Unlike TV shows and movies that can 'zoom in' to read a fingerprint on security camera footage from 20 yards away, real-world scaling can do a little but can't work miracles. The thing is, this isn't magic - nor is it perfect. A scaler figures out what's an edge, and then makes some assumptions as to how to make that edge finer. The finer the edges, the more apparent detail, for the most part. The basics are this: detail refers to how sharp the edges are. The math and logic behind how an image is scaled (and scaled well) is way beyond the scope of this article. Put another way, they have four times as much screen real-estate to fill. If you were to watch 1080p content on your 2160p TV without upconverting, it would look like this: 1080p on a 4K TV without upconversion.Īll 4K resolution TVs have four times as many pixels as 1080p TVs. Pretty much all cable, satellite, streaming, gaming, Blu-ray and other video content is 1,920x1,080 pixels (which is called 1080p and 1080i) or 1,280x720 (called 720p). Your 4K TV has a resolution of 3,840x2,160 pixels. Upconverting, upscaling and scaling explained We've covered this issue before when talking about converting standard-definition to high-definition, but with 4K TVs becoming more prevalent, it's time for an update. Done right, it can add to the perceived detail of the image, but you'll have to look pretty hard, and sit pretty close, to see the difference. Most 4K TVs use a process called upconverting (or upscaling) to convert incoming sources to fit their 4K screens. The short answer is that a 4K TV could improve the picture a bit in the best cases - but don't expect miracles. Since that'll be the case for many years to come, how much would a 4K TV actually improve the picture?

4K TV is less of a mouthful than 3.84K TV.)īut real 4K video sources are still few and between, which means most of us will be watching content in good, old-fashioned 'regular' high-def: 1,920x1,080 (1080i or 1080p) or 1,280x720 (720p), both of which have far fewer pixels than 4K.

(4K TVs - also known as Ultra HD sets - are so named because that 3,840-pixel horizontal resolution is almost 4,000 pixels wide. If you listen to the marketing from TV manufacturers, it seems TVs with 4K resolution will deliver a massive boost in picture quality.Īnd, if you're lucky enough to actually have a source of real 4K video - one with the same 3,840x2,160-pixel resolution as 4K TVs - you may well be able to see additional detail. As usual, bonus points if you can figure out where I took it within 50 miles. I exaggerated it a bit so you could see the difference in lower resolution.

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