question: If I watched a 4K/UHD video on a non 4K/UHD supported TV would I be able to see a difference as opposed to watching it in 1080/720p and why would/wouldn't this be the case?
comment: You would not be able to an increase in quality if you are watching on a 1080p TV. Anything over 1080p source on a 1080p TV is not necessary. The television has a set number of pixels and even if the source is able to output more, your TV can't.
passages: BULLET::::- Fashion 4K
  
  BULLET::::- Festival 4K
  
  BULLET::::- High 4K TV
  
  Section::::List of 4K television channels.:Europe.
  
  BULLET::::- 4K UltraHD FunBox
  
  BULLET::::- beIN Sports 4K (Spain)
  
  BULLET::::- BT Sport 4K UHD
  
  BULLET::::- Canal+
  
  BULLET::::- Digi 4K
  
  BULLET::::- Digiturk UHD
  
  BULLET::::- Discovery
  
  BULLET::::- Fashion One
  
  BULLET::::- Fashion TV 4K
  
  BULLET::::- Insight UHD
  
  BULLET::::- National Geographic
  
  BULLET::::- Pearl TV
  
  BULLET::::- QVC Deutschland
  
  BULLET::::- RMC Sport 1
  
  BULLET::::- RTL UHD
  
  BULLET::::- RTVS UltraHD
  
  BULLET::::- SES Ultra HD Demo Channel
  
  BULLET::::- Sky 1
  
  BULLET::::- Sky Atlantic
  
  BULLET::::- Sky Sports
  
  BULLET::::- Sport TV 4K UHD
  
  BULLET::::- Travelxp
  
  BULLET::::- Tricolor Ultra HD
  
  BULLET::::- TRT 4K
  
  BULLET::::- UHD-1
   1080i is directly compatible with some CRT HDTVs on which it can be displayed natively in interlaced form, but for display on progressive-scan—e.g., most new LCD and plasma TVs, it must be deinterlaced. Depending on the television's video processing capabilities, the resulting video quality may vary, but may not necessarily suffer. For example, film material at 25fps may be deinterlaced from 1080i50 to restore a full 1080p resolution at the original frame rate without any loss. Preferably video material with 50 or 60 motion phases/second is to be converted to 50p or 60p before display.
   On 2 September 2015, Sony unveiled the Xperia Z5 Premium; the first smartphone with a 4K display.
  
  On 9 September 2015, Apple Inc. announced that their new smartphone the iPhone 6s could record video in 4K.
  
  On 6 October 2015, Microsoft unveiled the latest version of their Microsoft Surface Book laptop with a display of "over 6 million pixels" and their new phones the Microsoft Lumia 950 and 950 XL, which, aside from 4K video recording that their predecessors included, feature a display of "over 5 million pixels".
   BULLET::::- The application allows you to watch 4K video files on iPhone 6, though developers state that the highest resolution supported by iPhone`s screen is 1080p (iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6S Plus). While testing WALTR 1.0.2 for Mac, devs tried to put 4K video from Samsung Smart TV demos into an iPhone. To everyone's surprise, iPhone played it back easily and without any difficulties. Since Apple TV uses chips from the iPhone, it was likely that the next generation of Apple TV is going to support 4K resolution.
  
  Section::::See also.
  
  BULLET::::- Data compression
  
  BULLET::::- Ripping
  
  BULLET::::- Video codec
   As of 2012, most consumer televisions being sold provide 1080p inputs, mainly via HDMI, and support full high-definition resolutions. 1080p resolution is available in all types of television, including plasma, LCD, DLP front and rear projection and LCD projection. For displaying film-based 1080i60 signals, a scheme called 3:2 pulldown reversal (reverse telecine) is beginning to appear in some newer 1080p displays, which can produce a true 1080p quality image from film-based 1080i60 programs. Similarly, 25fps content broadcast at 1080i50 may be deinterlaced to 1080p content with no loss of quality or resolution.
   BULLET::::- KBS1 UHD
  
  BULLET::::- MBC UHD
  
  BULLET::::- SBS UHD
  
  BULLET::::- KNN UHD
  
  BULLET::::- KBC UHD
  
  BULLET::::- TBC UHD
  
  BULLET::::- TJB UHD
  
  BULLET::::- UBC UHD
  
  BULLET::::- G1 UHD
  
  BULLET::::- Asia UHD (Korea)
  
  BULLET::::- Insight UHD
  
  BULLET::::- SBS Plus UHD
  
  BULLET::::- Sky UHD
  
  BULLET::::- UMAX
  
  BULLET::::- UXN
  
  BULLET::::- UHD Dream TV
  
  BULLET::::- 4K-Sat
  
  BULLET::::- Tata Sky 4K (India)
  
