Watching 4K TV
Just bought a shiny new 4K TV? Make the most of its picture power, by switching to a diet rich in pixels. Our UHD nutritionist shows you what to watch and how to watch it
The TV times are changing. 4K UHD TV sales are off the chain. You can’t move for industry pundits offering wild predictions on how many sets are being sold. No one doubts that 4K TV will become the norm, the only question is how long it’ll be before they take over.
This year, some 230 million televisions will be sold worldwide (pub quizzers take note), of which 50 million will be 50-inch plus UHD models. On a high-street near you, the fastest-growing 4K screen size is now 43 inches or thereabouts. It seems soon, we’ll all be looking for 2160p content to watch. So when you’ve invested in your dream screen, what’s the best way to show it off?
The good news is that there’s loads of choice for 4K goggleboxers, not just from premium pay TV operators but also cheaper streaming services and good old-fashioned silver discs. But making the most of 4K can be a headscratcher, not only when it comes to content and value, but also the hardware you’ll need. Time for us to take a closer look at the ongoing resolution revolution…
Pay TV propositions
For many avid telenisas, the prime source of programming will be a premium pay TV operator, like Sky, Virgin Media and BT. While their subscription packages may seem similar at first there’s actually a huge difference between them when it comes to the depth of their UHD catalogue. Of course, your eventual choice might also be influenced by practical complications, such as the availability of fast fibre broadband or dish restrictions (the perils of living in a listed building, Jeeves).
If you want the widest-possible range of 4K content, then you need Sky Q. No other service offers a comparable range of live sports (Sky Sports F1), movies (Sky Cinema) and TV shows in UHD.
The Sky Q set top box craftily combines linear channels delivered via dish with On Demand content accessed through the Internet (this can be over Wi-Fi, through PowerLine or hardwired directly by Ethernet). It’s worth noting that you don’t need to be a Sky broadband customer in order to take Sky Q.
Don’t plan on watching Sky Q 4K around the house, though. You can only contract a single Q box, and while this links to smaller Sky Minis for multiroom (you can stream to two Sky Minis simultaneously, using a technique Sky calls fluid viewing), these client boxes are not 4K able.
Unlike conventional HD TV channels, there are no linear 4K channels to browse, no programme guide to peruse. Instead subscribers navigate to 4K content via genre sub-listings, such as Cinema, Sports and Box Sets (yes, you can bingewatch shows in UHD, including The
Blacklist, Fortitude and Riviera). If you’re watching live sports, 4K viewers will receive a prompt to switch to a UHD broadcast if it’s available. Sky offers the entire Formula 1 season in 4K plus Test Cricket and Premier League Football.
HDR expands the dynamic range, bringing bright spectral highlights
Sky has also extended Sky Arts to embrace 4K. Recent coverage has included the Isle of Wight music festival. More specials in this vein are likely as the broadcaster continues to push the UHD envelope.
The latest set top box from cable giant Virgin TV, the ultra-compact V6, is 4K capable, too. Unfortunately, unlike Sky, Virgin TV currently does not offer any UHD content beyond Netflix and YouTube in 4K. Virgin took part in the BBC’s early 4K iPlayer trials, so could theoretically be ready to offer iPlayer delivered content as and when the BBC adds a UHD option to its catch-up service. But it can surely only be a matter of time before Virgin capitulates and adds 4K movies and TV shows to its various top-flight TV packages.
Sky’s biggest rival when it comes to live 4K broadcasts is BT TV. Its 4K YouView+ Ultra HD box offers BT Sports UHD subscribers a growing variety of 2160p programming. Currently, the channel’s headline attraction is 4K football (Premier League, UEFA Champions League, and EUFA Europa League), but it also screens regular UHD boxing and Aviva Premiership Rugby in 4K (with Dolby Atmos audio, which makes a not inconsiderable bonus). In addition, the Netflix app on the BT box offers 4K streams. The missing elephants in the room though are 4K TV shows and movies. While BT has yet to officially announce an expansion of content, its online help page states that a selection of 4K TV shows and films will be available On Demand. The plan is apparently for a dedicated UHD area within the BT Store. So watch this space.
