Streaming services such as Netflix, Disney, HBO, Amazon, iTunes, HBO Max, Apple TV+ etc.
By Perljack
#7174
I'm planning on buying a new TV for the family room this year and besides being utterly confused about almost everything, I'm also trying to decide whether to buy a Full HD or 4K.

I reside in California (if that makes any difference??) and I'm trying to figure out where and how to stream 4K content? I know that a HEVC chip is required, but is HEVC = 4K streaming? And how do I watch YouTube in 4K? Reading something about VP9... what is that..?

Thanks :?
#7178
Netflix has some 4K and Amazon Instant has started streaming in 4K, too. Both require a 4K TV with a built-in HEVC decoder, which is what they both use. But there's not a lot of content yet.

You can stream 4K from YouTube on a TV, but you need to make sure that the TV has a chip to decode VP9, which is Google's alternative to HEVC :)

There is also a service called UltraFlix, but their 4K content is heavily compressed. Too much to really qualify it as "4K". And Samsung owner can download some 4K content from the service called M-Go.

Hope this helps.
By Perljack
#7183
Thanks for the explanation. :)

So in essence I need a TV with support for HEVC and VP9 to be able to watch everything? Is Youtube alone in using VP9 and why?
By Couponbirds
#7840
I just searched the same questions and was directed into this page :? While the information is posted a year ago. Is there any changes?
By amy333
#7975
If you have a 4K TV, you're probably hungry for 4K content. Consumer Reports tells you where you can stream 4K movies and TV shows
By Sussan
#12358
I have been following this for a while as I want to watch the NFL in 4K (they film it in 8K) but it is not broadcast on TV in America in 4K. Some users have gotten streams from China in 4K for the Superbowl but that requires lots of bandwidth and an amazing connection. You might want to take a read here, I check back on this site every once in a while to see if they have any updates.
#15507
Sussan wrote:I have been following this for a while as I want to watch the NFL in 4K (they film it in 8K) but it is not broadcast on TV in America in 4K. Some users have gotten streams from China in 4K for the Superbowl but that requires lots of bandwidth and an amazing connection. You might want to take a read here, I check back on this site every once in a while to see if they have any updates.
Ok, thanks for info its very useful!
By nuriahernandez
#16054
without a doubt, the 4k is infinitely better than the rest of the known technologies, pity that there are still few films and documentaries in this format to be able to enjoy, thanks for the information, greetings
#38208
Recently bought Shield TV today and installed PureVPN to gain access to other libraries. I am in the US, and I connected to London in order to watch Better Call Saul S05. I got the bitrate info using F8 and it seems like the VPN is not good enough to get up to the full 15.25Mbps 4K; rather, it maxes at 7.something Mbps 4K. The Netflix speed test with VPN gets 74 Mbps down. I'm blaming the VPN because when I disable it and stream something in the US library, it easily gets up to the full 15.25 Mbps. So anyone got tips to improve speeds on Surfshark? Or does anyone have a different VPN suggestion that is known to reliably get the full streaming bitrate for international 4K Netflix? Thanks!