4K allows you to view picture in stunning quality. You’ll get four times the detail of High Definition (HD), plus richer, deeper colour.
What’s the difference between 4K and HD?
- Four times the pixels (8.29m vs 2.07m)
- Superior picture quality (50 frames per second vs 25)
- Richer, deeper colour (10-bit detail vs 8-bit)
- With BT 4K you get our 4K recordable TV box which has a 500GB memory. So you can record up to 300 hours of SD TV, 125 hours of HD TV or 30 hours of 4K TV
What will I get with 4K from BT?
- An exclusive, dedicated TNT Sports Ultimate channel, showing the best of TNT Sports in 4K, with selected programmes in HDR or with Dolby Atmos audio. We'll deliver the best possible viewing experience for the device you're watching on. Find out more about TNT Sports Ultimate >
- A 4K recordable TV box (only available on BT) which comes with 500GB storage
What do I need to get BT 4K?
- A BT 4K recordable TV box
- A compatible 4K ready TV. Check if your 4K TV is compatible here . You can buy a range of compatible 4K TVs from the BT Shop >
- Miniumum speed of 44Mbps is required
If you joined us for BT TV after 21 February 2020
To watch BT TV in 4K, you’ll need to append the HD + 4K add-on to your flexible TV package, which is available as a monthly-rolling pass. Add it by logging into My BT.
If you were a BT TV customer before 21 February 2020
You'll be able to watch 4K if you have the Max or Total Entertainment package. If you want to change plan, you’ll need to move to one our new flexible packages.
How do I order BT 4K?
Visit www.btcom.ll-digital-sandbx1.bt.com/tv > or call us on 0800 917 7614.
More about 4K from BT
No, you can do it yourself. If you can’t connect your 4K recordable TV box directly to the BT Hub using the Ethernet cable, you can use Mini Connectors which plug into the socket. You can buy them from the BT Shop >
4K won’t work using older broadband extenders and powerline adaptors.
If you’d prefer an engineer to install it you can order this, but there’ll be a charge. The engineer can also hardwire your TV box to your Hub to give you the best connection.
On average we'll be showing one live event a week throughout the season - that’s across all of our sports events.
Yes. Like On Demand programmes, the 4K channel is sent over your broadband connection.To watch 4K On Demand content and the 4K channel, your broadband must be working.
There's less broadband speed available for other services when you're watching the TNT Sports Ultimate channel. So when you've finished viewing an 4K programme, it’s best if you change to a Freeview channel.
No, not if you watch through your 4K recordable TV box. Watching 4K content through other services (like YouTube) will count towards your broadband usage. So you might be charged depending on the package you’ve got.
Yes, the TNT Sports Ultimate channel is included in the Connected Red Button application.
More about the 4K Recordable TV Box
The main difference between the recordable and 4K recordable TV box is that the 4K recordable TV box can play 4K content, as well as Standard Definition (SD) and High Definition (HD). The recordable TV box can only play SD and HD.
You can watch and record the TNT Sports Ultimate channel in the same way as your Freeview channels. When you’ve got enough line speed, you'll be able to watch an 4K channel at the same time as recording another HD Extra TV channel. If you start having trouble with picture quality, try watching or recording in SD instead.
The 4K recordable TV box comes with 500GB of storage. You can record up to 300 hours of SD TV, 125 hours of HD TV and 30 hours of 4K TV.
Yes. 4K recordings will fill up your hard disc drive quicker than SD and HD recordings.
No. It would affect the picture quality too much to support two boxes with 4K subscriptions on both.
But you can have a TV or recordable TV box as your second one instead.
If you have a surround sound system you'd like to use, make sure it supports UHD/4K pass through with HDCP 2.2.
If it doesn't, we recommend you use the Audio Return Channel (ARC) from your TV to connect your sound system to.
Yes. You'll need to take our Total Entertainment or Max BT TV package, and have an 4K TV in order to watch Netflix 4K.
I'm watching Netflix through an app on my Smart TV - will this affect how much of my broadband allowance I use?
Watching Netflix through your Smart TV or other gadgets counts towards your broadband usage. If you now start watching Netflix through your 4K recordable TV box, it won't count towards your broadband allowance.
More information if you've already got BT TV
Yes, it’ll all be available on the new box.
No, unfortunately broadband extenders and powerline adapters don’t work with 4K. You'll need to replace them with Mini Connectors or arrange a chargeable engineer installation.
No, the recordings are saved to the hard drive on your box so we can't transfer them.
Yes. When you get the Max or Total Entertainment package, you’ll need to renew your TV contract for another 12 months. You might also need to renew your broadband contract if you have less than 12 months left on your current one.
You'll need to sign up to the Max or Total Entertainment package to get 4K content.