Forum Discussion

Rowkuser's avatar
Rowkuser
Channel Surfer
2 years ago

Apple says it's Roku's fault that *some* 4K movies stream only in HD

I realized recently that several movies I bought in 4K from iTunes are streaming only in HD via the Apple TV app. To be clear, other 4K movies are streaming fine via the app. After going back and ...
TV & Player settings
RokuJohnB's avatar
RokuJohnB
Community Moderator
2 years ago

Hi Rowkuser,

Welcome, and thanks for raising this concern directly to us!

We understand you are having trouble with the movies on your Roku device playing 4K content since, upon playing the video, it was showing only HD. We're happy to help. There are several reasons why 4K movies on Roku might only play in HD, including: 

HDMI settings:

Incorrect HDMI settings on your TV or an incompatible HDMI port can prevent your streaming player from playing 4K. You can try using a different HDMI port that supports HDMI 2.0 mode or later, and make sure all HDMI cables are firmly attached. 

Display Setting:

You can change your Roku's display type by going to Settings > Display type. If your Roku doesn't detect support for 4K or HDR, even though you're using a compatible TV, you can try making sure all connections support HDCP 2.2.

TV compatibility:
 
You can use any TV with an HDMI connection with a 4K Roku streaming player, but you won't be able to experience 4K resolution unless you have a compatible 4K TV. 
 
Hope you'll find this info useful. Let us know if you still have any questions.

All the best,
John
  • Rowkuser's avatar
    Rowkuser
    Channel Surfer
    2 years ago

    Thanks for the response, but none of those are related to the issue. It's not as if I can't stream any movies in 4K via the Apple TV app. I can. The issue is that some specific 4K movies (purchased at that resolution) only stream in HD. And it's consistent. The same 4K movies always stream in 4K or don't.

    I'll give you an example. I bought the James Bond Collection in 4K. All 25 movies are available in 4K, but Dr. No, From Russia with Love, Goldfinger and No Time to Die (most oddly, since it was released in 4K to begin with) are streaming in HD via the Roku Apple TV app. The others stream in 4K.