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All you need to know about 4k

3 min read

4k resolution

4k TVs are the new craze, and they’re here to stay… Good news! Because our ConvertXtoVideo can now convert to 4k!

With four times the resolution of standard HD, 4K Ultra HD delivers the clearest, most realistic video possible.

Here is all you need to know about it.

What is 4K?

4k tv resolution

Almost 20 years ago, people started watching DVDs (which have a resolution of 720 pixels). Then Blu-ray arrived, with 1080 pixels (official in 2006).  The more pixels, the bigger the size which explains why optical disks sizes have also increased from DVD 5 and 9 GB to Blu-ray disk 25 and 50 GB. And now, we’ve moved on to 4K!

That there are different 4k resolutions but the two major ones are  4096 x 2160 pixels and 3,840 x 2,160 pixels. Cinema industry has opted for 4096 x 2160 pixels whereas Television (UHDTV) and YouTube have a resolution of 3,840 x 2,160 pixels.

Where can I get/watch 4k video? 

4k videos are available for buy, rent, and stream from various free and paid services. Netflix, Hulu and Amazon both provide 4k streaming content, and more will follow!

You can watch 4k videos online, (see YouTube example below), but you might not get the full effect unless you have 4k screen resolution, the image might seem sharper to you nonetheless:

(make sure to click on the settings button in the bottom right of video and switch to  get YouTube to display in 4k)

Should you convert to 4K ?

A 4K display reveals so much more nuance and detail – the difference can be astonishing, but ONLY if you own a MASSIVE screen (at least 65 inch)…  Without a screen that big and the resulting room needed to sit back and watch it, the human eye will not see the difference with HDTV. That’s because, as the screen size shrinks, the advantage of having such a pixel dense display starts to diminish.

Video  professionals and photographs will however definitely enjoy the enormously enhanced resolution, as you can see from the exemple below (from 4k.com)

4k comparison

What do you need to play 4k videos?

To play 4k videos you need at least 2 things: 4k videos + Ultra HD TV (also called UHD TV, otherwise the contents will be downscaled to the real resolution of your TV)

4k and VSO products:

4k videos are supported as input files in all of our products.

If your files are already in 4k, you can convert to 4k resolution by using any of those generic profiles: avi, mp4, mkv.  (those will keep the same resolution as the input file).

With ConvertXtoVideo, Blu-ray Converter and DVD Converter) you can convert non 4k videos to 4k resolution! You will need to create  a custom profile, see below.

1: Select “Custom Profiles” in the list of output formats, then “Click here to add a custom profile”

4k conversion

2: Name your custom profile (you will save it and use it again whenever needed, once created!), then select any of those three formats: Avi, Mkv, Mp4, then click Next.

convert to 4k video resolution

3: In this window, you need to select   4k in “Video Resolution”

watch 4k videos

You’re done, click on “next” until you reach the final window and save your profile. Then insert your video and click on “Start”. That’s it!  (more info on custom profiles in this guide).

To play your resulting file on your TV, you can stream it from a media center or transfer it to a USB stick (make sure your 4k TV accepts 4k videos through USB and check which video format (Avi, MP4 or Mkv).

You can download 4k streaming content with VSO Downloader. Nothing special to do, just open the software and play the streaming content in your internet browser.

We’ll add more support for 4k in the future!

Check out http://4k.com for more info, TV guides, etc.

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