The BBC is to stream dozens of World Cup matches live in 4K resolution and high dynamic range colour (HDR) to UK-based audiences in June and July.
So you want to watch the World Cup 2018 in beautiful 4K HDR well this year you can with BBC iPlayer and a compatible TV. The term 4K – which is sometimes referred to as being ultra-high definition (UHD) – refers to the fact that an image contains four times as many pixels as a 1080p high definition picture.
This can reveal details that would otherwise be obscure – including the notes written on a yellow or red card, or the time on a referee’s watch.
Many people, however, have found that it is HDR that provides the biggest “wow factor”.
The technology takes advantage of the fact modern TVs can go brighter and/or darker than they used to, providing a greater dynamic range.
As result, the shadows of an image can be made less murky while the highlights – including glints of light reflected off metal or water – can be given more impact.
World Cup Streams are limited
All 29 of BBC One’s World Cup matches are scheduled to be made available in 4K and HDR. But each will be limited to a few thousand people. So you need to be quick to jump on to a stream. Oh and you will need a pretty fast connection. The minimum recommended is 40Mbit/s. So it is unlikely to work on mobile connections.
The 2018 FIFA World Cup kicks off on Thursday June 14th at 4pm BST (ITV will show the opening match plus the opening ceremony), but these following 29 BBC One matches are the ones that will be available in 4K on iPlayer.
Group stages
Friday 15th June Egypt v Uruguay (A) 1pm (BBC One)
Friday 15th June Portugal v Spain (B) 7pm (BBC One)
Saturday 16th June France v Australia (C) 11am (BBC One)
Saturday 16th June Peru v Denmark (C) 5pm (BBC One)
Sunday 17th June Germany v Mexico (F) 4pm (BBC One)
Monday 18th June Belgium v Panama (G) 4pm (BBC One)
Monday 18th June Tunisia v England (G) 7pm (BBC One)
Tuesday 19th June Colombia v Japan (H) 4pm (BBC One)
Tuesday 19th June Russia v Egypt (A) 7pm (BBC One)
Wednesday 20th June Portugal v Morocco (B) 1pm (BBC One)
Wednesday 20th June Uruguay v Saudi Arabia (A) 4pm (BBC One)
Thursday 21th June Argentina v Croatia (D) 7pm (BBC One)
Friday 22nd June Nigeria v Iceland (D) 4pm (BBC One)
Friday 22nd June Serbia v Switzerland (E) 7pm (BBC One)
Saturday 23rd June Belgium v Tunisia (G) 1pm (BBC One)
Sunday 24th June England v Panama (G) 1pm (BBC One)
Sunday 24th June Japan v Senegal (H) 4pm (BBC One)
Monday 25th June Spain v Morocco (B) 7pm (BBC One)
Tuesday 26th June Nigeria v Argentina (D) 7pm (BBC One)
Wednesday 27th June South Korea v Germany (F) 3pm (BBC One)
Thursday 28th June Senegal v Colombia (H) 3pm (BBC One)
Last 16
Sunday 1st July 1B v 2A (Match 51) 3pm (BBC One)
Monday 2nd July 1E v 2F (Match 53) 3pm (BBC One)
Monday 2nd July 1G v 2H (Match 54) 7pm (BBC One)
Tuesday 3rd July 1H v 2G (Match 56) 7pm (BBC One)
Quarter-Finals
Friday 6th July Winner 49 v winner 50 (57) 3pm (BBC One)
Friday 6th July Winner 53 v winner 54 (58) 7pm (BBC One)
Semi-Finals
Wednesday 11th July Winner 59 v winner 60 7pm (BBC One)
Final
Sunday 15th July Winners of two semi-finals 4pm (BBC One)
No 4K TV but want to stream on the go
Fear not folks because if you do not yet have a 4K TV or you are out and about during the game you want to watch then there is a way you can stream all the games to your phone to tablet using Three’s Go Binge service.
Along with services such as Snapchat Three have zero rated TV Player so all you need to do is sign up to TV Player be on a compatible plan and away you go get streaming from a beach, park or anywhere you have signal.
June 17, 2018
My husband sure would love this post, but not for the football, for the technology! Alas I might have to hide it from him…
Tracy @bloggerbythesea x
June 17, 2018
Hehe yeah it is a bit like 🙈Football 🙉Football 🙊Football at the moment. We have found some Blue Planet II 4K content on BBC iPlayer as well. If not there is always Netlifx or Amazon Prime 🙂
June 17, 2018
I love my HD TV! It really is worth all the hype. I’ve never actually seen 4K but I imagine it’s crazy good. Watching sports with these TV would be insane. Great post, and I appreciate you listing all the days of each game!!
June 18, 2018
HD was amazing and the hype is worth it for 4K. It is like looking through a window. When we got ours took a while for the brain to get used to it. But once you have one HD feels like VHS 🙂