After reading this headline on CNET.com I nearly started jumping up and down. For any NFL fan, you read it  and say: “Yes, the Super Bowl, finally, in 4K HDR!” The day has arrived! 

I mean, look, it makes sense, right? Sure, unless you have a 4K Ultra HD Player or watch streaming services that has it, many pieces of content these days are just 1080i or 1080p if you are lucky. And if you have cable TV only, the picture is so compressed that it just might make your TV look bad.

Here’s the problem: The Super Bowl is not going to really be in 4K HDR this year.

Period.

Well, at least not in in ‘native’ 4K HDR. From the piece on CNET (talk about burying the most important piece of information):

“If you're counting, note that the game itself isn't a "native" 4K stream. Instead, it will be produced in 1080p with HDR and then upconverted to 4K HDR. It should still look better than the standard HD stream, but it's not true 4K.”

Not true 4K? What? Yep, that is an understatement for sure. 

Oh, and did I forget to mention those amazing commercials we all love to watch won’t be in 4K HDR either? Nope, those will be in standard HD. Can't we do better than this? 

Now, I don’t want to knock it until I have seen the actual picture quality, but we should be honest: this is not going to be the standard, and amazing, 4K HDR experience. It will surely be way better than a 1080i picture for sure, but it will not be a real 4K HDR picture either. It could look a little compressed compared to what you are used to seeing in your Ultra Blu-ray player or streaming service. And that is really disappointing. 

Then there is actually watching the fake, I mean upconverted, 4K HDR Super Bowl. According to CNET, many streaming devices will have it, but your device must support the Fox Sports App. Many cable tv providers, but not all, will carry the sort of 4K game as well. This will, of course, create confusion on game day for many. 

Oh well, enjoy the game, it looks like it will be a fight to the finish. Just don't expect your OLED or QLED 4K monster to perform to its potential. 

Harry J. Kazianis is a Senior Director at the Center for the National Interest. His work and ideas have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, Fox News, CNBC, USA Today, The Week, The Hill, the American Conservative and many other outlets across the political spectrum. Harry enjoys writing about technology issues and products from a real-world perspective. You can follow him (or yell at him) on Twitter: @Grecianformula.