Have you ever wondered what happens when you try to watch 8K content on a 4K TV, or 4K content on an HD TV?
The truth is, that content creators design their videos in specific resolutions and formats, meaning your TV may have to handle a variety of content.
So, let’s dive into what happens when you play different-resolution content on various TVs!
What happens when you play 8K content on a 4K TV?
Can a 4K TV handle 8K content? The simple answer is yes, but the accurate answer is that, it depends on the source.
While a 4K TV can technically play 8K content, it won’t be able to display it in full 8K resolution due to the difference in pixel density.
For instance, when you try to play an 8K video on YouTube, on a 4K TV, the source, which is YouTube, will recognize the display as 4K but the content as 8K.
As a result, it will automatically adjust and downscale the signal so it can be viewed on the 4K screen.
However, not all sources may have this capability. If a video source isn’t able to automatically detect and downscale the signal, the 8K content won’t be viewable on a 4K TV.
In essence, while a 4K TV can indeed play 8K content, it can’t show it in native 8K resolution unless the video source can downscale the signal for display on a 4K screen.
What happens when you play 4K content on an HD TV?
Well, picture this: a 4K TV has four times more pixels than an HD TV.
Now, imagine you take an arbitrary image and zoom it by 1.5x. Save a copy of this zoomed image as the standard for comparison.
Now, again zoom it further to make it 2x of the original. You will notice that it loses its details and becomes blurrier than its previously saved 1.5x copy.
Now, bring it back to its original size by zooming in it. It gradually gains more details and becomes of higher quality than its previously saved 1.5x copy.
The same goes for playing higher-resolution content on a lower-resolution screen.
When you play a 4K movie on an HD TV, you’ll notice an increase in clarity and overall quality compared to playing the same movie in HD. The 4K movie will look much better on the HD TV.
Sure, playing a 4K movie on an HD TV might put some extra load on the processor and cause a slight temperature rise, but the picture quality will be enhanced.
Of course, it won’t be as amazing as watching a 4K movie on a high-end 4K TV with HDR and WCG support, but it will still be quite good.
Premium HD TVs with a good processor can display 4K content as good as, or sometimes even better than an average low-cost 4K TV.
What happens when you play HD content on a 4K TV?
Now that the prices of many good 4K TVs have come down, people are buying them without much thinking. But, most of the content available for streaming is still in HD resolution.
Now the obvious question is, what will happen to the picture quality if I watch HD content on a 4K TV?
From the logic told in the previous answer, upscaling the content from HD to 4K may be perceived as an increase in the pixel count.
You can understand it better if you try to zoom out an image from its original size. In that case, you are prone to lose the details.
Similarly, if you play the HD content on a not-so-good 4K TV, you may lose the sharpness in details.
The image may appear blurry and slightly worse than what it would look like on a simple HD TV.
On the other hand, if you have a premium 4K TV, then it may do better upscaling and retain the sharpness and picture quality.
But, in most cases, the HD content will look better on an HD or FHD TV. Similarly, 4K content on a 4K TV will look amazing.
Which resolution to choose?
Many streaming channels offer HD content. So, if you have a good HD TV, you will have a very good watching experience as you are watching HD content on an HD TV.
While, if you are fond of finding out and watching 4K content, then watching that on a premium 4K TV will blow your mind.
For 8K, I would suggest checking your budget first. In many cases, you may not get a significant improvement over 4K.
Moreover, there is a lack of 8K content at present, which means, you can’t utilise the full capabilities of the TV.
Some of the best 4K TVs render better visuals than many pricy 8K TVs.