Adding HDR to the mix
Currently all broadcast 4K services combine 2160p resolution with improved 10-bit colour, which translated means you can expect smooth, band-free hues. As yet there is no broadcast HDR (High Dynamic Range) content on offer, but it is coming. The HLG (Hybrid Log-Gamma) HDR standard has now been agreed, ratified, rubber-stamped and wrapped in a polka dot bow, so we’re confident it’ll be implemented by the likes of Sky, BT TV and the BBC some time soon.
In the meantime, HDR is already on Netflix (£8.99 p/m) and Amazon Video (£5.99 p/m).
The observant in class will have seen that the technology high ground is increasingly being taken by this streaming duo. HDR expands the dynamic range of 4K TV pictures, bringing bright spectral highlights – glinting reflections, sunlight, fireworks; that kind of thing – to the screen. Netflix even offers Dolby Vision, which is an upgraded version of vanilla-flavoured HDR (known as HDR10). Dolby Vision uses dynamic, rather than static, metadata to optimise HDR images on a scene by scene basis. Dolby Vision is also starting to appear on a selection of Ultra HD Blu-ray discs, but you’ll need a TV that’s capable of Dolby Vision to see it.
It’s important to note that HDR from Netflix and Amazon is only available from apps integrated within a 4K HDR TV itself. It’s not (yet) available from outboard devices, like media players and Blu-ray decks.
If you’re hoping to stream 4K Netflix or Amazon Video content from a separate media
player, we think the best value is Amazon’s Fire TV box, priced at £80. This hooks up via HDMI and supports 2160p streams. Only the bigger Amazon Fire box offers 4K, the little Amazon Fire stick is HD only.
That said, if you also have a gaming itch to scratch, the latest iteration of the NVIDIA Shield TV gadget could be the 4K streamer you’ve been looking for. This £170 Androidbased entertainment device with an idiosyncratic design, is mainly used to stream PC games from NVIDIA’s GeForce Now service. However, it also transpires to be a well-equipped media streamer that not only opens the door to Netflix 4K and Amazon Video 4K, but enables you to cast 4K content from your mobile device.
Perhaps a less celebrated source of 4K content is YouTube. The video sharing site’s offerings lack the image consistency of programmes from the leading streaming services, but the best UHD footage on YouTube can still look spectacular; live 4K streams from major league press conferences are often stunningly clear. YouTube uses a different video codec to Netflix and Amazon, so ensure your TV has both HEVC and VP9 decoders if you want to watch 4K from all your integrated streaming apps.
Blu-ray is still best
Ultimately, the finest 4K viewing experience remains UHD Blu-ray. Nothing compares to the resolution and wide colour depth available from this upgraded version of the popular disc format. If you thought the era of package media was dead, you should get an eyeball full of the recent Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 in UHD HDR on Blu-ray. This particular movie makes full use of the wide colour space available from UHD discs.
Unlike 4K TV, UHD Blu-ray discs stream 2160p at a constant high-bit rate (IP delivered services tend to fluctuate as they compete for bandwidth) with wide colour delivered in a next generation BT.2020 container. This means a movie on disc could potentially offer the same DCI colour depth as you’ll see in a digital cinema. While 4K TV content is still colour graded to the old school REC.709 standard, most UHD discs take full advantage of the wider colour volume available. This translates to far greater colour intensity and depth.
Many high-end 4K TVs are branded wide colour gamut displays, which means they’re able to deliver this broader colour spectrum. You’ll immediately notice the difference.
It’s worth remembering that some UHD Blu-ray players also have integrated media streaming services, so you won’t necessarily need a separate media player to watch UHD from Netflix and Amazon. Both the Sony UBP-X800 UHD Blu-ray player, and the entire Panasonic range from the DMP-UB900 downwards, include Amazon Video, Netflix and YouTube, with 4K streaming, although currently only Netflix offers HDR.
A disc could offer the same DCI colour depth as you’ll see in digital cinema