TV Answer Man, I have a tricky one for you that I can’t quite figure out. I have a regular HDTV but I am thinking of connecting a Roku 4K Ultra streaming box to it to try to watch the Super Bowl in 4K. Will that work? Is there anything special I have to do with the hookup to make it display 4K? — Sam, Owings, Maryland. 

Sam. Fox this Sunday will offer a high-def feed and 4K feed of the Super Bowl. The 4K feed can be seen on the Fox Now and Fox Sports apps as well as special 4K channels on Comcast’s Xfinity, Cox, DIRECTV, Dish, FuboTV, Verizon, Altice’s Optium and YouTube TV.

The Roku Ultra 4K streaming device is one of the Fox-approved devices for streaming 4K programming on the Fox Now and Fox Sports apps. (See this article for more details.) However, there’s one problem with your plan:

You need a 4K TV to watch anything in 4K.

Yes, you could connect the 4K-enabled Roku device, or another 4K-enabled streaming product such as Fire TV, to your HDTV. But it will only show high-def programming.

The good news is that a 4K-enabled Roku is compatible with any HDTV that has an HDMI port. While the Roku is 4K capable, it will still work on a high-def set. But the bad news is that it can’t make a high-def set display 4K.

If you want to watch the Super Bowl in 4K, you’ll need to upgrade your television. Retailers are offering a variety of good deals now, both in stores and online.

Sam, hope that helps. Happy viewing and stay safe!

Need to buy something today? Please buy it using an Amazon.com link on this page. This site receives a small portion of each purchase, which helps us continue to provide these articles.

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.

— Phillip Swann
@tvanswerman