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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.
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Loobyluggs
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#5252998 Posted on: 04/02/2016 11:58 AM
$30 for UHD 2160P movies, we can argue.
$30 for Sony's catalogue, we cannot.
That's offensive and they clearly have very high opinions of The 'amazing' Spiderman.
FU Sony. FU on so many levels.
$30 for Sony's catalogue, we cannot.
That's offensive and they clearly have very high opinions of The 'amazing' Spiderman.
FU Sony. FU on so many levels.
Stormyandcold
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Posts: 5802
Joined: 2003-09-15
#5253275 Posted on: 04/03/2016 05:49 AM
If it's £21, then, that's only a few pounds more than current br films. I find br expensive and have zero br films on disc. The prices haven't come down that quick tbh.
If it's £21, then, that's only a few pounds more than current br films. I find br expensive and have zero br films on disc. The prices haven't come down that quick tbh.
kanej2007
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Posts: 8396
Joined: 2007-08-07
#5253295 Posted on: 04/03/2016 07:28 AM
Ever checked online/ebay? Many blu ray titles can be found costing £5-£10 brand new, same price if not lower than dvd's when they were released...
I find br expensive and have zero br films on disc. The prices haven't come down that quick tbh.
Ever checked online/ebay? Many blu ray titles can be found costing £5-£10 brand new, same price if not lower than dvd's when they were released...
Stormyandcold
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Joined: 2003-09-15
Senior Member
Posts: 5802
Joined: 2003-09-15
#5253307 Posted on: 04/03/2016 08:44 AM
I find movieberry cheaper still which is what I use.
Ever checked online/ebay? Many blu ray titles can be found costing £5-£10 brand new, same price if not lower than dvd's when they were released...
I find movieberry cheaper still which is what I use.
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I was linking other websites images. Basically though, the HDR for these movies would have to be software based, not camera based, seeing as most of the tites were before most people heard of HDR. Basically just changing the levels, contrast, gamma, and other picture attributes to make the pictue look more nature. In the example image the output image looked quite good and natural.
I also linked some images that are called HDR, but I just call them crap. A lot of people use the effect and I think it's just terrible. I guess it covers up otherwise bad camera work, or poor quality images. The last two images I linked were backlight HDR images, which in away would technically be lowering the dynamic range seeing as tyou are making dark areas brighter
So, basically there seems to be at least three different HDR types. I haven't heard of them being described as 'types' before, but it's important to know the difference as they are very different things with the same name.
I guess once you purchase these movies you can watch them any time from your account. In many ways, this is similar to keeping a bluray connection. However, the $30 charge for something that isn't physical may be a bit much. With a bluray etc the bluray has to be printed, distributed etc, that all costs money. With online downloads, it's just 'there', so technically it should be a lot cheaper. Of course, there's the profiteering side of things, and that it's 4K, and maybe a few cents of that goes towards supplying the bandwidth capacity for it.
I wonder if there is a clause in the license agreement that nobody reads, that states that you do not own the movie, and that it is an ongoing lease arrangement that can be terminated at any time. That way if Sony do shut down the service due to poor usage in a couple of years, it doesn't matter, they've covered themselves. Technically a bluray is kind of like that, and even if you don't own the movie, you at least own the physical media and have access to it as desired.
The sole intended purpose of this is to sell Sony 4K TV's. If you happen to buy a Sony 4K TV you can make use of the service, and if you are looking to buy one this service is a potential incentive. The fact it is limiting it to Sony TV's suggests this. If they were marketing the service as a standalone entity, then it would be offered on other devices as long as that device can support the app for streaming. You could further this by having a nicety feature only available on Sony 4K TV's. Something that people 'really want' after watching the 4K movie, but doesn't detract from the movie by not having it