4k display after screen change in XZ2 premium

[milesfastguy]

Hello. OK the thing is that the screen on my XZ2 premium broke and I got a cheap replacement from China for around 70 USD. Obviously a 70 dollar screen won't be an original one. But I have no complaints as I hardly noticed any difference. Now my question is- am I still able to view 4k content on this new made in China screen? In other words, is the 4k technology just screen dependent or is it dependent on the underlying technology or something? 

[Qatrium]

Hello @milesfastguy 

Well, this is a tough question to answer, but my take is (and this is just an opinion) that it should still work and show 4K content if it was manufactured to be a 4K screen. Can you test any 4K content like the sample video that comes pre-installed or maybe Netflix video?

[milesfastguy]

@Qatriumwell I've done this exercise by comparing the XZ2 premium side by side to a couple of other phones while viewing 4K content on Youtube. The XZ2 definitely has a marked difference, it shows things that the other phones just cant see. it looks like i am still viewing 4k content through the 20 USD screen, i just had some technical confusions, like is it the screen or the underlying technology that is responsible for the 4k experience or both? from the test that i did here, definitely its not the screen alone...thats for sure. maybe tts mainly the technology. 

[Qatrium]

@milesfastguy 

Of course, there are still more technologies behind the 4K display (the GPU to begin with). So if you are wondering if it's possible to fix a 4K display on a phone that does not have a native one, then I don't think that would work without the underlying tech.

[milesfastguy]

@Qatrium  you actually turned my question the other way around, and that is precisely what I want to know. we all know that there is loads of 4k content on the net, example YouTube. but for viewing that content in 4k you need a 4k supported viewing device. for example my Samsung HD TV wont show me 4k video, just a downscaled version, so would most smartphones. but only a few smartphones have 4k capable screens, XZ2 premium is one of them. now what happens when the screen panel of my XZ2 got shattered to pieces? I got a cheap Chinese replacement panel, which I can bet is not the deciding factor for 4k content. so I assume its actually the technology or something inside, as u mentioned the GPU that is the core of the 4K view. the panel is not a factor. in short I can install any panel in the world on my phone and still view 4k.

[milesfastguy]

tell me if I missed something here

[Qatrium]

@milesfastguy 

The screen is a factor, of course, as it contains the pixels. What I was trying to say is that it's not the ONLY factor, there is still the CPU and GPU among other components in hardware and software that will give you the 4K experience in the end.