Well friends, it’s 2024. That means a lot of things, for sure. But in the context of this article, it means another year without 4K over-the-air reception for the biggest sporting event in the US. In fact, this is the 57th consecutive year without 4K over-the-air reception for that particular, if you think about it. Out of what our lawyers would call an “abundance of caution,” I’m not going to use the name of the event, although you know when it is and you know it comes on a Sunday every year about this time. The lawyers tell me that because this blog is used to sell things, using the name could imply some sort of endorsement. I think that’s silly but whatever. You all know what I’m talking about anyway.
I don’t generally care about 4K except when I do
I’ve been a critic of 4K over the years. I still maintain that unless you have ridiculously sharp eyesight you’re not going to be able to tell the difference on anything smaller than an 84″ television. For most of us, good old HD is going to look great as long as the bitrate is high enough. You’ll always get the best possible HD picture quality from over-the-air, which is why Solid Signal sells so many antennas.
When high definition TV was new, one of its biggest selling points was the quality of sports TV. That February football game was one of the first things I watched in HD, and I remember it being amazing. I feel the same about 4K, at least where it comes to sports. Or, I would feel that way if there were enough 4K content to make it worth my while. And let’s be honest, there hasn’t been. Even in the past when FOX has shown football in 4K, it hasn’t truly been 4K. It’s been 1080p content that’s scaled up to 4K. It still looks great because you’re preserving a really high bitrate signal. But it’s not 4K.
This year our options for 4K seem to boil down to two: slim and none: CBS has never had 4K aspirations in the past. Yes it’s true that its streaming service, Paramount+, has a decent amount of 4K content but it’s all stuff produced in advance. This year’s Super Bowl will be, if I’m not wrong, their first live 4K event. Let’s hope it goes well for them… but it doesn’t matter. While you’ll be able to see the game in 4K on DIRECTV and in other ways, you won’t see it over the air.
You know that all the cameras and production equipment is 4K. Because of course it is.
The game is being played in one of the most sophisticated and new stadiums in the league, Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Personally, having been to Las Vegas multiple times, it’s absolutely the worst place to put a stadium. Trust me, traffic in that area is bad enough without tens of thousands of fans all exiting at the same time. But all that having been said, it’s definitely going to be a technologically advanced stadium. I’d bet a nickel that all the production equipment is at least 4K, and it’s probably pre-wired for 8K compatibility. Certain NFL stadiums have been using 8K cameras for some time, to give more options for camera coverage. It sure wouldn’t surprise me if this one was.
But, that’s just going to make me more annoyed. To have all that high-tech gear and then only put out an HD signal is pretty frustrating. At least that’s how I see it anyway.
All the complaining in the world…
…isn’t going to make CBS magically light up 4K broadcasts of the game. And, realistically, even though there are plenty of CBS affiliates who are testing ATSC 3.0 in their local markets, that doesn’t mean they could actually broadcast in 4K anyway. The current testing environment lets them provide exactly the same content on both ATSC 1 and ATSC 3 channels, and that means the exact same. The only reason anything looks better on ATSC 3 is that there’s a higher bitrate. It’s not about HD or 4K at all.
In order for there to be a 4K broadcast of the game, at least over-the-air, CBS would have needed a special waiver from the FCC which, I’m guessing, would have taken months to get. We’d all know about it. It would have been in the news. So, let’s be honest. There’s not going to be some sort of miracle here. The game will be in 4K plain and simple.
Looking forward to 25
So, ok. The game generally switches back and forth between CBS and FOX. Fox has produced their sports coverage in 1080p, then sampled it up for 4K and down for HD. It’s possible that by the time they get to air the game again, they’ll have a true 4K production of it. And then of course, they’d have to distribute it.
I can’t count on 4K streaming because you never know if you’re going to truly get 4K. With so many people trying to stream at the same time, congested internet lines may struggle to even get you an HD stream. The only way to know for sure you’re getting the best possible quality would be 4K over the air. Will it happen? I guess the powers that be have a year to try. Let’s hope they’re successful.
