YES.
Oh my, how it feels good to say that.
In a recent earnings call, Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch had this to say:
With very positive feedback and we’re excited to be the first broadcaster ever to stream the Super Bowl in 4K.
You can get the whole transcript of the call at Seeking Alpha if you’re willing to register with them. But these words are pretty clear.
The real question is, what does it mean?
Mr. Murdoch said “stream the Super Bowl.” It’s not clear at this point if you will need a 4K streaming box to do it. It’s not clear which apps or which services will give you the capability. You would think that it would be the Fox Sports app, which is free on most streaming hardware. But we don’t know.
More frustratingly, we don’t know, as I write this in mid-December 2019, if the Super Bowl will be in 4K on DIRECTV. If it is, that’s guaranteed to be a better option for customers than streaming. 4K takes a lot of bandwidth and since the Super Bowl is the most-watched program of the year, things are bound to get clogged up. With DIRECTV it doesn’t matter how many millions of people are watching. Everyone gets a great experience with no buffering.
Hopefully there will be some clarification soon on this point, because this is something we’ve all been waiting for. My article asking if the 2019 Super Bowl would be in 4K was one of the most read news article of the year. Obviously there’s some demand there.
Get ready with a 4K upgrade from Solid Signal
If you have a 4K Genie Mini Client, you’re already set. If you don’t, you’ll need to make sure you have the right dish, an HR54 or Genie 2, and that 4K client. You can get everything you need in this one kit available from Solid Signal. You can self-install a lot of this stuff using our Ultimate Guide to Upgrading, but if you need professional installation we can help arrange that for you as well.
Will DISH users get the Super Bowl in 4K?
Right now we don’t know. Of the major pay-TV providers, only Comcast, DISH and DIRECTV have strong 4K capabilities, with DIRECTV coming out on top due to its three live 4K channels. We have seen 4K football from all these providers this season so hopefully if it’s available to one it will be available to all.
Because… this is the wrong time to stream
Streaming has come a long way in a short time. Today it’s so common to stream full-quality HD that we don’t even think about it. Believe it or not most of us couldn’t do that just five years ago. But, streaming isn’t perfect. It relies on individual connections between each box and the server farms that provide the programs, and that means things can get clogged really fast. If you still have even the slightest problem watching Netflix in the evening, you will probably have some sort of snarl trying to stream the Super Bowl in 4K while your neighbors are trying to do the same.
The solution is simple: Get a satellite TV system from Solid Signal. Satellite TV never buffers and always delivers the top quality. Get started by calling us at 888-233-7563 or, if it’s after East Coast business hours, fill out the form below. There’s still time to get the equipment you need!
