YouTube TV is understandably a huge draw. Access to hundreds of live channels, unlimited show recordings, and sports-centric features like key moment playback is more than worth it for many. But does upgrading to the 4K package on top of the YouTube TV base plan really get you a better experience, and is it actually worth it?
What is YouTube TV’s 4K package?
Just about everything comes in 4K when streamed, depending on what service you use – they’ll often include 4K content in the base plan, which makes it easier to swallow when deciding which one to go with. The unfortunate part about YouTube TV is that it’s mostly pulled directly from local and national television broadcasts, which stream at 1080p and 720p, so you never have the chance of grabbing a 4K movie by coincidence.
Instead, YouTube TV’s upgraded 4K content comes in the form of extra channels that offer 4K resolution in addition to 1080p and lower. Those channels include the following:
- Discovery
- ESPN
- FOX Sports
- FX
- Nat Geo
- NBC Sports
- Tastemade
- MLB Network
Of those eight, half are sports channels. Of course, that makes a lot of sense and in the case when you want to watch football, soccer, or basketball in 4K, YouTube’s extra package seems like a good deal.
In addition to YouTube TV’s monthly cost of $64.99, the “4K Plus” plan adds an extra $20 to your bill, for a total of $84.99/month, so long as you don’t add anything extra. That’s undeniably a large chunk of money for most users.
On top of that, you’re really only getting eight more channels with 4K supported content, and depending on what you frequently watch, that channel package may be less than interesting. You could choose one or two and find their dedicated streaming services to set up shop in. For example, if you like what NBC has to offer, try Peacock.
Is YouTube TV’s 4K genuine 4K?
Interestingly enough, a lot of what YouTube TV offers in the way of upgraded 4K content isn’t genuine 4K. Though it may be difficult to tell, most content coming out of the $10/month add-on is just 1080p content upscaled to 4K. It’s worth noting that upscaled content does look very good and has the ability to pass as native 4K nine times out of ten, however, it’s just not the same.
For instance, the World Cup 2022 in Qatar has had every match streamed via Fox Sports and its corresponding channels via YouTube TV. Fox Sports, of course, is included in the 4K Plus plan and offers the streams in that higher resolution. Unfortunately, that content appears to just be upscaled 1080p and not native 4k.
Testing this on YouTube TV led to some interesting results. Switching back and forth between 4K and 1080p made almost no difference at all, with the 1080p version almost looking better in some regards. On top of that, using the Fox Sports app on Google TV provided better 4K results than YouTube TV did, even though they are, in fact, streamed with the same cameras, equipment, and so on.
