Given Google just released the Chromecast 4K – not to mention other existing 4K streamers and smart TVs – it’s a little odd that Google doesn’t have any 4K movies in its own Play Store app. That’s starting to change today(at least in the US).
Users around the Web – including yours truly – are starting to see 4K options on a small batch of movies. A few titles – including ‘The Fifth Element’ and ‘Elysium’ – show a new UHD tier in both the Play Store and Play Movies and TV apps.
Other movies movies like ‘Star Trek: Beyond’ show a 4K tag, but don’t show the new price option.
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Not that it matters; I was met with an error when I tried to start the rental, so chances are today’s rollout is premature.
Still, there’s some useful information to be noted. Every UHD rental I found cost $7.99, which is quite a hefty premium over the standard HD price of $3.99 or the $2.99 for SD, but it’s right in line with or cheaper than UHD options from other services.
Full 4K purchases I found ranged from $24.99 to $29.99, compared to the the $12.99 HD prices for the same titles. Newer titles could cost more.
Google probably figures that few people have 4K TVs, and those early adopters are probably willing to shell out a bit more for better quality. Just be warned.
One other problem is that there’s no clear way to upgrade your previous HD purchases to UHD. I’ve encountered that issue before when trying to upgrade SD movies to HD, and so far the only solution I’ve been find is calling Google and explaining the situation – it’ll refund you and you can repurchase.
Hopefully by the time the rollout is official, we’ll have a simpler way to upgrade. Caveats aside, it looks like you’ll be getting more use of that fancy 4K TV setup of yours soon.
Via Android Central
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