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4K refers to super-sharp display and video technology where the resolution is roughly 4,000 pixels wide. Detail is the whole point of 4K – most of the time, you won’t be able to see the pixels in a 4K display, so everything looks natural and sharp. It’s great for photos, videos and gaming for this reason, but actually it’s superior for just about everything – it’s nicer when text looks smoother on a computer, for example.
The vast majority of the time, 4K refers to a specific resolution of 3840 x 2160 (which is also known as ‘Ultra HD’) – this is the resolution of all 4K TVs and 4K video streams from the likes of Netflix or YouTube. Some cameras record in what’s often known as ‘Cinema 4K’, which is a resolution of 4096 x 2160. You may find that some computer monitors refer to themselves as 4K, and will have a horizontal resolution around 4,000 pixels, but have a different height to the resolutions mentioned above, such as ultra-wide monitors. The width is what makes something 4K or not.
You’ll mostly see 4K referred to in TVs of 40 inches and above, in computer and laptop monitors, on video streaming services, and in video recording on cameras or phones.
Latest about 4K
Finally, a high-end 4K TV with DisplayPort is coming this year
4K at 180Hz over DisplayPort, on top of the HDMI 2.1 connections? It's a rarity, but Hisense has done it with its next-gen RGB TV
Here are the 4 4K Blu-rays I'm most excited for in April 2026
April 2026 is set to be another month packed with great new 4K Blu-ray releases, so I've picked the top 4 I'm most looking forward to testing.
I’ve lived with Samsung’s new flagship OLED TV, and it's pretty spectacular
After initial testing, the Samsung S99H/S95H QD-OLED TV is a high bar for 2026's other models to clear
Netflix made a big change to its Apple TV app, removing a ton of functions
Some Apple TV owners are unhappy with Netflix's updated app, which drops the tvOS player and some of its features
A Roku TV update broke OTA channels without internet, but it'll be fixed
And here I thought that half the point of over-the-air channels these days is so you don't need the internet…
It's official: TCL will make Sony's future TVs in a new joint venture
End of one era, the start of a new one — here's what to expect
This 'fantastic for the price' mini-LED TV is the best budget buy right now
Save over $1,000 on the launch price of the terrific TCL QM7K mini-LED
I compared the LG G6 OLED TV against the G5, and it's a big upgrade
The LG G5 was one of 2025's best OLED TVs — but the LG G6 improves in the right places, even more dramatically than I expected
