In an ideal world, all broadcasters would offer 4K as standard, especially for big events like the World Cup. Sadly that's not the case, but the good news is that there are plenty of ways to watch the tournament in 4K – and some of them are even free!
We've hunted down all the ways to watch from all over the world, so whoever you're supporting – and whatever the result – you can enjoy the best viewing experience possible on the upcoming high-stakes matches.
How to watch the World Cup in 4K in the US
If you're in the US, watching in 4K is pretty straightforward.
If you want to watch all 104 matches in 4K, you'll need to be tuned to Fox and FS1 (Fox Sports 1). Between them, they will show all matches live and in 4K HDR – Fox has 70 games, while FS1 has 34. Fox and FS1 are available on DirecTV and Fubo.
You can also watch in 4K on Fox through Sling, but doing so is a little more complicated. Sling doesn't carry native 4K channels, but – like DirecTV and Fubo – it does include access to the Fox Sports App, which streams in 4K, and is available on Roku, Apple TV 4K and Amazon Fire TV devices.
How to watch the World Cup in 4K in the UK
As ever, the live games shown in the UK are split between the BBC and ITV. All of the BBC's 54 matches will be shown in 4K on iPlayer, though that will mean watching with a delay. The BBC's matches include England's group stage meeting with Ghana, England’s knockout games in the round of 32, round of 16 and semi-final and final (if they make it that far), plus Scotland's opener and final group match against Haiti and Brazil respectively.
The BBC and ITV's broadcast channels are limited to HD, as is the ITVX streaming service.
iPlayer uses the Hybrid Log Gamma format of HDR, which should improve the contrast for the World Cup games. The ITV broadcast channels and ITVX don't support HDR.
What about elsewhere?
Those viewing from elsewhere in the world can also enjoy the action.
Cristiano Ronaldo's YouTube channel CazeTV is showing all of the tourney's 104 matches in 4K, completely free. This is region-locked to Brazil.
Hong Kong's Now TV (not to be confused with Sky's on-demand service of the same name that was subsequently rebranded as Now), is also screening every game live in 4K. You can also add an AI Buddy Pass, which "integrates metaphysical wisdom with advanced artificial intelligence, combining data analytics and metaphysical insights to deliver World Cup matching analysis, and provides match strategies." Seriously.
However, Now TV doesn't include HDR.
Australians wanting 4K are out of luck – the tournament is on SBS, which is limited to HD.
Abroad? Traveling? Use a VPN to unblock your usual domestic 4K services from anywhere – we're currently using Norton VPN and it works beautifully.
Watch in 4K from anywhere
If you're travelling abroad during the tournament, you can still access your domestic 4K streams using this VPN (changes your country IP address with a click).
Norton VPN comes with up to 63% off, plus you can try it for 60 days with our deal below and see how it works out...
MORE:
The best World Cup songs to test your system
What's better for a World Cup TV – size or quality?
Ready for the World Cup? These are the 3 projectors you should consider