  BULLET::::- Now 4K World Cup (Hong Kong)
  
  BULLET::::- Bol Network Pakistan
  
  BULLET::::- Hum News Pakistan
  
  BULLET::::- Kan11 4K (Israel)
  
  BULLET::::- NHK BS 4K (Japan)
  
  BULLET::::- NHK BS 8K (Japan)
  
  BULLET::::- BS Asahi 4K
  
  BULLET::::- BS TV Tokyo 4K
  
  BULLET::::- BS-TBS 4K
   Compensation for the loss in sharpness of detail because of the finite dimensions of the image elements or the dot-pitch of the monitor.
  
  Section::::A.:Artifact.
   The 4K UHD standard doesn't specify how large the pixels are, so a 4K UHD projector (Optoma, BenQ, Dell, et al.) counts because these projectors have a 2718×1528 pixel structure. Those projectors process the true 4K of data and project it with overlapping pixels, which is what pixel shifting is. Unfortunately, each of those pixels is far larger: each one has 50% more area than true 4K. Pixel shifting projectors project a pixel, shift it up to the right, by a half diameter, and project it again, with modified data, but that second pixel overlaps the first.
   Pixel shifting, as described here, was pioneered in the consumer space by JVC, and later in the commercial space by Epson. That said, it isn't the same thing as "true" 4K. More recently, some DLP projectors claim 4K UHD (which the JVCs and Epsons do not claim).
   BULLET::::- "The scanning system: progressive scanning (p) or interlaced scanning (i)". "Progressive scanning (p)" redraws an image frame (all of its lines) when refreshing each image, for example 720p/1080p. "Interlaced scanning (i)" draws the image field every other line or "odd numbered" lines during the first image refresh operation, and then draws the remaining "even numbered" lines during a second refreshing, for example 1080i. Interlaced scanning yields image resolution if subject is not moving, but loses up to half of the resolution and suffers "combing" artifacts when subject is moving.
   On November 28, 2013, Organizing Committee of the XXII Olympic Winter Games and XI Paralympic Winter Games 2014 in Sochi chief Dmitri Chernyshenko stated that the 2014 Olympic Winter Games would be shot in 8K Super Hi-Vision.
  
  On December 25, 2013, YouTube added a "2160p 4K" option to its videoplayer. Previously, a visitor had to select the "original" setting in the video quality menu to watch a video in 4K resolution. With the new setting, YouTube users can much more easily identify and play 4K videos.
   BULLET::::- 1080p Full HD digital video format with a resolution of
  
  BULLET::::- 2K resolution digital video formats with a horizontal resolution of around 2,000 pixels
  
  BULLET::::- 5K resolution digital video formats with a horizontal resolution of around 5,000 pixels, aimed at non-television computer monitor usage
  
  BULLET::::- 8K resolution digital video formats with a horizontal resolution of around 8,000 pixels
  
  BULLET::::- 10K resolution digital video formats with a horizontal resolution of around 10,000 pixels
  
  BULLET::::- 16K resolution experimental VR format
  
  BULLET::::- Ultra-high-definition television (UHDTV) – various standards for high-resolution television
   BULLET::::- 40962160 (full frame, 256135 or ≈1.901 aspect ratio)
  
  BULLET::::- 39962160 (flat crop, 1.851 aspect ratio)
  
  BULLET::::- 40961716 (CinemaScope crop, ≈2.391 aspect ratio)
  
  2K distributions can have a frame rate of either 24 or 48FPS, while 4K distributions must have a frame rate of 24FPS.
   For compatibility reasons, the horizontal bandwidth remains at 5.0 MHz. This means that a PALplus signal provides no extra horizontal resolution to compensate for the image being stretched across a wider screen. The result is a horizontal resolution that is 73% of the vertical resolution, or 51% when the Kell factor is ignored.
  
  A special signal tells the receiver when PALplus is in use, and also whether the original content was interlaced ("Camera mode" 576i50) or progressive scanned ("Film mode" 576p25). An additional signal can enable a "Ghost Cancellation" feature.
   BULLET::::- Display resolution: the number of pixels in each dimension on a display. In general a higher resolution will yield a clearer, sharper image.
   Section::::Deinterlacing.
  
