As expected, the service begins with a whisper, rather than a roar, with a conservative selection of Amazon’s series originals, including the second season of Alpha House, the new hit show Transparent, the children’s show Gortimer Gibbons Life on Normal Street, as well as the BBC thriller, Orphan Black.
To add to the pile, Amazon will also feature 4K UHD versions of its upcoming originals, including Mozart in the Jungle, Bosch, Hand of God, The After, and Red Oaks, which will premiere later this year, and into the new year year, as well as the service’s current crop of new pilots, including Cocked, Down Dog, Mad Dogs, Man in the Castle, Point of Honor, Salem Rogers, and The New Yorker Presents. Like Netflix, Amazon also has a small selection of 4K UHD movies in its arsenal, including the visually stunning Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, along with some more puzzling choices to showcase the uber-resolution like Hitch, Philedelphia, and Funny Girl.
In addition, Amazon will be offering a live concert in collaboration with LG, Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga: Cheek to Cheek LIVE!, a taped live performance now available for instant streaming.
Unlike Netflix, which charges new subscribers $3 more for its 4K UHD content, much of Amazon’s new eye-popping offerings are available to Prime members with
Amazon appears to be looking to the future in hopes that it will grow along a similar path as 4K UHD, steadily infiltrating living rooms as viewers slowly replace their HD models with
“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,” said Michael Paull, Amazon’s VP of Digital Video. “We’re also excited that Ultra HD is the latest benefit of the Amazon Prime membership, giving members instant access to great movies and TV shows in a premium picture resolution at no additional cost.”
Except that’s not entirely true. It turns out, Amazon isn’t the fully fledged 4K philanthropist we’d hoped it would be. The service is holding the best, most desirable
Titles in 4K UHD you won’t get as part of your Prime membership include American Hustle, Captain Phillips, Elysium, Godzilla, Hancock, Moneyball, The Mask of Zorro, The Monuments Men, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (the Toby Maguire films), The Da Vinci Code, The Patriot, Think Like a Man Too, This Is the End, the aforementioned Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and “many more.”
Hardware required to take Amazon’s new 4K UHD ride includes select UHD TVs exclusively from LG, Samsung, and Sony right now. The company claims it will be adding more members to its
There’s no doubt that 4K UHD is growing at a snail’s pace, especially arduous for those who bought into the new resolution early. Still, today’s announcement marks a turning point for the new era of Ultra High definition, adding to the handful of lesser known services currently offering
It’s still an HD world out there, but 4K UHD is on the move. Stay with us as we continue to track down every viable source available to help you get your
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