About
Many cheap players and smart TVs promise 4K, but only in their own apps like Netflix. In apps like ours, huge images and heavy 4K video make them stutter or crash. Make images the size they show on screen, and video Full HD with a modest bit rate: playback gets smoother, and content often looks sharper too.
Get Started
Make images the right size
Match the image to the space it fills on a Full HD screen:
- Full screen: 1920 × 1080
- Half the screen: 960 × 540
- A quarter (a corner tile): 480 × 270
- Logos and icons: exactly the size they show (not 4000 × 4000 for a 120 × 120 logo)
In the editor, click the image, then Crop Image, set the width and height, and click Save. See Cropping Images.
Make videos lighter
- Convert them to Full HD with HandBrake, which also lowers the bit rate
- When you really need 4K, keep the bit rate modest, around 12 to 20 Mbps, and expect entry-level players to struggle
Check your player's resolution
- Go to Screens and click Settings next to the screen
- Scroll to Resolution: that’s what the player uses
FAQ
Why can a big image look worse than a small one?
The player has to shrink it on the fly, and does that less well than an image editor. An image made at the right size looks sharper.
Doesn't Play already make big images smaller?
Yes, images bigger than 4K are made 4K when you upload them. On a Full HD screen that’s still four times too many pixels, so make them the size you need.
