By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man –Follow on & X.
Former Sony employee and editor of 4 TV magazines.
TV Answer Man, I’m excited for the Super Bowl to be in 4K! Do you know if Fox is doing any college basketball games in 4K this week? I want more sports in 4K, please! — Martin, Greenbelt, Maryland.
Martin, Fox’s regular season 4K HDR (High Dynamic Range) coverage of college basketball comes to a close this week with two games: Villanova at Xavier at 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday (February 7) and Providence at Butler on Saturday (February 10) at 2 p.m. ET. The two games will be simulcast in HD on FS1.
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The network will continue 4K broadcasts of college hoops next month with games from the Big East and Pac-12 tournaments. You can see a schedule here.
How Can You Watch Fox’s Games In 4K?
Fox’s 4K games can be seen in the format on the Fox Sports app by logging in with your TV Everywhere user name and password from your pay TV provider. (Note that the Fox Now app is no longer available.)
The pay TV services that are expected to carry the Fox games in 4K on special 4K channels are DIRECTV, Dish, Comcast, Verizon, Optimum, DIRECTV Stream, YouTube TV, and FuboTV. (In FuboTV markets where the Fox affiliate is provided with your programming package.) Check your on-screen guide for more details.
(To find out what you need to watch 4K on the Fox Sports app, including which devices are compatible, click here. We can’t overemphasize the importance of having a device that Fox says is compatible for 4K.)
What Is Upscaled 4K On Fox?
Fox’s 4K college basketball and football broadcasts are upscaled from 1080p HDR (High Dynamic Range). Upscaling is the process when one video format is converted to another. Fox takes the 1080p HDR signal and converts it to a 4K format. Upscaling 4K is not considered as good as native 4K, but the inclusion of HDR can offer heightened colors and vividness.
Also note that ESPN will offer a college game in 4K on Saturday. See this article for details.
Martin, hope that helps. Happy viewing and stay safe!
Have a question about new TV technologies? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvanswerman.com Please include your first name and hometown in your message.
The TV Answer Man is veteran journalist Phillip Swann who has covered the TV technology scene for more than three decades. He will report on the latest news and answer your questions regarding new devices and services that are changing the way you watch television. See the bio for Phillip Swann here.
