4K Ultra HD has become the next evolution in video with many new TVs being sold with this high resolution.
 
Just a few years ago 1080p was the High Definition standard which is now giving way to 4K UHD.
 
What is 4K Ultra HD?
Simply put it has more pixels than previous standards which give it a much better picture.
 
The first HD standard was called 720p which was 1280 pixels (wide) x 720 pixels (tall).
 
1080p soon came along which became the standard for many years. It has 1920 x 1080 pixels.

 
4K Ultra HD has 3840 X 2160 pixels which can give a much better resolution then previous standards.

 
Technically 4K and UHD are separate since 4K is a term used for movie projectors.
 
The two terms have become to mean the same thing, so if your TV says 4K, UHD, or both than it likely has 3840 X 2160 pixels.
 
How Fast Does the Internet Speed Need to be to Play 4K Ultra HD?
Netflix suggest a minimum speed of 25 megabits per second to stream online Ultra HD content, of course faster the better.
 
To stream the older 1080p HD content a speed of 5Mbps is recommend.
 
Streaming 4k online needs much faster internet speeds than in the past, which means a android TV box must be able to keep up.
 
A box that has the newer 802.11ac WiFi would be the best option when looking at units.
 
Of course as most know WiFi can be problematic at times so running a Ethernet cable may be necessary.
 
So What Does This Mean for Android TV Media Players?
If you have an older android TV it will still work fine with a 4k UHD TV it simply will play video at a lower resolution.
 
There is no need to upgrade if you are happy with a older unit, although if you have a 4K TV you likely want to use it to its full potential.
 
Also getting a unit that has dual band 802.11ac WiFi is best to handle the internet speeds necessary to stream 4K online.
 
Here is our picks for best 4K Ultra HD Android TV boxes. As always be sure to read the reviews on Amazon or elsewhere to be sure a unit is a good fit for you.
 

Our Picks for Best 4K Ultra HD Android TV Boxes

NVIDIA SHIELD Pro – 4K Ultra HD Streaming Media Player. Android TV. Great Gaming.

Anyone looking for a 4K android TV media player will no-doubt soon come across the Nvidia Shield.
 
It is in our opinion the best unit to get, unfortunately it is also the most expensive.
 
The Nvidia uses the Tegra X1 processor with 3GB of RAM which gives it a lot of HP to run 4K Video.
 
VIDEO FEATURES
4K Ultra HD ready
4K playback at 60 FPS (VP9, H265, H264)
4K capture at 30 FPS (H264, H265)
 
Besides its graphic abilities it also has a host of other features including gaming and streaming with Kodi.
 
…….
Greatever T95Z PLUS TV BOX Amlogic S912 Octa Core Android 6.0 Marshmallow 2GB DDR3 16GB EMMC Flash KODI Pre-installed 2.4G/5G Dual WIFI Band 1000M LAN Bluetooth4.0 UHD 4K 3D Streamming Media Player

If your on a budget than the Greatever T95Z PLUS is worth a look.
 
It supports 4K x 2K H.264/H.265 60fps with HDMI 2.0.
 
The processor is the newer S912 which is a big improvement over the S805 used previously.
 
Kodi comes pre-loaded along with add-ons ready to stream.
 
Read Full Review Here
 
 
Summary
With Netflix, YouTube, and other streaming sites introducing 4K videos being able to watch them would be a improvement over 720p and 1080p content.
 
If you have a 4K TV than getting a good 4K UHD android box along with a fast internet connection is all that needed.
 
One thing to be wary of is if your internet provider has data caps since Ultra HD content uses much more data than previous standards.
 
With 4K having four times the resolution of 1080p it no doubt is here to stay, and having a android box that can play it will no-doubt be a great benefit.