The first movie available in 4K and HDR on Xbox One S is ‘The Lego Batman Movie’ and more titles will be added “in the months to come”, Microsoft has confirmed to Polygon.
4K HDR movies on Xbox One S
To watch the movie in pristine video quality you need the Xbox One S, a 4K/HDR TV, and the willingness to pay $30 dollars per title. No rental option is available.
$30 dollars seems quite steep compared to the HD version, which sells for $20. Nevertheless it is good news that Microsoft has begun rolling out 4K HDR content in the Xbox One video store.
Google began offering movies in 4K resolution through its ‘Google Play Movies & TV’ store in December 2016. While Microsoft offers only 1 so far, Google launched with over 125 titles. However, Google does not offer movies in HDR quality. Microsoft does.
The first 4K movie in the Xbox One video store is ‘The Lego Batman Movie’ and more titles will be added “in the months to come”, Microsoft said in a statement to Polygon.
- “This title is available in Ultra High Definition and HDR capable. To view in full UHD, please ensure you are using the ‘Xbox One S’ and are connected to a 4K television over HDMI 2.0a with support for HDCP 2.2. The device must have a 20Mbps or greater internet connection speed,” says Microsoft.
Limited to the US
Currently, 4K content appears to be limited to the US. We have not been able to find the 4K HDR version of the Lego Batman Movie in any other region – not even Canada that has access to Google’s 4K catalog.
Microsoft first made its video app capable of handling 4K and HDR in December 2016 and a few sports documentaries were made available in 4K earlier this year.
While Microsoft and Google have started rolling out movies in either 4K or 4K+HDR quality, Apple has yet to show it hand. Apple’s iTunes movie store is available on the Apple TV4 that is currently limited to 1080p HD.
- Source Polygon
