Viewers cannot distinguish the native 4K picture from interpolation.

Human vision is not enough to distinguish a real 4K video from a picture that was obtained from an HDTV image using interpolation. Such conclusions can be drawn from the results of a Russian study conducted by the Romir holding.

The results show that for most indicators (quality, clarity, realism and contrast) viewers absolutely equally appreciate the native 4K video and the result of interpolation, and for two indicators (saturation and brightness) the result of the “fake” is even higher than in real 4K.

As part of the study, Romir interviewed 300 Russians for comparing 4K native and 4K upscaled formats. The respondents were shown fragments of two videos on television and asked about the perception of various video parameters.

These are interesting results, given the efforts that manufacturers are making in the promotion of 4K TVs. For different brands, 4K models now account for between 50% and 70% of sales. Moreover, TV shows with a resolution of 8K are being shown at exhibitions, although there is practically no content for them yet: neither films, nor television channels.


The 8K frame is 16 times larger than the HDTV frame, that is, high-definition television with a resolution of 1080 lines

Irina Grandel, director of business development, partnerships, and the paid model of the ivi online cinema, says that kinonovinki will become available in 4K native only in a few years, so video services now independently interpolate content from Full HD in 4K. For example, on the same ivi there are more than 200 units of content in 4K format, and half of them are converted by software. Some other video services consider such methods to be a hoax of viewers and refuse to interpolate films.

There are no Russian films in the 4K format yet, but the distributors hope that in 2019-2020 the fashion will get to the local filmmakers. Among Russian cinema halls, only 150–160 of about 5,000 rooms are equipped with 4K projectors. Experts say that it’s very difficult to distinguish the 4K format, especially if you don’t watch the movie in the first row.