DIRECTV has unveiled a new schedule of 4K programs and they include four more programs in both 4K and HDR.
AT&T, which owns DIRECTV, said last month that the satellite TV service will air 13 NBA games in 4K HDR this season, starting with the Cleveland Cavaliers-Milwaukee Bucks game on December 19. (HDR, which stands for High Dynamic Range, can add more vivid and realistic colors to a 4K broadcast as well as greater contrast.)
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Upcoming 4K/HDR games will include Portland-Oklahoma City at 8 p.m. ET on January 9 and Charlotte-Detroit at 12:30 p.m. ET on January 15. They will air on DIRECTV’s live 4K channel, which is 106.
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In addition to the new NBA games, DIRECTV will air two ‘exclusive’ entertainment programs (Drone Wars and Mix: LA) in 4K/HDR on channel 104, starting January 11 and January 12 respectively. The satcaster did not disclose further details on the two programs.
Other sporting events coming to DIRECTV’s channel 106 in 4K only are:
English Premier League Soccer
1/3 – Arsenal vs. Chelsea, 2:45 pm ET
1/14 – Liverpool vs. Man City, 11:00 am ET
1/20 – Man City vs. Newcastle, 12:30 pm ET
1/31 – Tottenham vs. Manchester United, 3:00 pm ET
NCAA Basketball
1/4 – UCLA at Stanford, 10:00pm ET
1/7 – USC at Stanford, 10:00pm ET
1/10 – Colorado at USC, 10:00pm ET
To watch the live 4K channel on DIRECTV, you must get a compatible 4K TV, a DIRECTV HD DVR54 Genie System (or above), and installation of the Genie by a DIRECTV technician.
DIRECTV has changed the minimum package required to get its live 4K channel to Select so more subscribers could access it as well as the satcaster’s two other 4K channels, which are devoted to recurring programming and Video on Demand.
However, the NBA games require an XTRA package or above.
Last note: If your 4K TV does not support 4K HDR, the broadcast will still display in regular 4K.
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— Phillip Swann
Any word on expanding their MLB 4K offerings?
I just saw a video on the internet where a higer up employee said that directv would be delivering baseball games on the MLB channel in 4K starting this year. Now if they could only start doing all the NBA games in 4k!
Directv had MLB in 4K in 2017.
Mr. Swann – been following your site for years, thanks for all of you do. Do you know much about the HLG format that these are now broadcasting in from DirecTV, seems like it’s since their implementation of HDR? Ever since DirecTV began broadcasting in this format, the picture quality for my TV has been tremendous. I have a Vizio P-65 from 2016, so I’m not sure if it’s an issue with the TV or DirecTV. Would appreciate any thoughts you have here?
I see where NBC will be broadcasting a good chunk of their 2018 Winter Olympics
in 4K HDR. How much if any of this 4K HDR content will DirecTV pick up and pass
on to us?