Top 4K Movie Sites in the World

Top 4K Movie Sites in the World

If you recently bought a 4K Ultra HD television — or you’re thinking about scooping one up soon — you will inevitably find yourself on the hunt for 4K UHD content to enjoy (read: show off) in all of its sweet, eye-popping glory.

We’ve got a classic mix of good and bad news for you: The good news is the 4K Ultra HD content pipeline has transitioned from a trickle to a steady flow, and in the next couple of years, it’s going to be more like a rushing river. The bad news is that, for now, some of these sources will be exclusive to certain TV brands or streaming devices. Still, most sources have opened up considerably since launch, making this a great time to consider going all-in on 4K Ultra HD.



To save you some hassle, we’ve compiled all current and forthcoming 4K Ultra HD content sources into one place with details on pricing, popular titles, and when to expect more.

4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

Cost: Ultra HD Blu-ray players run $400 – $800

Requirements: 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player and compatible 4K Ultra HD TV

Riding in a hard-copy format once dismissed as obsolete in the streaming age, 4K Ultra HD Blu-rays and their corresponding players aim to be a very big part of the future of Ultra HD. The platform promises fewer artifacts than highly-compressed 4K streams, and brings along HDR functionality and an even more expansive color spectrum to grow with the 4K Ultra HD TVs of tomorrow.

Ultra HD Blu-ray players and discs are now available for purchase at many popular electronics stores. You can find a list of Ultra HD Blu-ray titles here and learn much more about 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray here.

Netflix

Cost: $12/month

Requirements: Recommended Internet speed of 25 Mbps or higher; compatible hardware includes most major TV manufacturers, including Samsung, LG, Panasonic, Sony, Vizio, Philips, and Hisense 4K Ultra HD TVs, or a compatible 4K Ultra HD TV connected to Roku 4 or Amazon Fire TV streaming boxes

The constant innovator, Netflix was one of the first services to stream 4K Ultra HD content, taking flight with its original series House of Cards Season 2 in April 2014. Content has started slow but is constantly growing — especially since all of the service’s major original series are being shot in 4K. Series like House of Cards, Breaking Bad, and The Blacklist have been joined by a steady wave of original series like Bloodline, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Sense 8 among others.

For eye-candy background, the service also hosts some pretty epic nature docs from the Moving Art series like Underwater, Waterfalls, and Forests. Movie choices are still rather light, including Hitch (why, Netflix?), The Patriot, Jerry Maguire, and the Netflix documentary Keith Richards: Under the Influence.

Amazon Instant Video

Cost: Free with $99 per year Prime Membership, plus select titles for rental and purchase priced around $20-30

Requirements: Select Samsung, LG, Sony, Vizio, and Panasonic 4K Ultra HD TVs, as well as compatible 4K Ultra HD TVs connected to the Roku 4 and (of course) the new Amazon Fire TV set-top box.

Amazon’s 4K Ultra HD service was originally slated for an October 2014 release date, but the service took its time and showed up as an early Christmas gift in December 2014 instead. Amazon’s free service (with Prime subscription) launched with 4K Ultra HD versions of some of its original series, and has expanded to include Alpha House (season 2), Transparent, Mozart in the Jungle, Red Oaks, and The Man in the High Castle, as well as the company’s entire list of new pilots.

Amazon also has a limited selection of 4K Ultra HD movies as part of its Prime collection, including a few nature films, as well as titles like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Hitch, Jerry Maguire (déjà vus, right?) and even a 3 hour 4K Ultra HD fireplace video for the holidays. As for the not-so-free selections, Amazon sells a number of 4K Ultra HD titles starting at around $20, including Bad Boys (I, and II), Fury, Elysium, and The Fifth Element.

Finally, Amazon also now streams a short selection of 4K Ultra HD series with high dynamic range (HDR), including Mozart in the Jungle and Red Oaks. So far the feature, which is designed to deliver epic contrast, tends to suffer heavily from compression artifacts in our experience, even at relatively high bandwidth speeds. The jury’s still out on how long it will be until HDR streaming is worth getting excited about.

Sony’s Playstation Video (aka Video Unlimited)

Cost: Average of $4 to $11 per TV episode for purchase, $8 per movie for 24-hour rental, $30 to $35 for purchase

Requirements: Sony Ultra HD TV, or newer 4K Ultra HD TV (with HDCP 2.2 copyright protection) and a Sony FMP-X10 4K Ultra HD media player ($500-700)

Sony blazed the trail with 4K content, and since the megacorp is able to handle the programming from acorn to oak, it offers more sheer volume than any other marquee service. And while the device that proffers Sony’s wares was originally proprietary, updates have opened the media player to allow a variety of 4K Ultra HD TVs to support it, though reviews for the device have been less-than-kind thus far.

Sony’s VOD service allows downloading for purchase and rental of around 200 movies and TV shows on the media player, which hosts a 1TB internal hard drive. Movies typically take up around 40GB of space, and though renting will save a lot of room, many titles are only available for purchase. Frankly, streaming 4K from other services is a much more convenient option. On the other hand, downloading should result in higher video quality for the average Internet connection. Highlights for the service include series like Breaking Bad, and a list of around 200 movies including The Amazing Spider Man, Moneyball, Evil Dead (2013), Godzilla (1998), Hancock, Pineapple Express, and many more.

Sony’s Ultra streaming service

Cost: $30 per movie purchase, no rentals available

Requirements: 2015 or 2016 Sony 4K Ultra HD TV powered by Google’s Android TV system.

