One reason 4K has never really gotten around to going mainstream is the limited amount of content available for the few people who have 4K televisions. Amazon, however, hopes to turn that around with a new offer for Amazon Prime members who pay $99 a year to get access to streaming media from the Amazon library.
Now available on Amazon Instant Video is a host of movies and TV shows in four times the resolution of regular HD. 4K, also known as Ultra HD, has a resolution of 3,840 x 2,160 and a 16:9 aspect ratio. The new content will be available for both Prime members and non-Prime customers, but Prime members get the special privilege of being able to watch all Amazon 4K content for free.
That includes Amazon Original Series such as the political satire "Alpha House" and the critically acclaimed comedy-drama "Transparent," which has an outstanding approval rating of 98 percent on film and TV critic site Rotten Tomatoes. Also available for free to all Prime subscribers is the quirky, live-action children's series "Gortimer Gibbon's Life on Normal Street" and BBC America's Canadian-made "Orphan Black."
Later this year and early next year, Amazon also plans to debut five original series, which will all be available in 4K. These are "Mozart in the Jungle," "Bosch," "Hand of God," "The After" and "Red Oaks." Pilot episodes for seven potential new series from Amazon Studios, namely "Cocked," "Down Dog," "Mad Dogs," "Man in the High Castle," "Point of Honor," "Salem Rogers" and "The New Yorker Presents," will also be available in Ultra HD when they are released early next year.
Additionally, Prime members can also watch movie marathons in 4K with select Sony Pictures Entertainment films, namely "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," "Funny Girl," "Hitch" and "Philadelphia," now available to them for free. Non-prime members can also get access to several other movies from Sony in 4K. Starting at $19.99, customers can watch 4K movies such as "American Hustle," "Godzilla" and "The Patriot" on their 4K televisions.
The Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga concert "Cheek to Cheek LIVE" will also be available in Ultra HD from Amazon Instant Video.
"We want to deliver the best entertainment experience, and offering Ultra HD movies and TV shows raises the bar on quality and innovation that customers have come to expect from Amazon," says Amazon vice president of digital video Michael Paull.
The offer is not without strings attached. First of all, only Amazon Prime members receive the full benefit of being able to watch these movies and TV shows in full, glorious 4K for free. That is, only Amazon Prime members in the United States who have their own 4K TVs from specific manufacturers named by Amazon.
All this, of course, looks to be part of Amazon's plan to spend more money on expensive 4K TV sets gathering dust on its virtual store shelves. The 4K content available from Amazon is only compatible with specific 4K TVs from Samsung, LG and Sony, with prices ranging anywhere from $2,000 to $25,000. Users who have 4K computer monitors, such as those from Dell and Asus, won't be able to watch on their 4K screens.
Moreover, streaming 4K videos will definitely set viewers back several dollars. While Amazon has not yet disclosed bandwidth requirements for its 4K content, Ultra HD contains four times as much data as regular HD and is likely to cause connection problems and bump up people's Internet bills.
Still, Netflix is doing pretty well with its 4K offerings, even bumping up the cost of getting access to shows such as "Breaking Bad" and "House of Cards" to a premium price of $11.99 per month earlier this year. Amazon plans to follow in those footsteps and hopes to offer more 4K content in the future.
