As HBO Max transitions into the vague and monosyllabic Max, it will offer a higher-priced plan that includes a ton of 4K Ultra HD content. Per Variety, the company announced Monday that the 4K tier will cost $19.99 per month and feature more than 1,000 films and episodes in the ultra-high-definition format, with is about eight times more than what’s currently available in 4K on HBO Max.
This new tier — called the Ultimate Ad-Free plan — also will allow viewers up to four concurrent streams and up to 100 offline downloads, as well Dolby Atmos and Vision for select content and devices. Although HBO Max subscribers currently paying $15.99 per month have access to some 4K content, the new announcement suggests they eventually will have to upgrade to continue watching movies and shows in that format.
However, a company spokesperson said existing subscribers will still have access to their current 4K content, as well as other features of their plan, for at least six months following the launch of Max — which happens on Tuesday, May 23, if you haven’t been paying attention to the incessant ads that just bulldoze the existential afterglow of Succession and Barry.
According to Warner Bros. Discovery, Max’s 4K UHD content will include films from various franchises like Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, The Matrix, and The Dark Knight films. Subscribers to the higher-priced plan will also be able to watch all episodes of Game of Thrones, The House of the Dragon, and The Last of Us in 4K UHD, so we can all wince a little harder at the obvious green screen work straining under television budgets.
In addition, all Warner Bros. movies released in theaters this year and going forward will be available in 4K UHD when they stream on Max, giving everyone claiming they won’t see The Flash in theaters because of Ezra Miller’s recent behavior some high-resolution explosions to look forward to.
