HBO Max launches in the UK this month – and I’m actually pretty excited about the new streaming service
1 day ago
3 minutes read
Any viewers of The House of the Beast you will know i battle scene in season two. No spoilers here, but I’m not exaggerating when I say it might be the best dragon-based piece ever put on screen.
Many dragons fell from the air. A fire broke out. The soldiers burned. And all in glorious 4K HDR with Dolby Atmos.
However, in at least the US and 65 other countries, these were the available formats. Here in good ol’ Blighty, unless you’re committed to a Sky hardware contract, we should be getting HD on a streaming service NOW.
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Now, this isn’t the biggest problem in the world, but it was a glaring and outdated omission from the NOW streaming service Sky was running, which at the time only offered Full HD and Dolby Digital 5.1 as its highest quality streaming options.
NOW finally got support for 4K HDR and Dolby Atmos in August 2024 with the arrival of the Ultra Boost add-on package (just after the second The House of the Beast the winding season; not that I’m bitter or anything).
That’s ten years(!) after Netflix and Amazon Prime Video first offered 4K content starting in 2014, and seven years after Dolby Atmos made its streaming debut on Netflix. Even the UK service BBC iPlayer started testing 4K streaming from 2017.
The Ultra Boost package also costs an extra £9 a month – a download even amid the streaming service’s price hikes. Entertainment membership and Ultra Boost combined will set you back £19 a month – and that’s not even including movies or sports.
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Due to a long-term agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery, Sky had exclusive rights to content from US TV giant HBO. HBO has a reputation for not only producing highly regarded shows such as The Sopranos again Successionbut also for its incredible production value. Of course, the network behind such blockbuster TV Game of Thrones again The Last of Us.
These are shows that would benefit the most from being viewed at the best possible resolution. Can you imagine more screaming shows watching in 4K than the blockbuster battles of Westeros or the post-apocalyptic effects of the cordyceps fungus? It seems painfully ironic that some of the world’s most well-produced games, painstakingly created in 4K, were on one streaming service that didn’t support the necessary technical capabilities for some time.
Sky, although not operating on the same budget as HBO, also has some of the best production values for UK broadcasters. Indeed, a few of its shows are now available in 4K and Dolby Atmos – including several made before the 2024 Ultra Boost launch, which makes this even more confusing.
All of this is why I take unusual exception to welcoming the addition of a new streaming service. HBO is finally launching its streaming service in the UK: HBO Max will be available on our shores from 26th March.
The service will host all of the aforementioned shows and heavy hitters alike The White Lotus, Friends again The phone. Lights as well as Harry Potter the reboot will follow, and will have its first major premiere with a special and medical sensation Pitt. Oh, and 4K and Dolby Atmos will be available at launch in the UK.
We have our issues with HBO Max, which is a confusing five-tier subscription model. But the service did at least make an effort to get 4K and Atmos support for its movies within a year of its US launch, and had enough sense to make sure this carried over to the TV series when House of the Dragon rolled around. HBO Max also looks to be going under NOW – the 4K/Dolby Atmos tier is available for £15 a month at launch (with movies included too, mark you).
HBO Max will no doubt join streaming services in endless price hikes eventually; but, for AV fans at least, it seems that some of the world’s most iconic games may be in safer hands.
If, that is, Paramount’s upcoming acquisition of Warner Bros. it doesn’t lead to another shake…
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