[57]

Wasn't that the difference between a 1080i picture and a 1080p picture upconverted?

Not sure why you would say that:

TSN sends the HD channel as 1080i I believe, or 1080P to Rogers.
Rogers sends all HD channels as 1080P on Xfinity, so if it came in as 1080i from TSN, Rogers would deinterlace 1080i to 1080P for Xfinity (easy to do).
In this case (Super Bowl 2025), Fox sent the upconverted 4K signal to TSN as 4K, TSN sends the 4K channel as 4K to Rogers and Rogers sends the 4K channel as 4K to me so from Fox studio to me, it's all 4K, after being upconverted by FOX.
so there is no 1080i vs 1080P..., there is only 1080 something vs 4K (upconverted by FOX).

1080i is very easy to interlace to 1080P, so there is usually little difference in the picture quality between the two unless there is action involved, which doesn't apply on a static "frame".

Summary, the difference is due to upconversion by FOX to 4K for the 4K channel.

 

[SportsFan]

Deinterlacing is far more complex than simple upscaling from 1080p to 4K, but you're right that frames where there is very little motion (like these), there won't be many deinterlacing artifacts.
On second thought, the difference is mostly due to compression because TSN 4K has a much higher bitrate than TSN5.

 

[SportsFan]

I don't see much difference in otown's images but surprisingly, it looks like the 1080p picture has more dynamic range

 

[chaplin]

TO ALL FUBO ON . PRIME FOR UKFOOTBALL 4K OR HD $25 MONTH HOPE 4K THANKS ALL.

 

[ThatOtherGuy]

While TSN 4k and Sportsnet 4k definitely look higher quality than the regular HD channels, there is a noticeable downgrade in quality from previous years. The 4k broadcasts now look akin to 1080p while they used to look truly like native 4k.

Here is an example. Compare this CFL game broadcast in 2022 compared to a CFL game broadcast in 2025:

2022:

2025:

While some of the camera shots in the 2022 game look upscaled, there are very clearly native 4k shots with much sharper detail. In the 2025 game, there isn't a single time in the broadcast the quality looks that sharp. It's disappointing that things have gotten worse rather than better.

 

[slash]

While TSN 4k and Sportsnet 4k definitely look higher quality than the regular HD channels, there is a noticeable downgrade in quality from previous years. The 4k broadcasts now look akin to 1080p while they used to look truly like native 4k.

Here is an example. Compare this CFL game broadcast in 2022 compared to a CFL game broadcast in 2025:

2022:

2025:

While some of the camera shots in the 2022 game look upscaled, there are very clearly native 4k shots with much sharper detail. In the 2025 game, there isn't a single time in the broadcast the quality looks that sharp. It's disappointing that things have gotten worse rather than better.

Yeah it’s disappointing. I think native 4k will not have a future and all will be an upscale of some sort.

 

[ThatOtherGuy]

Yeah it’s disappointing. I think native 4k will not have a future and all will be an upscale of some sort.

It appears they have actually gone even further, not even "upscaling" 1080p feeds but now it looks like 1080i feeds.

I find it maddening that they have the technology and capabilities to make a really good looking broadcast, as they already did nine years ago, but now they are actually heading in the opposite direction making it look worse. 4K programming is essentially a scam now.