Can 4K AppleTV downscale 4K to 1080p?

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Level 1

4 points

Can 4K AppleTV downscale 4K to 1080p?

Hi! The question seems silly, but it's not. Please read.

iTunes H.264 1080p content has noticeable image compression artifacts. I have a 1080p projector and the difference between Blu-ray (less compression) and iTunes 1080p using an AppleTV 3 is noticeable.

I assume, or hope, that 4K iTunes movies, if downscaled to 1080p, can look sharper and cleaner than the current H.264 1080p movies. Is this possible? In other words, even if I set the box to output 1080p, can it stream/download the 4K version, and then downscale it to 1080p?

I'm in no rush to replace my 1080p projector, BTW...

Thanks!

Posted on Nov 14, 2017 6:50 PM

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Answer 1

vazandrew

Level 8

40,348 points

Nov 14, 2017 8:49 PM in response to Guayaquilean

The 4K content is only available via the Apple TV 4K and even then you would still need a compatible monitor. Physical media will always have higher quality, due to the higher bitrate, although iTunes 4K does look fairly close but you would need the aforementioned hardware.

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