Hulu’s Android TV apps can finally stream in 1080p on the new Nvidia Shield TV set-top boxes and Sony Bravia TVs, as detected by users on Reddit and written by Gizmodo, Android Central, and 9to5Google.
Users first noticed the change on the “App & Device Info” page in the Hulu app. After the update, the application lists the new maximum video resolution as “1920 x 1080”. It is a sneaky way to make the change. Looking at the description of the update on the Play Store, there is no mention of this, so it is possible that something has changed on the Hulu server side as well.
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Gizmodo says it was able to confirm that at least the 2019 Nvidia Shield and Bravia TVs received the 1080p boost on March 23, but the change was not reflected in the Hulu support pages, which were last updated in February. Hulu does not appear to list specifically which devices broadcast at each resolution (outside of live TV streaming) on its support website, but it does provide minimum bit rates for each:
- Standard Definition (SD): 1.5 Mbps
- High definition (HD) 720p: 3 Mbps
- High definition (HD) 1080p: 6 Mbps
- 4K Ultra HD: 16 Mbps
For the latest Chromecast with Google TV, which runs a skin version of Android TV, it is unclear when 1080p Hulu support was added, or whether it was released with it. I was able to check in my own Chromecast Hulu app and it currently supports 1080p. We have contacted Hulu to confirm which other Android TV devices may have been affected by this update.
4K streaming is even more limited on Hulu. 4K content is primarily limited to Hulu’s original shows and movies, and according to Hulu’s probably outdated list, the devices that can actually stream in 4K are Apple TV’s 5th generation, Chromecast Ultra, Amazon’s Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, LG UHD TVs from 2017 onwards, Roku devices, Vizio TVs with SmartCast and Xbox One S and X.
It is good that more devices can theoretically transmit at a higher resolution, especially for people who have spent money on higher resolution monitors. I think it is worth mentioning, however, that some of the Redditors who first encountered this change had no idea that they had been broadcasting at 720p all this time.