A Good Day for UltraHD: HBO Max, Lord of the Rings to Stream in 4K HDR

Wonder Woman 1984 will be the first film to stream in 4K HDR (UltraHD) on HBO Max when it premieres on the service in the United States with a theatrical release on December 25. It will also stream with Dolby Atmos audio.

The news was announced in a Tweeter by director Patty Jenkins:

Glad to announce that # WW84 will be the first HBO Max movie available in 4K Ultra HD, HDR 10, Dolby Vision AND Dolby Atmos! I can not wait. IN THEATERS on December 25 and broadcast exclusively in the United States on @hbomax. PLEASE find the largest and highest quality screen possible !!

HBO Max is one of the more expensive streaming services at $ 14.99, but unlike the majority of its competition, it never included 4K or HDR content.

For comparison, the ad-free monthly subscription fee for competing services includes: $ 6.99 for Disney + (4K), $ 9.99 for CBS All Access (HD), $ 4.99 for Apple TV + (4K), $ 8.99 for Amazon Prime Video (4K), $ 11.99 for Hulu (4K), $ 10.99 for Showtime (4K), $ 8.99 for Starz (4K) or $ 10 for Peacock (HD).

Only Netflix has a price tag that rivals or beats HBO Max. Netflix’s HD-only subscription, which equates to HBO Max in quality so far, recently saw its price drop from $ 12.99 to $ 13.99 per month. However, Netflix’s 4K-ready subscription now costs $ 17.99, three dollars more than HBO Max, albeit with a huge library of UltraHD content.

It’s important to note, however, that even services like Netflix or Hulu that offer 4K content have plenty of shows and movies that are only available in HD. The label here just means that they offer 4K content at least.

4K TVs made up a third of shipments to the United States even in 2017, but an analytics company predicted 60% of new TV purchases in 2020 will be 4K. According to surveys from companies like IHS, around one-third of American homes already owned 4K TVs in 2019. We’re speculating a bit here, but there is some data that correlates owning 4K TVs with using the streaming service. that well over a third of HBO Max viewers will have a better experience with the film (and presumably, other future HBO Max programs as well) as a result of this decision.

It’s been a red week for fans of high-end TV tech like 4K and HDR. In addition to this HBO Max announcement, the six films of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit the trilogies have become available in 4K HDR elsewhere. It has already been reported that the movies will be released on UltraHD Blu-ray, but it was less widely reported that the physical release earlier this week was accompanied by quality upgrades in digital storefronts like iTunes and Amazon Video.