If you’re paying for 4K streaming, it’s because you want to watch TV in as much detail as possible. If you can’t count each and every hair on someone’s head, it’s not money well spent.
But sometimes, even if you pay for 4k streaming, you may not be getting it. The problem could arise at any number of inflection points. We’ll walk you through the most common issues and tell you how to check whether your entertainment setup is 4k-capable at every step of the journey. Hopefully, if there is a problem, it’s something that can be fixed. And if it can’t, at least you get to save some money.
Make sure you have the right plan
Not all plans are created equal
First of all, not every streaming plan actually offers 4K streaming, so make sure you’re paying for the right one. If you’re using Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Disney+, Apple TV+, or Peacock, to name some of the more popular streaming services, you already have a plan that can stream in 4k, since those services offer 4k streaming at every subscription tier. However, if you’re streaming on Netflix, HBO Max, or Paramount+, you’ll need to subscribe to the premium tier to get access to 4k content: for Netflix, you’ll need to subscribe to Netflix Premium at $24.99 per month; for HBO Max, you’ll need to subscribe to the Max Ultimate Ad-Free plan at $20.99/month; and for Paramount+, you’ll need a Paramount+ Premium Plan at $13.99/month.
You can stream YouTube videos in 4K whether you pay for a Premium subscription or not, provided the videos themselves. are actually in 4K. However, if you’re using YouTube TV, you’ll have to get the YouTube TV 4K Plus add-on, which costs $9.99/month.
Finally, remember that popular streaming services like Netflix stream older stuff that may not be available in 4K no matter what plan you have. Streaming services generally label content that’s able to be streamed in 4K, so look for that. And if you find yourself mainly watching things that aren’t available in 4K, maybe that’s money saved.
How to check if you have a 4K-capable TV
Start with the big box
Obviously, if you want to stream in 4K, you need to have a 4K-capable TV. On most TVs, checking whether it’s 4K-capable is a simple matter of going into the settings and following the prompts, although it’s not always as painless as it should be.
If you have a Samsung TV, you can go to Settings, then Support, then Picture Diagnostics, then Picture Test to check your display capabilities; the TV will say “4K” or “UHD” if it is indeed capable. If you have a Sony TV, you can hit the “Display” button your remote while playing content to see the current resolution. And if you have an LG TV, you can go to Settings, then All Settings, then General, then About This TV.
Or if you want to cut through all that, all you need to do is find a 4K video on YouTube (you can find that by searching “4K video,” playing it, going over to the settings gear icon, and making sure you can select the 2160p video quality. (Somewhat confusingly, although it’s called 4K, the resolution you’re actually going for is 3840 x 2160, hence why you’re checking for 2160p.) If you can, your TV is 4K-capable. This method will work no matter what kind of TV you have.
External devices and cables
The annoying middlemen of the 4K streaming experience
If you stream through an external device rather than through the TV itself, you’ll need to make sure that your device is 4K-capable as well. Popular devices like the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X natively support 4K, so if you have one of those, you can rest easy. The Apple TV 4K, another popular choice, obviously streams in 4K, as does Google’s TV Streamer.
If you’re using a Roku or Amazon Fire TV Stick device, it will depend on the kind you bought. Usually it’ll be right there in the name. For instance, the Fire TV Stick 4K and Fire TV Stick 4K Max stream in 4K, but the standard Fire TV Stick does not. Similarly, devices like the Roku Streaming Stick 4K, the Roku Ultra, and the Roku Streaming Stick Plus all support 4K, but the older Roku Streaming Stick and the Roku Express do not.
If you’re streaming using an external device, you’ll need 4K-capable cables to hook it up to your TV. Your best bets are the Ultra High Speed HDMI cable (HDMI 2.1) or the Premium High Speed HDMI (HDMI 2.0), whereas standard HDMI cables designed to handle 1080p resolutions will not work. Look for labels on the cables or the packaging that say “Premium High Speed” or “Ultra High Speed.” And if you can’t find them but you know that your TV and external streaming device are 4K-capable, simply check the settings on your TV and see if it will let you display in 2160p. If it doesn’t, your cables may be the reason why.
How to check if your internet is fast enough
Get your mbps up
In order to stream in 4K, you’ll need a suitably fast internet connection, generally no less than 25 mbps (megabits per second), and the more you have, the better. 50 mbps is preferred if you want a smooth experience.
Checking whether you have the horsepower is pretty easy. Simply use an online speed test tool like Fast.com or Speedtest.net. All you have to do is open one of those websites and it’ll do the rest for you, telling you almost immediately how fast your internet is. If you don’t have enough speed, it may be time to talk to your internet service provider or switch plans.
What I Wish I Knew Before Buying a New 4K TV
I thought 4K would be simple. It’s not. But it’s totally worth the learning curve.
Other things to keep in mind
Remember that even if you have everything you need, 4K streaming may falter now and then for any number of reasons, like if you’re streaming at the same time as everyone else and the signal drops a bit. There are also ways you can adjust your 4K TV if it looks blurry to you, and there may be ways to get a 4K setup without breaking the bank.
And here’s the hidden option: if you have to check to make sure you’re actually streaming in 4k, it means you probably can’t tell the difference by just looking, which means you may be just as happy streaming something in 1080p as you would in 4k, in which case you can save yourself some money and get the cheaper option.
