Demystifying 4K Resolution: The Complete Guide to Ultra High Definition Video

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What is 4K Ultra HD? Everything about 4K Resolution Explained

Here I have a crack at answering the FAQ about 4K to liberate you from endless consulting and confirmation. Now, let’s start with what is 4K.

By Candice Liu ｜Last updated on July 8, 2021

If you are one of the tech-minded early adopters in daily life, you may have seen scads of new TVs, camcorders, and other products sporting a 4K logo. But beyond being familiar with the hottest buzzword, do you know what exactly does 4K mean? Are there some big differences between 4K and 1080P or among 4K, 8K and 10K Ultra HD ? And if 4K ultra hd videos or movies are playable on your mobile device? How can you get to 4K contents? And any recommendations about top free 4K video player?

What is 4K (Ultra HD)?

Google 4K and you will get the right answer of What is 4K Ultra HD video based on various technical websites. But usually the explanation is so tedious that makes you lose interest in reading. Here let me tell you what is 4K in brevity: 4K means more pixels than HD or Full HD.

To put it another way, a 4K ultra HD TV picture is 3,840 x 2,160 pixels, more than 8 million pixels in total, which is four times the number in ‘normal’ high-definition (1,920 x 1,080). There’s so much detail and depth in the picture that it almost feels 3D at times-and you won’t need special glasses to watch it.

And what makes 4K so special lies in the incomparable advantages of 4K ultra high definition. See, it provides you with higher image definition quality, more detailed picture, better fast-action and larger projection surface visibility. No wonder that many a user speaks highly of 4K and regards it as a breakthrough tech that’s shaking up the industry and rewriting the rulebook on image quality.

When we are used to watching videos or movies in 720P, 1080P, it would be a tad strange to see the next-generation resolution called 4K UHD. Why it is called 4K? I bet there would be someone having the same question mark as me. Eventually, I figure it out. Usually the industry named 1080/720P resolution after image height, but this time 4K marks a switch from the previous generation. Since the images in 4K are around 4,000 pixels horizontal resolution, it named 4K after image width. Also fine, if you insist to call 4K as 2160P. See how to compress and convert 4K UHD to 1080P

4K versus Ultra HD , Are They Different?

Some users asked on forum about the confusion about 4k and Ultra HD. Whether they are the same or not? To illustrate you, there is actually some logic to the new UHD term. Two terms exist basically because it provides a way of distinguishing between the 3,840 x 2,160 resolution adopted by 16:9-ratio TVs and the slightly different 4096x2160 resolution first introduced in digital cinemas. Actually, for most people the two terms have become interchangeable (8K display would also be UHD).

4K VS 1080P, How does 4K Differ from 1080P?

Compared with 1080P, 4K does offer you with shaper image added with more depth and more colour resolution to the picture, resulting in images that look incredibly life-like. It’s advisable for you to watch 4K videos or movies on 50-inch or larger TVs to see the difference between 1080P and 4K. And correspondingly, 4K video also takes a solid 1Gb-per-second connection for reliable playback, which means fast hard drives and faster-than-usual Internet and network connections needed. The Difference Between 4K UHD vs 1080P Full HD

Different from before, when you go from a 480 to a 1080p set, there is a good chance for you to make a big jump in TV size as well, but speaking of 4K UHD, this time screen sizes are staying about the same, and what you need to do is to sit closer to 4K TV since sitting closer allows the same sized screen to fill more of your visual field without the image breaking down and yields greater immersion.

How Can You Get Access to 4K Video?

There are growing numbers of streaming options available, like YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Instant Video. You can watch it and even save it offline if you have a superb free 4K video downloader. MacX YouTube Downloader is the one, which is 100% free for you to free download 4K ultra HD video or movies from YouTube, Facebook, Dailymotion, Twitter, Vimeo, Vevo, etc. 1000+ sites with any format and resolution, be it 4K HEVC (H265), 4K (H264), 4K MP4, 4K MKV, AVI, FLV, WMV, F4V, 3GP, etc. What’s better, its developer team constantly upgrades this free 4K downloader at average frequency of 1 week. Thus, this 4K 2160p video downloader will successfully analyze 4K video without the bothers of YouTube algorithm updates. 100% clean, no malware. You can also choose MacX Video Converter Pro to convert 4K to 1080p, 720p or 4K HEVC to 4K H264 and more.

where to get 4k videos

But if you’re more of a physical media type of man, Ultra HD Blu-ray launched in 2016 has opened up a slew of new choices. Still, in case that you prefer to possess the 4K videos by yourself, you can also record 4K 60fps/30fps videos with iPhone or other 4K-compatible smartphones and tablets, capture 4K UHD videos with Sony, Cannon, Panasonic camcorders, DJI drones, or GoPro etc.

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Watch 4K Ultra HD Videos without Any Hassle

Though 4K enjoys a great popularity nowadays, it doesn’t mean all your devices and applications are compatible with 4K UHD videos. As far as I know, iMovie and Final Cut Pro cannot import 4K at 60fps videos for editing; iPhone and iPad shipped with A8 chip or later can play 4K videos indeed, but the resolution will not exceed the iPhone models’ 1334 × 750 and 1920 × 1080 resolution; likewise 4K videos cannot be watched with origianl quality on Macbook Pro/Air and Windows PCs. So how can you play 4K videos without any hassle.

Firstly, the 4K UHD TVs or monitors are highly suggested. Almost all HDTVs more than 40-inch have the ability to play 4K UHD videos.
The4K video players like VLC, 5KPlayer, MX Player etc. are also wise choices. You’re able to watch 4K UHD videos on Mac and Windows PCs, even if in lower resolution.
Try play 4K videos on iPhone iPad Android devices with applications like WALTR. For example, 4K videos can be played directly on native Video app with WALTR app.
The last option comes to process 4K videos to best fit your devices’ display resolution. Of course, it may not be called play 4K videos, but the HD.

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Demystifying 4K Resolution: The Complete Guide to Ultra High Definition Video