Are You Enjoying True 4K Quality in Your Home Theater?

Having trouble getting the best quality out of your brand new 4K Ultra HD television? You bought a new TV, but it looks nowhere near as good as it did at the store. A common issue is brightness. Every TV at your local retail store has its settings at maximum brightness, so they stand out in a busy store. That effect will not translate well into a residential environment, with images looking unnaturally sharp.

When it comes to the latest Ultra HD televisions, though, there are other problems to consider. In many cases, your home theater system is just not optimized to get 4K signals to your display. Read to find out some of the steps you can take to make sure you're getting dynamic, crystal-clear images any time you sit down to watch a game, TV or movie in your Detroit, MI home.

SEE MORE: How to Get High-Quality Sound to Your Home Theater

The Source

Having a high-quality source is vital to getting true 4K video resolution in your home theater system. If you don't have a strong signal to begin with, all your brand-new TV can do is make it look sharper than HD.

4K Ultra HD content is easier to find than ever before with companies like DirectTV, Comcast, and Netflix all contributing. How about enjoying your favorite movies in an Ultra-HD Blu-ray format? There are a variety of high-end media streamers and Blu-ray players to choose from for your theater.    

The Messenger

How you get that signal to your television is just as important. 4K signals are much larger than their high-definition counterparts, so traditional HDMI cables are not ideal for the job. The quality of your cables will be vital especially if your signal will travel more than six feet. Sparkles, flashing signs, or no images coming through are all clues you need to upgrade your HDMI cable. A good starting point is making sure you are using ones with HDMI 2.0 specs which means they’re designed to carry high-speed, 4K signals.

The Translator

Luxury home theaters should all include dedicated AV receivers. They’re the engine behind your entertainment space—helping you switch between video sources and directing audio to your surround sound speakers. Video signals need to be processed by your receiver before they make it to your display, so it's crucial that you upgrade to a 4K-compatible one.

If you have an old receiver that can't switch 4K signals, you'll get an image that is slightly better than high-definition but not true 4K. Not only that, but the message may not come through at all. Getting high-quality images to your display isn’t just about bandwidth. You also need to have HDCP 2.2 content protection throughout your path (source, receiver, and display) for the signal to get through.

The Display

Shopping for the right display is just as challenging. Picking between a projector-and-screen or flat screen is the first step. It will likely come down to the size you want and your budget restraints.

Research projectors and displays to make sure they offer true 4K resolution and not just upscaled images without enough pixels or HDR to qualify as 4K. It's best to work with established brands like Sony which offers high-end 4K televisions and projectors ideal for custom home theater installations. 

The best way to ensure you’re getting the best images possible in your home theater is to work with a professional. Our AV experts help you choose the best products for your space and optimize your installation to get a clear, reliable signal to your display at all times.

Want to learn more about our home theater services? Reach out to us by calling (248) 841-8500, filling out our online contact form or chatting with us on the bottom right of the screen.