At first glance, Sony’s new streaming service, Ultra, looks a lot like the company’s previous 4K Ultra HD service which debuted in 2013, Video Unlimited (now called Playstation Video). However, there are some major differences here. First of all, Ultra is a streaming service as opposed to a downloading service, meaning your movies will live in the cloud, not on your device — that’s probably a good thing considering how large 4K titles are (around 40GBs or more) as well as the poor reviews of Sony’s ill-fated FMP-X10 4K Ultra HD media player. However, that also means you’ll need to stick with a new Sony TV to use Ultra.

Another important distinction is that Ultra titles are for purchase only, priced at a whopping $30. (As a bonus, those who buy a new Sony TV “this summer” will get four free movies when they sign up.) On the bright side (literally), many titles will support HDR, allowing HDR-compatible TVs to display a wider color gamut, and improved contrast between dark and bright scenes. However, since Ultra is streaming only, it remains to be seen if artifacts will arise due to internet bandwidth issues. Ultra only carries Sony Pictures titles at present, including newer movies like Concussion, and older hits like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, and Ghostbusters. Sony movies in users’ UltraViolet catalogs can also be streamed on Ultra, and Sony will even let users upgrade Sony UltraViolet titles to 4K “for a special discounted price.” HDR is the big seller here, but for now, Ultra is one of the more restrictive (and expensive) services on the list.

M-GO

Cost: Approx. $7 for rental (varies by title), and $20 to $25 for purchase

Requirements: Recommended minimum 10 Mbps download speeds; select Samsung 4K Ultra HD TVs and SUHD TVs

M-Go’s VOD service launched its 4K library in an exclusive partnership with Samsung November 12 of 2014. The service began with a modest offering of titles, including Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, and Limitless. Since then M-Go has ramped up slowly towards a few dozen titles, including How to Train Your Dragon and Madagascar 3, as well as some HDR-ready titles like Exodus: Gods and Kings, Kingsman: The Secret Service, Life of Pi, and The Maze Runner, among others. The pickings are still relatively slim for major features, but representatives recently reached out to DT and assured us that “Fox is committed to releasing its upcoming slate in 4K Ultra HD with High Dynamic Range” on M-Go, so that should mean a steady trickle of titles from at least one major studio is on the way.

DirecTV

Cost: $4 to $16 per 4K Ultra HD title on demand, live channel requires DirecTV Ultimate or Premier package

Requirements: On-demand: Manufacturer-certified DirecTV 4K Ready TV (or standard 4K TV and 4K Genie Mini) and DirecTV’s Genie HD DVR (model 530 and up), Live: previous requirements plus the latest Genie HD DVR (HR54)

Pioneering the first 4K Ultra HD service for any cable or satellite provider, DirecTV set up shop to deliver a handful of VOD movies in 4K on November 13, 2014. Top titles at launch included Star Trek (2009) and Transformers: Age of Extinction, along with several nature documentaries, and some older movies like Forest Gump, and Amistad. While the service is a milestone for the genre, it was really just a first step for DirecTV. The service announced on March 10 2016 that its first live 4K channel will debut with The Masters golf major, beginning April 7. The channel will then offer other live events and programming, with plans to offer a handful of live 4K Ultra HD channels — including more live sports — in the near future.

YouTube

Cost: Free

Requirements: Recommended Internet speed of 25 Mbps or higher; newer Ultra HD TVs with Android TV OS (Sony, Philips, Sharp) along with newer Samsung and LG TVs. (Note: The number of TVs that support YouTube’s brand of 4K is still in flux — just because there’s a YouTube app doesn’t mean it’ll be in 4K — so check with retailers before purchasing.)

YouTube’s 4K content uses the VP9 compression codec — as opposed to the more commonly-used HEVC (H.265) codec — which helps the platform serve up high-quality 4K Ultra HD video at up to 60 fps playback for a silky smooth ride. Thanks in large part to its massive army of video contributors and a barrage of 4K cameras now on the market, YouTube has quickly become one of the best sources for 4K Ultra HD content online. You won’t find a big catalog of films or series, but those looking for some brilliant scenes to show off their TV’s mad 4K Ultra HD skills will find them here, with everything from nature videos to high-flying daredevil stunts. And perhaps best of all, it’s all free.

UltraFlix

Cost: $1 to $10 per rental

Requirements: Recommended minimum download speed of 6 Mbps or higher; apps for select Samsung, Hisense, Vizio, and Sony Bravia Ultra HD TVs, or compatible Ultra HD TV and a Roku 4. So many options now makes Nanotech’s $300 Nuvola NP-1 streaming player a much less appealing outboard choice for the service.

The self-proclaimed largest 4K Ultra HD library of streaming content available, Ultraflix hosts hundreds of hours of 4K nature documentaries (including 40 titles originally created for IMAX), dozens of concerts, videos from acts like AC/DC and Madonna, and hundreds of hours of sci-fi, action, comedy, and drama, all for rental in 48 hour blocks. Featured Hollywood movies include Terminator Genisys, Star Trek (2009), World War Z, and Transformers Dark Side of the Moon, as well as old favorites like Rocky, Rain Man, Fargo, and RoboCop, among others.

Tips: Watching 4K movies on 4K TV and other devices

Maybe you like watching these 4K contents on your 4K TV or other device. But sometimes you will encounter the 4K video playback on 4K TV issues due to the compatibility problems or the high resolution. So in order to make you avoid these problems, you can seek help for