K TV? The standard is just starting to catch on, so you may need to look around a bit. To save you the hassle, we’ve done the search for you!

A brief introduction to 4K and Ultra HD

Before we get started, it’s worth talking a little about 4K and Ultra HD (UHD), two of the most popular TV terms. right now. First of all, they are actually different, although not particularly. 4K resolution is 4096×2160 pixels, while Ultra HD is 3840×2160, which means it’s a bit narrower. There is very little difference from the world, and 4K and UHD will provide a noticeable improvement over 1080p HD. Another name for Ultra HD is 2160p.

Full-HD-v-4k-UHD

Some people will tell you that 4K is a professional production standard while UHD is a consumer and broadcast standard, and that 4K really means that the horizontal resolution is near 4000 pixels, which means some variations are possible. , , and both are true. But for the most part, you can use them interchangeably.

It should also be noted that some services require a specific TV or 4K decoder chipset to view Ultra HD content. I’ve tried to point out where this happens below, but if in doubt, check the manufacturer’s or supplier’s website.

Netflix

Luckily, Netflix makes quite a lot of 4K content available and seems to be set for a long time. Two of the service’s most popular series, House of Cards and Breaking Bad are available in 4K, and new features are added regularly. However, before sitting down to look Star Trek: Into Darkness in Ultra HD, you need to make sure of a few things.

First, check out the Netflix help guide to make sure your TV can stream UHD from the service. Most TVs can, but there are some that have decoder chipsets that won’t work with the standard that Netflix uses. Just click on the link in the last sentence, select your TV manufacturer and make sure yours is listed. Also, you’ll need a very fast internet connection — Netflix recommends a minimum of 25Mbps.

Second, you need to have a premium plan from Netflix. Not everyone can stream 4K — you’ll need to be a subscriber to their top-tier plan, which will cost you $11.99 (£8.99) a month. Once you’ve made this update and made sure your TV is compatible with Netflix’s Ultra HD streaming, you’re ready to go!

netflix-ultrahd-4k-strings

If you have a Netflix-4K compatible TV, you will see an «UltraHD 4K» line on the home screen (as shown in the picture above), which contains several 4K titles that you can stream. 4k.com has a list of Netflix 4k movies and TV shows, although there is no guarantee that this is up to date.

As prices for 4K TVs continue to drop, it’s safe to say that Netflix will want to increase the number of 4K offerings fairly quickly (especially because it will get more people to sign up for a premium plan!).

Also, if this is your first time foray into Netflix after getting a 4K TV, check out our full guide to the video streaming service. and you’ll learn about all the important things you need to know.

Other film and television offerings

While Netflix is the best way to get most movies and TV shows in 4K, you have a few other interesting options. Both Samsung and Sony have external hard drives that are already loaded with 4K content that works with their TVs, although both have pretty negative reviews on Amazon so think twice before dropping a few hundred dollars on one. The Sony Video Unlimited service also offers 4K video.

m-go-4k

If you have a Samsung TV, you can also use the lesser known M-GO streaming service to stream 4K content. Like Netflix, their current selection is limited, but you can bet they’ll be working hard to add as many to the lineup as possible. Amazon Announcement that they will shoot all their original programming in 4K means you can get a lot out of their instant video service. as well as.

Panasonic also introduced a 4K Blu-ray player at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, so you can expect to see 4K Blu-ray discs this year.

YouTube

If you’re looking for 4K video streaming, YouTube has you covered. While there’s no way to specifically search for 4K content yet, if you add «4K» to your search term, you might be able to find some great videos that take advantage of your new TV’s phenomenal resolution.

Just typing «4K video» will give you a list of some pretty cool stuff:

If you’re not sure if the video you’re watching is available in 4K, just click the gear at the bottom of the video and adjust the resolution; if it goes up to 2160p you go!

If you’re looking for a specific type of video — movie trailer, nature documentary, GoPro footage — you can see if you can find a channel offering that type of content. For example, the GoPro channel is a great place to start if you want amazing footage of all sorts of things. Devinsupertramp also has many 4K videos that range from breathtaking to downright ridiculous.

When you start a YouTube search the best way to limit video results that can be 4K is to use a high definition video filter. On the results page, right below the search bar, there is a «Filters» drop-down list. Selecting «HD» won’t limit results to 4K only, but it will get rid of videos that don’t have HD offerings, which is a good start. Hopefully YouTube will add 4K filtering in the near future.

And if 4K streaming uses too much bandwidth, don’t miss 4K Video Downloader an application that will allow you to download videos in their Ultra HD glory for later viewing.