Hey TV Answer Man! I saw your article about Fox and the World Series in 4K. My question is will I be able to watch it in 4K on the Fox Sports app on my Sony 4K TV? — Neal, Reno, Nevada. 

Neal, you’re right. The Fox Sports app this year will once again provide Major League Baseball playoff games in 4K, including the 2021 World Series. (To learn more details, click here.) The app also features a variety of other live sports events in the format, including college football games, NASCAR races, Thursday Night Football NFL games, the Westminster Dog Show and college basketball.

With Fox emerging as the leading provider of live 4K events, there has been considerable confusion over who can watch them, and how. Several pay TV providers, including DIRECTV, Comcast, YouTube TV, Fubo TV, Optimum, Dish and Verizon, among others, offer the Fox-produced 4K broadcasts on special 4K channels. But what if you don’t subscribe to one of them? Can you still watch 4K on the Fox Sports app?

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Yes, but here’s what you need:

1. A pay TV subscription that includes Fox.
You can access the 4K broadcasts on the Fox Sports app with your pay TV service’s user name and password. This known as your TV Everywhere credentials. So even if your provider doesn’t offer the 4K games on a special 4K channel, you can still watch them in the format on the app.

If you don’t have a pay TV sub that includes Fox, you’re out of luck.

2. A 4K TV and 4K device that’s compatible with the Fox Sports app.
This is where the confusion usually escalates. Some Smart TVs have the Fox Sports app in their app stores, but they may not be not compatible with the 4K broadcasts; you might be able to only watch games in HD using a Fox Sports app from your set’s app store.

To watch a Fox game in 4K, you need one of the following devices connected to your 4K TV:

* Amazon Fire TV (Generation 3)
* Amazon Fire TV Edition 4K Models
* Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Models (Generation 3)
* Apple TV 4K (requires app v3.23.2 and tvOS 11 or above)
* Roku Premiere

* Roku Premiere+
* Roku Streaming Stick+
* Roku Ultra
* Roku 4K/UHD TV models with Roku OS built-in

And that’s it. If you use a device not listed above, it won’t work. (Note: Some users say the Nvidia Shield also works, but we do not include it on the list because it’s not on the Fox recommended list.)

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Neal, watching 4K can be an enjoyable experience, but few people will say it’s also easy or consistent. Greater technology is usually accompanied by greater complexity and 4K is no different.

Hope that helps. Happy viewing, and stay safe!

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Have a question about new TV technologies? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvpredictions.com. Please include your first name and hometown in your message.

— Phillip Swann