Sony Pictures Home Entertainment introduced its 4K movie streaming service, dubbed as "ULTRA," earlier this year in line with its release of new 4K HDR TVs. Seemingly enough, Intel will start to cater Sony's movie streaming service to any supported PCs powered by an Intel 7th Gen Core processor beginning in first quarter of 2017.
Sony's ULTRA 4K streaming service is designed to provide 4K resolution, high dynamic range, a wider color spectrum, digital movie extras and UltraViolet interoperability so viewers get the most out of their televisions and their movie collections. Because of the integration of Intel's Kaby Lake, supported PCs can handle multiple 4K streams, play 360-degree content and run VR and AR applications, The Verge reported.
According to reports, the reason for Sony collaborating with Intel is likely because of the 7th Gen Core's support for the latest forms of DRM, which is the main concern film studios have when allowing their movies to be streamed to PCs. Now, more than 100 devices with 7th Gen Core processors are planned to be on the market during the holidays this year.
"More and more people are turning to their PC as their main movie viewing device. At the same time, studios like Sony Pictures Home Entertainment are leading the way in producing beautiful 4K content," said general manager of Intel's Client Computing Group Navin Shenoy to Silicon Valley Daily.
He added "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."
Meanwhile, Sony released Ultra in April with launch titles like "Concussion," "The Night Before," "The Walk," as well as classics such as "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Ghostbusters." The idea on ULTRA was initially meant to only support movie purchases as a kind of "business decision."
Films available for purchase, rental, and streaming on ULTRA are priced at $29.99 to own in 4K with HDR, and will be $7.99 for 48 hour rental. Library titles are priced at $25.99 to own. In order to wisely choose movies to purchase, Sony is going to introduce free 10-minute previews from films.