Amazon to begin streaming 4K content in October

[Scorpus]

In the lead-up to IFA 2014, Samsung has announced that one of its content partners, Amazon, will soon begin streaming 4K content to its Ultra HD TVs through a dedicated Instant Video app. Although Amazon Instant Video isn't available in all countries, Samsung states that the 4K streaming option will launch "globally" in October.

At this stage it appears 4K Instant Video streaming will be limited to Samsung's UHD TVs, although it likely won't be long before its available on other devices. 4K Amazon Instant Video streaming is part of a wider effort to bring Ultra HD content to Samsung's TVs, as announced at CES 2014; an effort that also includes Netflix, Comcast and DirecTV.

Speaking of Netflix, Samsung also announced that Netflix's 4K streaming will expand to Europe, after first launching in the US in April. Some of the 4K content available for streaming through Netflix includes House of Cards, Breaking Bad, and a few movies, but pickings are still slim.

Currently there aren't many details on what content will be available through Amazon's 4K streaming service, or what sort of monster internet connection it will require. To stream 4K content from Netflix, you not only need a device capable of HEVC/H.265 decoding, but you also need a constant 20 Mbps connection to support the high-resolution stream.

There are also concerns surrounding the quality of current 4K video streams, which use relatively low bitrates (due to internet bandwidth concerns) and don't necessarily look better than Blu-rays. However, this issue tends to come second to that of 4K content availability: there simply aren't enough 4K videos out there, making the launch of 4K Amazon Instant Video important for owners of Ultra HD televisions.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/57892-amazon-to-begin-streaming-4k-content-in-october.html

 

[tipstir]

8K just so close and 4K just finding it's way to a small number of customers. Still 1080i/p is still popular because prices have dropped so low making them more ideal. OTA - (over-the-air) is still 1080i Digital Dolby) I don't see it moving to 4K just yet.. Netflix streams in 4K but like I say I only use 1080i/p HDTV's here along with 1080p Computer Monitors. Don't see any plans going 4K until transparent tech OLED start coming out then everything changes into that tech. By then 8K should be more mainstream and 4K might even be worth getting since prices will drop also.

Time will tell!

 

[Guest]

Whats with all these streaming places increasing the bandwidth use by offering higher quality streams when we have these wars with ISP over this going on. They should be working on resolving the current bandwidth issues before offer things that use more. According to Comcast Verizon an others they cant deal with all the streaming bandwidth we currently have. I used to be on the side of the streamers but I starting to see that its not entirely the ISPs fault. these sites are offering to much bandwidth faster then the ISPs can upgrade.

 

[tipstir]

They need to just do what the ISP can manage and not go overboard. Most of this would require 500 mbps to 1GBps in download speed, but that's very costly for most and I am not buying into it. 4K not high on my priority list yet..

 

[Timonius]

They should focus on internet infrastructure. 'Amazon Fibre' anyone?

 

[Guest]

The future waits for no one. Adapt and evolve or be left behind.

 

[MikeAcker]

Whats with all these streaming places increasing the bandwidth use by offering higher quality streams when we have these wars with ISP over this going on. They should be working on resolving the current bandwidth issues before offer things that use more. According to Comcast Verizon an others they cant deal with all the streaming bandwidth we currently have. I used to be on the side of the streamers but I starting to see that its not entirely the ISPs fault. these sites are offering to much bandwidth faster then the ISPs can upgrade.

I vote for this. even on 1080p I see a lot of flat-spotting in the images where the color isn't shaded through properly. we need G-Bit fiber on the last mile. but I ain't gonna hold my breath.

 

[tipstir]

I vote for this. even on 1080p I see a lot of flat-spotting in the images where the color isn't shaded through properly. we need G-Bit fiber on the last mile. but I ain't gonna hold my breath.

By the time everything get the next full format change it might be 8K so right around the corner. 4K with what's available for it limited to the 1080i/1080p more people have this now then the 720p. Netflix just wasting money where it could be use to keep the prices monthly lower than trying to raise it for higher to pay for 4K format.