How to connect your 4K HDR ready systems to your 4K HDR TV

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4K HDR combines High Definition clarity with extraordinary High Dynamic Range colour and brightness. To enjoy it, you’ll need both a 4K HDR television and compatible content. If you’ve invested in these, or you’re thinking of doing so, you’ll want to know how to connect your television to other 4K HDR ready devices.

Which cables do you need?

To support 4K resolution, you’ll need high-speed HDMI cables to handle the extra data. 4K is four times the resolution of 1080p (Full HD), with an associated increase in data size. For HDR, a good quality, high-speed HDMI cable is necessary. The best advice is to purchase the best quality HDMI cable you can.

Most, if not all, 4K content is HDCP 2.2 protected, meaning that your TV and media player must also be HDCP 2.2-compatible. All current Sony products are HDCP 2.2 compliant.

Note that you will need to change the HDMI signal format to ‘Enhanced Format’ on the TV, or you won’t see the top quality picture your system is designed for.

Upscaling and pass-through

Upscaling and pass-through are two important features that help maximise the 4K experience, as well as the capabilities of your 4K system when playing non-4K content.

4K upscaling improves lower-resolution data so that it looks better on a 4K HDR television. The result is that the playback quality of non-4K content is improved, giving you a more enjoyable viewing experience.

With Sony products, you can choose the device that provides the best quality upscaling – so if your TV has a good upscaler, you don’t need to use the upscaling on your Blu-ray player as well. Upscaling can also be applied to audio, such as DSEE HX upscaling technology on certain Sony audio products.

4K pass-through is a feature that enables 4K data to move through a 4K system unaltered, ensuring best quality as content is sent from device to display. The STR-DN1080 audio receiver and the HT-ST5000, HT-ST800, HT-NT5 and HT-CT790 sound bars have this feature built-in. To check your product, visit the Sony support website or find the 4K pass-through logo on the product box.

You may also hear the term ‘standby pass-through’. This is a different, though useful, feature and simply means that any signal can pass through a device (e.g. a receiver) when it is in standby mode. Say, for instance, that you’re watching a film using TV headphones, or it’s late in the evening and you don’t want to use your sound bar or receiver, you can still benefit from the best video quality.