Over a decade after the firing of the first4 K TV ’s , for some reason live goggle box has remained almost entirely restrict to 1080p ( or low ) resoluteness . An interwoven entanglement of outdated capture and statistical distribution infrastructure that is not yet cost effective to update has left unrecorded television in the geezerhood of childlike HD . As usual , where major transmission line web have drop the ball , major streamers are trying to plunk up the slack . YouTube TVis leading the accusation to offer bouncy boob tube in 4K. Some of it , at least . And if it seems like it ’s taken always for that to happen , you ’re not ill-timed .
The basic fact is that it takes a lot of bandwidth to stream video — and that ’s even more difficult when you ’re talking analog TV , ( and more so still if it ’s a live event like sports ) . So it ’s not really that much of a surprise to learn that most live channels stream at 720p resolving — or maybe 1080p if you ’re lucky . ( We ’ll give frame rate out of the equivalence for a min , but it ’s a thing , too , specially for sport . )
For the most part , 4 K resolution — we ’re talking 2160p — is pretty operose to issue forth by . FuboTVhas had some in the past , and YouTube TV has conjoin the 4 K party via its optional 4 yard Plus add - on . And it ’s a swelled deal . When you seem atYouTube TV versus Hulu + Live TV — which is its full-grown competitor — you ’ll quickly note that 4 K is something the latter definitely lack on the live front .
That YouTube TV 4 K Plus add - on really gets you three major features , and they definitely help justify the price ( especially considering that you do n’t get everything in the eminent resolution ) . They are :
Those are the with child head — and 4 yard is but one feature in the bag ofYouTube TV tips and trick — so allow ’s break it down a bit . Here ’s everything you take to know about 4 K cyclosis on YouTube TV .
YouTube TV 4K price and how to add it
First things first : You ’ll demand an exist YouTube TV subscription if you want towatch anything in 4K. That run for $ 83 a calendar month ( as of April 2025 ) , plus tax . The 4 K Plus add - on costs another $ 10 a calendar month .
So with no other MBD - ons , including 4 KiB on your YouTube TV subscription will be a total of $ 93 a calendar month .
To add together the 4 K Plus add - on to your subscription fee , you ’ll need to go into your YouTube telly account from a vane web web browser . ( Click your incarnation in the top right corner , then chooseSettings , and thenMembership . Orthis link should take you right there . ) depend for the4 K Plusadd - on , then add it .
That ’s also where you’re able to strike down the 4 K Plus add - on if you decide you do n’t require it any longer .
NFL Sunday Ticket and YouTube TV in 4K
We detest to be the bearer of regretful news , but buy the 4 K Plus add - on does n’t automatically get you 4 K resolution on everything . And that includesNFL Sunday Ticket , which is now useable exclusively on YouTube and YouTube TV .
That ’s the bad news . There ’s also some regretful news . Some NFL games might actually be limited to 720p . That ’s not great , though at least the programme are still being streamed at 60 frames per second , which absolutely is a must for live sports .
While 4 K resolution would be with child when it hail to hold up sports — and it most surely is peachy — it ’s also not a deal - breakers . Apple has shown withMLS Season Passhow a great 1080p streamcan be perfectly capable , and in many ways itcan actually be better .
But for now ? No NFL Sunday Ticket in 4 K resolution on YouTube TV .
What can you watch in 4K on YouTube TV?
Adding the 4 K Plus add - on does n’t magically upscale everything on YouTube TV to a in high spirits resolution . That ’s just not how it works . You ’ll still need the content itself to be available in 4 thousand resolution to actually make use of that part of the tote up - on . ( We ’ll recapitulate , again , that it ’s really just one - third of what you get , though it ’s in spades the most crucial third . )
you’re able to split what ’s available in 4 kilobyte resolution into two category : On - demand , and go . You ’ll come up a caboodle of show available on - requirement from Discovery , FX , Tastemade , and Nat Geo . That include high - profile titles likeWhat We Do in the Shadows , Snowfall , Make This Tonight , Struggle Meals , andHow It ’s Made — and that ’s just for starters . And they look smashing in 4 kilobyte resolution , as you ’d have a bun in the oven for something that ’s been prerecorded and optimized for cyclosis .
Where 4 K content really shines , though , is when it come to resilient effect . And by that , we really mean sportswoman . On that front , you ’ll regain live games and event from ESPN , Fox Sports , and NBC Sports . What ’s available is seasonal , of course . In the fall , you ’ll find college football game and the English Premier League , for deterrent example .
summercater in 4 K are still pretty few and far between , but we ’ll take whatever we can get . The best way to find out what ’s coming up is to arrive at theHometab on YouTube TV , and then the4 K filter .
This is the part where someone will stick out up and yell , “ But it ’s not lawful 4 thou ! ” And they ’re almost for certain correct . When it add up to fun , what you ’re almost certainly watching is some form of upscaled provender . That is , it ’s shot in either 720p or 1080p ( in all likelihood the latter ) , then upscaled at the root to 4 K resolution , and then streamed by YouTube TV . Yes , aboriginal 4 K would be a peck estimable . That ’s what you get when you ’re watching a movie or show on Netflix or Amazon Prime Video . But moving that much data in actual sentence to as many people who catch a alive sporting consequence is really hard . So for now , we still have to contend with upscaling .
But here ’s the thing : sport in 4 K aspect better . A lot comfortably .
What devices support YouTube TV in 4K?
This is where thing get a little sly . Not every spell of ironware out there supports 4 K resolution , of course ( and your television also will have to have a 4 K panel ) . Here ’s the official tilt of twist that patronize YouTube TV in 4 K :
manifestly escape from that lean are WWW browsers , despite the fact that you could discover a 4 K monitor fair affordable these 24-hour interval . YouTube telecasting clear out there at 1080p .
It ’s also worth mentioning that the 2017 modeling of Apple TV 4 K is miss from that list , but we ’re starting to see some message available on that old mannikin in the full 3480 x 2160 resolve .
What else do you get with YouTube TV 4K?
As remark above , message in 4 green resolution is just one - third of the features that are let in in the 4 K Plus parcel .
In addition to everything looking better , you ’ll also be capable to download memorialise show to a fluid machine for offline screening . That mean you wo n’t involve a data point joining to watch , say , Snowfall , while you ’re on the subway . Just hit the download release ( it attend like an pointer pointing downwardly ) for the show . If the button is grayed out , the content is n’t available for download .
You ’re circumscribed to one equipment at a time for downloaded message . You wo n’t be able-bodied to watch that show on another equipment before first deleting the downloaded translation .
The other feature included in the 4 K Plus add - on is the power to learn on as many devices at once , so long as you ’re doing so on your habitation net . That feature work for menage member under the same account , too .
If you ’re outside your home mesh , you ’ll still be limited to three current at once .
