4K TV but no great picture? This may be due to | Tech

If you have a small television, you will notice the difference between 4K and Full-HD less well. After all, you are at some distance from the TV and a higher resolution becomes especially desirable as the size of the TV increases. But if you notice that your TV shows images in a poorer quality, then it may be because of this.

Chances are that the HDMI cable you are using is just fine, as a suitable HDMI cable is often supplied with the purchase of a TV or a media device that can be connected to your TV. If you still have problems with the picture quality of your TV, it is smart to check the HDMI cable.

The higher the maximum image resolution of your television, the more data must pass through the HDMI cable to achieve this quality. Not all HDMI cables can pass the same amount of data, so the wrong cable can affect your image quality.

To actually display 4K resolution on a television with 4K support, you must use an HDMI 1.4 or HDMI 2.0 cable, but there is a difference in image refreshment between these two cable types. With HDMI 2.0 (max. 60Hz), the image is refreshed twice as fast as with HDMI 1.4 (max. 30Hz), making the image appear smoother. When watching sports and action movies, or playing video games, the highest possible refresh rate is desirable.

In order to show 8K quality, you need an HDMI 2.1 cable in addition to an 8K TV, but you can also use this cable on a 4K TV for an even faster image refresh. For example, the new Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 can take advantage of a higher refresh rate of 120Hz. Of course you must have a suitable TV to be able to use these settings. Since 2019, there are TVs on the market that support HDMI 2.1.

What you put in, you get out. With streaming services such as Netflix, you sometimes need a more expensive subscription to watch supported movies and series in 4K resolution. With a cheaper subscription you often watch a resolution of 1080p or even 720p.

More and more providers also offer the possibility to view content in 4K, but you often have to expand your package for this. Usually you have to request a separate set-top box from your provider that supports 4K. And even then, there are relatively few stations that broadcast in this higher image quality. While zapping, you will come across few TV programs that are shown in 4K resolution.

At the moment, an 8K TV is not very useful. There is not that much content available that can handle this high resolution, making it difficult to get the most out of these types of TVs today. However, 8K TVs are becoming more affordable.

If you watch programs, films or series via a streaming app, the quality of your internet connection is important. More data is required to display a higher image resolution. If your internet connection cannot handle this higher data flow or the connection is too bad, it will automatically switch back to a lower image quality. So find out how stable your internet connection is and what you can do about it.