Q. I have Charter Spectrum and I know they don’t do 4K yet which is ridiculous. But let me ask you if I could watch the Super Bowl in 4K if I use an antenna? I can use my antenna to watch Fox and Fox has the game in 4K, right? So would an antenna get me the 4K signal? — Penn, Santa Monica, California. 

Penn, Fox does have the broadcast rights to Super Bowl LIV, which takes place February 2, 2020 from the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. The San Francisco 49ers will play the Kansas City Chiefs with kickoff scheduled around 6:30 p.m. ET.

While you can get the high-def signal from Fox using a TV antenna, you will not be able to watch the 4K broadcast that way. Unfortunately, Fox, nor its local affiliates, transmits 4K feeds.

So how is Fox broadcasting in 4K, you ask?

The network is actually taking its 1080p HD signal and upscaling it to a 4K format, which will then be streamed to the Fox Sports app. You can watch the Fox Sports 4K stream on 4K-enabled Roku and Apple TV devices, but not an antenna.

(Comcast, DIRECTV, Verizon, Altice and fuboTV will also deliver 4K broadcasts of the game, using the Fox 4K stream.)

By the way, upscaling is the process when one video format is converted to another.
Upscaling 4K is not as good as what’s called, native 4K, which means the original event was produced in 4K, and broadcast or streamed in 4K as well. Still, the 4K broadcast should be an improvement over 1080i or 1080p HD.

Penn, sorry to disappoint you. However, let me add that if you do watch the game using an antenna, the high-def picture should be better than if you watch it using your Charter cable TV service. An antenna delivers a purer picture than cable TV.

Hope that helps. Happy viewing!

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— Phillip Swann

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