Sony to charge $30 per 4k movie

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has announced that it will launch on April 4. The service, accessed via an Android app, will be available exclusively on Sony's new 4K TV sets. Ultra HD Movies will cost $30 a piece to buy. 

Consumers who already own titles in standard or high-definition format will be able to “upgrade” movies in their collection to ultra-high-definiton, or 4K, resolution for $12 to $15. The upgrade option is limited, initially, to Sony-produced videos.

There won't be a rental option at launch; instead, users will pay $30 to purchase a movie. This was apparently a "commercial decision,” but Sony said if there turns out to be a demand for rentals, the company could introduce the feature “pretty quickly." Initially, you'll only be able to rent movies from Sony Pictures, but the company said it wants to add content from other studios. “Over time, we want to expand the breath and depth of the content,” said Sony Pictures Entertainment VP Jake Winett. Once bought, titles will be stored in Sony's Ultraviolet cloud service, probably due to the TVs not possessing enough onboard storage to hold 4K movies.

There will be around 40 to 50 titles available on Ultra when it launches, including newer movies such as Concussion and The Walk, as well as older ones like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The company plans to add TV programs at a later date, but it hasn't revealed which ones or how much they'll cost. 

Sony said that each movie will cost $30 in 4K with high dynamic range (HDR). Images shot in HDR essentially make the contrast between light and dark colors even more prominent so the white highlights are even brighter. The purpose is to make the image on screen look more realistic.

Movies will include Sony Pictures titles such as "The Night Before" and "The Walk" as well as older movies like "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."

Still, Sony's price tag of $30 per film appears steep when compared to the $12 per month Netflix fee to access 4K content. Also, the Ultra service is only available on Sony TVs, which limits its reach.