Watch the World Cup in 4K virtual reality

KCOM customers will be able to join a Russian revolution in the way they watch the World Cup this summer.

The BBC will be broadcasting the championships, which kicks off on Thursday, 14 June, for the first time in Ultra HD and virtual reality, putting the viewer closer to the action than ever before.

It means football fans with Lightstream broadband with speeds over 40Mbps will be able to follow Harry Kane and the boys in 4k, Ultra HD and High Dynamic Range (HDR) on the BBC iPlayer.

The broadcaster is trialling the technology and there will be space for tens of thousands of viewers to log on to the service on a first-come, first-served basis.

The Ultra HD stream will be available from the BBC iPlayer home screen as soon as programme coverage begins until the trial is full for that match.

KCOM’s ultrafast pure broadband technology makes Hull one of the best places in the UK to be able to take advantage of the ground breaking services. Offering speeds of up to 400Mbps, Lightstream is more than a match for anything the Russians, Germans and Brazilians can throw at Gareth Southgate’s young lions.

Getting viewers even closer to events on the pitch, the BBC’s free VR service will cover all 33 matches from Russia live - using an app which will be available on Apple, Android, Gear VR, Oculus Go and PlayStation VR.

According to the BBC, the app will give viewers the experience of watching the match from the best seat in the stadium in their own “private box”.

A BBC spokesman said: “Anyone with a smartphone or compatible VR headset can open the app and find themselves inside their very own luxury private box in a Russian stadium. If there’s a game on, they can watch from the best seat in the ground by heading over to the box’s giant viewing window and looking out onto the pitch from their BBC Sport sofa.

“From here, audiences can access a range of live match stats that pop-up from the virtual coffee table, or they can switch their view and choose to sit behind either one of the goals to get up-close to the action. And when there’s no game taking place, fans can watch a daily highlights package and other on-demand content on one of the virtual big screen TVs available in other areas of the private box.”

For VR, the BBC recommends watching live coverage with a connection of at least a 10Mbps connection.