Definition: 4K TV

A TV set with a screen resolution of 3,840 horizontal and 2,160 vertical pixels (2160p). Advertised as 4K Ultra HD, most TVs are 4K today. With four times as many pixels as HDTV (1080p), 4K TVs use algorithms to "fill in the blanks" when displaying content lower than 4K, which is most of the time.

DVD (480p), Blu-ray (1080p) and cable TV (1080i) content is upscaled to 2160p, which provides better visual quality noticeable on screens 65" and above. See Ultra HD Blu-ray.

Native 4K Content Makes a Difference
Movies shot with 4K cameras always look best on a 4K TV. However, today's TVs are so sophisticated that many people find little difference between native 4K and upscaled 1080p (2K) content. The recording quality of the movie also has a lot to do with it.

When 4K TVs emerged in 2012, Sony offered a few 4K feature films on a hard disk player for its 84" TVs and later offered a paid download service. In 2018, cable and satellite providers began to offer 4K set-top boxes but content is limited.

4K TV Makes 3D Better
Although 3D TVs have mostly come and gone, 3D 4K TVs allowed each eye to receive a full 1080p resolution rather than only 540 lines (see 3D TV). See 4K resolution, 4K upscaling, 4K pass-through, 4K monitor, 2K and 8K TV.

   High-Definition Resolutions

   2K    1920x1080 (see DTV)

   4K    3840x2160

   5K    5120x2880 (see 5K monitor)

   6K    6144x3160 (see 6K resolution)

   8K    7680x4320 (see 8K TV)

Sony 4K Media Player

In 2013, Sony introduced an online store and this media player for 4K content. Ten inches in diameter with USB and SD card slots, its hard drive came preloaded with 10 feature films. There was limited 4K content at the time and Sony wanted to promote it.