Q. I watched Wonder Woman 1984 on my Roku Premiere last night on our new TCL 4K TV. But I couldn’t tell if it was in 4K. The movie’s description says it was HD, not 4K. Isn’t Wonder Woman 1984 on HBO Max supposed to be in 4K? Am I doing this right? — Glenn, Riverside, California.
Glenn, you’re not seeing things, so to speak. Wonder Woman 1984, which premiered on HBO Max yesterday, the same day it debuted in movie theaters, is available in 4K on the streaming service. But I have received several e-mails in the last 24 hours from viewers who were confused about whether they were actually watching in the picture format. The fact that some Roku devices list the movie as being in HD, not 4K, has added to the uncertainty.
But here’s the scoop: HBO Max says the HD designation on some Roku devices, including the Roku premiere, is a mistake. The movie is in 4K.
“Certain Roku’s may display an “HD” icon but actually stream in 4K. If you are using a compatible device with the proper setup, Wonder Woman 1984 will stream in 4K for you,” HBO Max’s customer help team tweeted yesterday.
The customer support team does not explain why the Roku description says ‘HD’ rather than ‘4K’ or ‘UHD,’ but it does offer some tips on how to ensure you’re getting the best picture possible. For starters, the service recommends an Internet speed of 50 Mbps or higher. If you have that, and a TV and/or streaming device that supports HBO Max in 4K, it suggests that you check whether your HBO Max app needs an upgrade. (In Roku, you can do that by hitting the asterisk button and clicking on Upgrade.). If the app is an older version, it may not have received the 4K upgrade.
Finally, HBO Max suggests making sure you’re using a high-speed 4K HDMI cable. You can see more tips here.
By the way, the devices that support 4K on HBO Max are:
Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K and Fire TV Cube
Android TVs, including: AT&T Streaming Box
Apple TV 4K
Google Chromecast Ultra and Chromecast with Google TV
Roku Ultra 4800x, Roku 4k TVs, Roku Premiere, and Roku Streaming Stick+
Xfinity X1 (Xi6) and Flex
Glenn, hope that helps. Happy viewing, and stay safe!
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— Phillip Swann
Never mind the the movie it self sucks….there is no way this is 4k, it looks 480p..really bad and i have a LG C9 Oled
I used the smart TV app, so no HDMI cable involved, and it was 1080p according to my TV.
It looked 1080p too, but no big deal, it’s fine. The TV is 4K HDR compatible Samsung, so it’s upscaling features helped out.
When I watch something from Prime, Apple, or Netflix’s smart TV app that’s 4K HDR, it’s very noticeable and apparent I’m watching 4L HDR.
It was HBOmax’s first 4K movie, so some bugs are to be expected. Just admit you F’ed up and trying to resolve it.
But instead of admitting that, they are hiding behind a “well it’s actually your fault, not ours” excuse?
That’s BS.
if you have a TCL 4k tv with Roku built in, WW84.shld not only be 4k, but Dolby Vision HDR. also, Dolby Atmos, if you have supporting soundbar/audio.
Ww84 esta en español??
The movie was terrible. The plot was ridiculous. She wasn’t Wonder woman until halfway thru the movie.
Wow! I still can’t believe HBO still has not fixed this as Little Things also shows HD on my Roku Ultra 2020, but it shows as Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos on my cheaper TCL Android TV.