How to watch 4K ultra on a Virgin Media TV V6 box

When you’re connecting your new 4K Ultra HD compatible kit to the Virgin TV V6 box, make sure you’re using the right HDMI cables.

We’ll have supplied you with a High Speed HDMI cable, which is compatible with our Virgin TV V6 box and your 4K Ultra HD compatible kit.

But if you’ve purchased additional HDMI cables, check they are also High Speed. Standard Speed HDMI cables are not guaranteed to work and may cause issues with the picture and sound.

HD and 4K Ultra HD programmes are protected using High-Definition Copy Protection (HDCP).

New 4K Ultra HD kit uses HDCP 2.2. HD kit and some older 4K Ultra HD kit only supports older versions. When HDCP versions are mixed, especially on audio systems, it can cause picture quality issues and audio errors.

Only kit that supports HDCP 2.2 will be able to show programmes in 4K Ultra HD format from the Virgin TV V6 box.

You can find out which HDCP versions your kit can support by consulting the manual for your TV and audio system.

If you’re using an audio system that connects to your TV and other kit using HDMI, you may see a HDCP error or on-screen graphics but no video. You may have either:

• A 4K Ultra HD TV

• An audio system with HDMI that supports HD only or

• A HD TV

• An audio system with HDMI that supports 4K Ultra HD

Because not all the kit connected supports HDCP 2.2, an error may be displayed on the 4K Ultra HD TV when the Virgin TV V6 box is connected to the audio system via HDMI. To resolve this, connect the Virgin TV V6 box directly to the 4K Ultra HD TV using HDMI.

Then connect the Virgin TV V6 box to the audio system using the Digital Audio output, or by using the HDMI Audio Return Channel (ARC) option on compatible TVs and audio systems.

Not all 4K Ultra HD TVs support HDCP 2.2 on all HDMI sockets. This is particularly true of older 4K Ultra HD TVs where HDCP 2.2 may only be supported on one HDMI socket.

On some popular 4K Ultra HD TVs the following HDMI sockets can be used:

• Samsung - HDMI (MHL) socket if available on your TV, otherwise HDMI 1

• LG - HDMI 1, labelled as HDCP 2.2

• Sony - please check the Sony website for your 4K Ultra HD TV model

• Panasonic - HDMI 1, HDMI 3 or labelled as 4K

These are given as guidance only, so please check the manual for your TV to ensure you’re using the correct HDMI socket.

Normally your Virgin TV V6 box will automatically recognise whether it’s connected to a 4K Ultra HD TV and adjust its display settings to the best quality available.

However, if you aren’t sure about getting the best picture quality from the Virgin TV V6 box, you can check your current settings and update them.

1. Press Home on your Virgin TV remote

2. Go to Help & Settings

3. Click on Settings

4. Select Video Output

5. Go to Video Output format

The display format should show 2160p and 2160p 24/25/30fps (pass-through) selected. These are the two formats that enable 4K Ultra HD output on the Virgin TV V6 box.

If these aren’t selected, go to Auto detect to run a test of your TV’s display options. It will then ask you to confirm the new display selection (should include the 4K Ultra HD settings).

If they’re still not selected, choose Test Formats to run a quick test on the Virgin TV V6 box.

If you want the Virgin TV V6 box rather than your 4K Ultra HD TV to upscale all SD and HD content to 4K Ultra HD resolutions, untick anything other than 2160p and 2160p 24/24/30fps (pass-through).

We’ve found that some 4K Ultra HD kit may have some issues with picture and sound if they’ve not been updated to the latest firmware.

So, if you’re having any problems watching content from your Virgin TV V6 box, please check for a firmware update.

If your kit is connected to the internet, you may be able to check for and download updates using the on-screen menus. For kit without an internet connection, you may be able to use a computer to download the update to a USB memory stick. Please check the support pages for your 4K Ultra HD kit for details on how to update its firmware.

Firmware updates can also add, change, or remove services or features on your kit. If you need any help with such changes, please contact the manufacturer.

To ensure you can watch content from Netflix on your 4K Ultra HD TV, you need to make sure your Virgin TV V6 box is connected to an HDMI socket that supports HDCP 2.2. See ‘HD and 4K Ultra HD kit compatibility’ above on how to do this. If your Virgin TV V6 box isn't connected to the right HDMI socket, Netflix may display an error when trying to play content.

To watch Netflix in 4K Ultra HD, you also need to make sure your Netflix subscription includes 4K Ultra HD. To check this:

1. Sign in to your Netflix account

2. Go to Your Account

3. Check your Plan includes 4K Ultra HD

If your current plan doesn’t include this setting, you can upgrade to a new plan.

Once your plan upgrade is confirmed, you’ll be able to watch any 4K Ultra HD content via your Virgin TV V6 box. Amazon Prime Video: Amazon Prime subscription required. 18+. See Amazon website for T&Cs.