By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man – @tvanswerman
TV Answer Man, I didn’t see any USFL games in 4K on my guide this weekend. Do you know if there will be any USFL games in 4K during the next week or so? — Pat, Wilmington, Delaware.
Pat, the new USFL, which has no connection with the old USFL which played from 1983 through 1985, returns with a new season on Saturday, April 15. That’s why your guide didn’t show any games in 4K. (You can see the USFL season schedule here.)
Fox did several USFL games in 4K last year for the league’s inaugural season and it will provide 4K coverage of three games for the league’s opening weekend this season.
The network’s 4K HDR (High Dynamic Range) coverage will start on April 15 with a doubleheader: Philadelphia at Memphis at 4:30 p.m. ET and New Jersey at Birmingham at 7:30 p.m. ET. Then, on April 16, there will be a Fox 4K broadcast of the Pittsburgh-New Orleans game at 6:30 p.m. ET. (The April 15 games will be simulcast in high-def on Fox network affiliates while the April 16 game will be on FS1.)
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The network plans to offer 24 USFL games in 4K during the 2023 regular season.
The games can be watched in 4K HDR on the Fox Sports app by using your TV Everywhere user name and password from your pay TV provider.
(You can learn more about which providers participate in the Fox 4K program here. To find out what you need to watch 4K on the Fox Sports app, including which devices are compatible, click here.)
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The pay TV services that are expected to carry the 4K broadcasts on special 4K channels are DIRECTV, Dish, Comcast, Verizon, Optimum, YouTube TV, and FuboTV. (In markets where the Fox affiliate is provided with your programming package.) Check your on-screen guide for more details.
Note: Fox produces most of its sporting events, including USFL, NFL games and college games, in 1080p and ‘upscales’ it to a 4K broadcast as opposed to shooting the event in 4K and transmitting in the same format. Upscaling is the process when one video format is converted to another. In this case, Fox takes the 1080p signal and converts it to a 4K format.
Upscaling 4K is different than what’s called, native 4K, which means the original event was produced in 4K, and broadcast or streamed in 4K as well. This is how ESPN produces its 4K sportscasts.
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
