Sony is currently offering movies in 4K and HDR through its ULTRA streaming service in the US. The company has announced that ULTRA will soon get 48-hour rentals and free 10-minute previews. It will also be supported on Intel PCs beginning in Q1 2017.

48-hour rentals & 10-minute previews
Sony launched ‘ULTRA’ in the US in early April 2016 as a streaming service for purchasing movies in 4K and HDR quality. To date, it has only been available on 2015 and 2016 Sony Android TVs in the US.

The company will, starting from Q1 2017, add 48-hour rentals of movies for $7.99 per title. It will also be possible to watch a 10-minute preview of any movie before purchase.

- “By enhancing our ULTRA streaming service with the addition of rental and free preview options, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is making ULTRA an even more flexible, user-friendly destination for consumers who demand a premium 4K viewing experience,” said Richard Berger, SPHE’s Senior Vice President, Worldwide Digital Strategy and Advanced Platforms.

New releases on ULTRA are priced at $29.99 to own in 4K with HDR. Library titles are priced at $25.99 to own.


ULTRA coming to PCs
In a partnership with Intel, Sony will also be bringing ULTRA to computers powered by the 7th generation of Intel Core processors. There are no PCs available on the market based on these processors but Intel tells us to expect them beginning in Q1 2017.

The requirement may seem illogical at first glance but it has to do with copyright protection. The new Intel processors have strong built-in DRM for video streaming, which Sony requires to stream 4K to a PC. It is not clear if ULTRA will also support HDR streaming to PCs from the beginning.

- “The combination of the amazing technology in our 7th Gen Intel Core processors combined with the fantastic 4K titles on ULTRA means that anyone with these new computers will be immersed in a 4K viewing world,” said Navin Shenoy, general manager of Intel’s Client Computing Group

ULTRA is only available in the US. Sony has said that it is considering expanding it to more regions later.

- Source: Sony and Intel