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Joining in on the 4K mania, Google has finally made an official release of 4K movies that users can either rent or buy. The rumors about the company’s plans to do this have been swirling for a few weeks, which was fanned by the recent announcement regarding the launch of the Chromecast Ultra. The HDMI internet TV connector is made to handle the substantial bandwidth that 4K streaming can come with, which should come in handy now.
The movies are currently only available to users in Canada and the United States, with other countries still unable to access the titles with 4K resolution, The Verge reports. The selection of movie titles that the 4K resolution applies to is also rather limited compared to other retailers, with only 125 to choose from. As such, the launch can be underwhelming for those who are already using the services of others for their 4K viewing pleasure.
The codec that the movies are using for the sharper image is the VP9. This particular codec is known for enabling the mix of beautiful picture quality and stable streaming. This is meant to ensure that users can reliably watch videos without worrying too much that buffering or stuttering will interrupt their movie enjoyment.
On that note, viewing the movies with 4K resolution will be a limited experience in terms of hardware as well. Since the extreme definition streaming is only possible through Chromecast Ultra, those who have 4K-capable smart devices or computers won’t be able to get 4K movies from the Play Store.
For those who want to rent 4K movies, the price starts at $7.99 for U.S. customers, Android Police reports. Buying the movies will cost $29.99.
It’s also worth noting that not all the movies that have 4K capabilities will be both rentable and buyable. For some titles, it can only be one or the other.
