Look out Netflix, Showmax and the rest. Actually… don’t worry too much about it. Sony’s newly-announced 4K streaming service probably isn’t going to trouble any streaming companies in South Africa for a while yet.
Sony’s new service, called Ultra – they seem to like the name – will only be available though an app found on Sony’s new UHD TV sets. This is another barrier to entry for the South African market (when was the last time you saw a Sony TV on the show floor?) but you might not want to play. Sony will, at launch, have between 40 and 50 movies on Ultra and you’re going to have to pay $30 (R452) to stream each one.
To be fair, that’s a once-off cost-per-film but you might as well be purchasing actual UHD media at that point. There is a cheaper option, where users who subscribe to the UltraViolet service, also from Sony, will be able to upgrade some of their films to 4K with only a minor payment.
Though we’re not tempted in the slightest, Sony might be on to a (temporary) good thing. Right up until Netflix and Co. come out with their own subscription-based 4K streaming content and tear down Sony’s expensive little house of cards.
Source: via The Next Web