4K Premium: 4K IPTV for compatible TVs

4K Premium is our package for people who care most about picture quality. When a channel or programme is available in 4K Ultra HD, it streams at roughly four times the pixel count of Full HD, which makes the biggest difference on large screens and in fast-moving sport, where fine detail in the crowd, the pitch and the players is easier to see.

Our best 4K plan is 12 months on 1 screen for £74.99, which works out at £6.25 a month. Select this plan on the prices page.

What you need to see real 4K

4K only appears when every link in the chain supports it. If one part can't, you'll see HD instead, and HD Premium would have been the better-value choice.

A 4K TV and the right HDMI port

Your TV must be a 4K (Ultra HD, 3840 × 2160) model. Many TVs only support 4K input on some of their HDMI ports, usually labelled HDCP 2.2, 4K@60Hz or similar. Plug your streaming device into one of those.

A 4K-capable streaming device

The device running your IPTV app must output 4K and decode HEVC (H.265) video. Recent 4K streaming sticks and boxes do, while many older or entry-level sticks top out at 1080p. Our devices guide covers the common options, including the Amazon Fire TV Stick range and Android TV boxes.

Fast, stable broadband

4K streams carry much more data than HD. As a rough guide, allow around 25 Mbps of real-world speed for each screen watching in 4K, with headroom for everything else in the house. For comparison, Netflix recommends at least 15 Mbps for its own 4K streams. Stability matters as much as headline speed: a wired Ethernet connection or strong 5 GHz Wi-Fi close to the router avoids most buffering problems.

A player app that handles 4K

Most modern IPTV players support 4K playback on 4K hardware. If you're choosing an app for the first time, see our guide to IPTV players.

Checking you're really getting 4K

Once you're set up, it's worth a quick check that nothing in the chain is holding the picture back:

• The device's output: on a Fire TV, look at Settings > Display & Sounds > Display; on Apple TV, Settings > Video and Audio > Format; on Google TV, the advanced display settings. Each should show a 4K resolution.
• The TV's input: pressing the info button on many TV remotes shows the resolution arriving at the HDMI port. If it says 1080p, try another HDMI port or cable.
• The stream itself: many player apps show the current stream's resolution in their information overlay. Remember that only channels and programmes available in 4K will show it.

HDR and 4K

Some 4K content also uses high dynamic range (HDR) for brighter highlights and richer colour. Live 4K broadcasts often use HLG, an HDR format developed by the BBC and Japan's NHK for live TV, while films more often use HDR10 or Dolby Vision. Most 4K TVs sold in recent years handle HLG and HDR10. If HDR pictures look dim or washed out, set your device to switch to HDR only when the content uses it (Apple TV calls this Match Dynamic Range) rather than forcing HDR all the time.

Who 4K Premium suits

• Households with a 4K TV of around 50 inches or more, where the extra detail is most visible.
• Sports fans who want the sharpest picture when 4K coverage is available.
• Homes with full-fibre or fast cable broadband that can carry 4K to more than one screen.

If you mainly watch on a smaller TV, a phone or a tablet, or your broadband is under about 25 Mbps, the HD Premium package gives you the same lengths and screen options for less.

4K Premium prices

Every price is the total for the full length. The figure underneath is what that works out at per month. Select any price to open it in the plan selector.

Longer lengths cost less per month. On 1 screen, 36 months works out at £4.72 a month, compared with £14.99 for a single month. If you're new to IPTV, a shorter plan lets you confirm everything works on your setup first; our guide to subscription lengths explains the trade-off.