Can you run 4K at 120hz on HDMI 2.0 Port?

[Xottyk]

Hello, with the next gen consoles coming out I’ve heard they’ll be able to support 4K at 120hz. Is this combination possible to hit with an HDMI 2.0 port? I’ve heard mixed things about the subject so please advise. Thank you so much for your guys’s help.

[igormp]

Yes, but only if you give up on chroma subsampling 4:4:4. 4:2:0 should be able to do 4k120 at the cost of a worse image quality.

[SpookyCitrus]

I believe 4k 120hz native is HDMI 2.1 only. 

[Xottyk]

28 minutes ago, igormp said:

Yes, but only if you give up on chroma subsampling 4:4:4. 4:2:0 should be able to do 4k120 at the cost of a worse image quality.

So in your opinion is it worth sacrificing sub-sampling and image quality for a 4K 120hz experience? Also I’m actually on console so is it possible to do it through HDMI 2.0 on the next gen consoles?

[igormp]

1 hour ago, Xottyk said:

So in your opinion is it worth sacrificing sub-sampling and image quality for a 4K 120hz experience? Also I’m actually on console so is it possible to do it through HDMI 2.0 on the next gen consoles?

In MY opinion, no. But I don't game at all nor care a single bit about 120hz, so keep that in mind. Also I'm not sure if it's possible to reduce chroma subsampling through a console.

[dilpickle]

2 hours ago, Xottyk said:

So in your opinion is it worth sacrificing sub-sampling and image quality for a 4K 120hz experience? Also I’m actually on console so is it possible to do it through HDMI 2.0 on the next gen consoles?

You're not likely to see any difference in most games. Subsampling mostly matters when you have a lot of small text on screen.

 

But the difference between 60hz and 120hz is also something that can be hard to distinguish. And there are only a handful of games that will support it.

 

You can try both ways and see what is better.

 

2 hours ago, igormp said:

Yes, but only if you give up on chroma subsampling 4:4:4. 4:2:0 should be able to do 4k120 at the cost of a worse image quality.

 

Keep in mind that not all TVs support this.

[Rylyguy]

1 hour ago, dilpickle said:

You're not likely to see any difference in most games. Subsampling mostly matters when you have a lot of small text on screen.

 

But the difference between 60hz and 120hz is also something that can be hard to distinguish. And there are only a handful of games that will support it.

 

You can try both ways and see what is better.

 

 

Keep in mind that not all TVs support this.

Have you played at a high refresh rate. Especially 60 to 120 or 144 is very different and most people can tell a big difference. 

[Loote]

10 hours ago, igormp said:

Yes, but only if you give up on chroma subsampling 4:4:4. 4:2:0 should be able to do 4k120 at the cost of a worse image quality.

No! Not exactly...

2.0 has half the bandwidth of 120Hz 8bit signal

and has to use 4:2:2 subsampling on 4k 60Hz 10 bit. There is no 4k 120Hz 10 bit on HDMI 2.0.
Unfortunately there's no DSC for HDMI 2.0 and it's the most popular connection type in TVs, so new consoles will have to deal with this issue a lot.

[igormp]

10 hours ago, dilpickle said:

Keep in mind that not all TVs support this.

TIL. Mine (an entry-level 43" 4k) does, so I just assumed, my bad.

 

3 hours ago, Loote said:

No! Not exactly...

2.0 has half the bandwidth of 120Hz 8bit signal

and has to use 4:2:2 subsampling on 4k 60Hz 10 bit. There is no 4k 120Hz 10 bit on HDMI 2.0.
Unfortunately there's no DSC for HDMI 2.0 and it's the most popular connection type in TVs, so new consoles will have to deal with this issue a lot.

4k120 with chroma 4:2:0 is right there in your first pic. I just assumed 8bit anyway since OP didn't mention it.

[Loote]

That's why I embedded those screens, depending on what OP expects they might be fine with 4k 120 Hz 8 bit 4:2:0, or they might require 10 bit HDR 4:4:4 and miss out even on 60Hz.

[WkdPaul]

* Thread moved to the Displays section *