  ALiS plasma panels and the old CRTs can display interlaced video directly, but modern computer video displays and TV sets are mostly based on LCD technology, which mostly use progressive scanning.
   On September 4, 2014, Microsoft announced a firmware update for the Microsoft Lumia 1020, 930, Icon, and 1520 phones that adds 4k video recording. The update was later released by the individual phone carriers over the following weeks and months after the announcement.
   Before interlaced video is displayed on a progressive-scan device it must be converted to progressive using the process known as deinterlacing. Progressive-scan television sets employ built-in deinterlacing circuits to cope with interlaced broadcast signal, but computer video players rarely have this capability. As such, interlaced video may exhibit ghosting or combing artifacts when watched on a computer.
   BULLET::::- Viasat Ultra HD
  
  BULLET::::- Sportklub 4K
  
  Section::::List of 4K television channels.:Africa.
  
  BULLET::::- BTV (Botswana)
  
  BULLET::::- E BS 4K (Ethiopia)
  
  BULLET::::- Nahoo sports+UHD (Ethiopia)
  
  BULLET::::- Nahoo sports+2 UHD (Ethiopia)
  
  BULLET::::- ETV sports UHD (Ethiopia)
  
  BULLET::::- Kana TV 4K (Ethiopia)
  
  Section::::List of 4K television channels.:Americas.
  
  BULLET::::- NASA TV UHD
  
  BULLET::::- Sportsnet 4K and Sportsnet One 4K (Canada)
  
  BULLET::::- TSN 4K and TSN 2 4K (Canada)
  
  BULLET::::- Hispasat TV 4K (Latin America)
  
  BULLET::::- Fashion One 4K
  
  BULLET::::- DirecTV 4K and DirecTV Cinema 4K (USA)
  
  BULLET::::- 4KUNIVERSE
  
  BULLET::::- Insight UHD
  
  BULLET::::- The Country Network
  
  Section::::List of 4K television channels.:Asia.
  
  BULLET::::- Cable 4K
   Some material shown on 1080i high-definition channels in the US originates from material shot on older cameras that was only capable of 1440 samples per scanline, yet this material is generally quite acceptable to most viewers and is considered high-definition. Focusing on resolution alone can be misleading. For example, a signal transmitted in its original 1920 x 1080 format, even if only having 1440 unique samples per scanline, will likely appear superior to a highly recompressed signal shown at 1440 x 1080 with a lower bitrate than the standard 19.2 Mbit/s.
   BULLET::::- 1080p Full HD – digital video format with a horizontal resolution of 1920×1080
  
  BULLET::::- 1440p – digital video format with a horizontal resolution of 1440, aimed at non-television computer monitor usage
  
  BULLET::::- – a common widescreen cinema aspect ratio
  
  BULLET::::- 4K resolution – digital video formats with a horizontal resolution of around 4000 pixels
  
  BULLET::::- 8K resolution – digital video formats with a horizontal resolution of around 8000 pixels
  
  BULLET::::- 10K resolution – digital video formats with a horizontal resolution of around 10,000 pixels, aimed at non-television computer monitor usage
  
  BULLET::::- 16K resolution – experimental VR format
   Downconversion is usually required, hence very little image quality loss is perceived by viewers at the recommended viewing distance with most TV sets.
  
  Section::::Offline conversion.
  
  A lot of cross format television conversion is done offline. There are several DVD packages that offer offline PAL ↔ NTSC conversion – including cross conversion (technically MPEG ↔ DTV) from the myriad of MPEG-based web video formats.
   Visually, native 1080p produces a sharper and clearer picture compared to upscaled 1080p. Though only a handful of games available have the native resolution of 1080p, all games on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 can be upscaled up to this resolution. Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 games are labeled with the output resolution on the back of their packaging, although on Xbox 360 this indicates the resolution it will upscale to, not the native resolution of the game.
   BULLET::::- 3 × 3 × 5 × 5 x 5 gives 1125 lines at 30 frames (used for 1080i30 but not 1080p30 [See Note 2])
  
  BULLET::::- Notes
  
  BULLET::::1. The division of the 240-line system is academic as the scan ratio was determined entirely by the construction of the mechanical scanning system used with the cameras used with this transmission system.
  
  BULLET::::2. The division ratio though relevant to CRT-based systems is largely academic today because modern LCD and plasma displays are not constrained to having the scanning in precise ratios. The 1080p high definition system requires 1126-lines in a CRT display.
   BULLET::::- Some countries also use a non-standard CEA resolution, such as 1440×1080i: 777,600 pixels (~0.78 MP) per field or 1,555,200 pixels (~1.56 MP) per frame
  
  The letter "p" here stands for progressive scan, while "i" indicates interlaced.
  