Welcome to the Cox Community
Our community is a collaborative place to learn about Cox products and services. Jump into the conversation today!
Messages
Selected Messages
New Contributor II
•
4k Television
I'm considering buying a Samsung UHD 4k TV receiver, and have Cox as my provider. Does Cox offer 4k service? If not, or if only for certain programming, when will it be fully available to us subscribers? I'd like to know before purchasing one of the UHD 4k receivers.
Health_Edge
+5 more
Valued Contributor III
•
Cox doesn't provide any 4K content. I don't think any broadcaster is putting out any 4K content. Only find 4K online or physical medium, like a harddrive or soon coming to Blu-ray. I don't think there are any plans to provide 4K either. Cox is making room in the analog spectrum mostly for broadband bandwidth. Would be hard to burn the candle from both sides, so to speak.
0
0
hpu1966
New Contributor II
•
Health Edge, I'm most appreciative of your info and weighing in on this topic,but I gotta; admit I don't understand a thing you wrote! Back to the original question, does Cox expect to offer 4k UHD any time soon?
0
0
Health_Edge
+5 more
Valued Contributor III
•
In short; no.
0
0
Domino
Valued Contributor III
•
What channels even have 4K video? Cox can't offer any 4K until some 4K channels actually exist. And talk about bandwidth hogs...
0
0
Bruce
+4 more
Honored Contributor III
•
Service providers, such as Cox, Verizon, Time Warner and DISH, won't provide 4K content. They don't even provide full high-definition content (1080p). Our service providers don't have the capacity to handle all that bandwidth to all their subscribers.
As far as 4K sources, you'd have to look to the Internet. Internet sources connect to your UHD TV via Smart Apps on your TV, a Roku player or an Internet-connected media server in your home. That's the "online" Health mentioned.
Even if your UHD TV is connected to the Internet, you'd have to find a 4K source. Netflix and Sony offer a few films you can download to a media server and play on your UHD TV.
As opposed to down loading an entire film before you can watch it, there are new streaming services becoming available...at a price of course. A streaming service is like YouTube. Meaning, you don't download an entire video from YouTube to your computer but, instead, watch it as it's transmitted from the server at YouTube. You watch it while it "streams" from the Internet.
As far as these 4K Internet sources: UltraFlix, Netflix 4K and 4K streaming from Amazon Instant Video.
4K Limitations:
UHD adds more pixels but, currently, it's coloring process is limited to 2K technology. UHD has the potential for a wider color gamut, but there is NO technology to implement it. Meaning, you'll see more detail but the color will be off.
Even if the color technology for 4K soon becomes standardized and implemented, your Samsung TV will not properly handle it. Your Samsung must have "Full Capability" HDMI 2.0 connectors. Full Capability passes data at 18 gigabits per second. Your new Samsung will only pass data at 10.2 Gb/sec.
People purchase 4K just to brag about it, but in reality, they couldn't tell the difference between 4K and 2K. Save your cash and wait until you can tell the difference. And I don't mean tell the difference at Best Buy because Best Buy uses special equipment to produce 4K images for the UHD TV sets on their shelves. Do you have special equipment in your home?
0
0
hpu1966
New Contributor II
•
Very informative and useful, Bruce...thanks for weighing in on this one!
0
0
kenneymcc
New Contributor
•
0
0
Domino
Valued Contributor III
•
Does that TV have HDMI version 2.0 compatible circuitry?
0
0
hpu1966
New Contributor II
•
kenneymcc, bear with me on this question...are you saying that 4k content streamed via the internet is what's giving you such great, clear pictures? Do you see any similar improvement in clarity for the signals received through your Cox TV cable? And when you stream from the internet, what are the sources you are tapping into...Netflix, Amazon, etc.?
Thanks for joining in on this one...all info is valuable, and I started with practically no info!
0
0
kenneymcc
New Contributor
•
0
0
kenneymcc
New Contributor
•
0
0
Bruce
+4 more
Honored Contributor III
•
Yes, your Sony is equipped with HDMI 2.0 ports, but are the ports "full implementation" or "full capability" HDMI 2.0? "Full" HDMI 2.0 ports will properly handle the advanced color of 4K, which is 18 gigabits per second. Your Monster cable may be rated at 18 Gb/sec but are the HDMI ports on your TV, cable box and A/V receiver rated at 18 Gb/sec? Sony will list HDMI 2.0 on the spec sheet but leave out the bandwidth because they won't reveal what their products can't do.
Your 4K may look "amazing" but the technology hasn't reached its full potential. For example, there is no standardization on an expanded color gamut, compression scheme, high dynamic range or high frame rate. If you buy a 4K TV now and such standardizations are finally reached later, your 4K won't properly handle the picture. Your 4K will still provide a picture, but the color will be wrong.
In addition, the 4K sets on the shelves and in the warehouses today won't be future proof. Meaning, again, if the standardizations are finally reached, you won't be able to just update the software or firmware on your current set. It'll be hardware changes.
4K TV sets are at stage of cell phones in the 90's. Yes, they're a great idea but there's room for drastic improvements. Until the Consortium standardizes the technologies, it will be the Wild, Wild West of formats for any 4K content.
0
0
kenneymcc
New Contributor
•
0
0
Domino
Valued Contributor III
•
Ver 2.0 HDMI chips just recently became available. Sony hopes a software update will work. HDMI.org isn't convinced it will work.
0
0
Bruce
+4 more
Honored Contributor III
•
All your examples are consumer-electronic equipment designed with ADOPTED standards. It's not a question of the best equipment or the latest gizmos and buzzwords. It's a question of the industry adopting a standard so Hollywood, audio/video equipment makers, film distributors and Internet entrainment sites can produce fully-compatible media no matter what the consumer plays it on.
Currently, there is no technology available to implement the full color potential of 4K Ultra High Definition TV. The possible standards are as follows:
- REC709 (B.T.709) is the existing HD standard for the color gamut of 1080p, which is what your Sony is using. It's 2K technology.
- x.v.Color (xvYCC) is not a defined color gamut. It's only expands the color of the existing HD color gamut standard, REC709. Since it's not a standard, not all movies will be encoded with it and not all video equipment will recognize it.
- REC2020 is widely suggested but may not work.
- P3 is currently used for theatrical digital projection (DCI [Digital Cinema Initiative]).
Using your color TV example, it's like buying an early color TV based on either the dot-sequential color system, line-sequential system or Telechrome...only to discover later the FCC adopted the NTSC Compatible Color System.
0
0