What 4K streaming requires
- A 4K source: upscaled HD gains nothing
- An efficient codec: H.265 or AV1, at roughly 12 to 25 Mbps
- A viewer connection of about 25 Mbps
- A 4K screen and a device that decodes the codec in hardware
- For licensed content, hardware-level DRM and HDCP 2.2 on the display link
What it costs
At 16 Mbps, an hour of 4K is about 7.2 GB of delivery, against about 2.25 GB for 1080p at 5 Mbps: more than three times as much for each hour watched. Encoding takes longer and is priced higher, and the extra renditions add storage.
Adaptive streaming softens this. Only viewers with a 4K screen and a fast connection are sent the top rung, so the average bitrate across an audience rises much less than the headline figure suggests.
4K and HDR
HDR, high dynamic range, widens the range of brightness and color and is often the more visible improvement. Most 4K services deliver the two together, in formats such as HDR10 and Dolby Vision, which adds mastering and encoding steps.
When it is worth offering
- Films, drama, nature and sport watched on large televisions
- A premium tier that needs a clear reason to exist
- Content mastered in 4K whose rights holders expect it to be shown that way
- Not for mobile-first catalogs, talk formats or sources shot in HD
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