Amistad and Forest Gump (pictured) will be among the theatricals available when DirecTV begins proffering on-demand titles in the 4K format for the first time on Friday.
The DBS leader said it will become the first multichannel video provider to offer 4K Ultra HD programming directly to subscribers’ TVs.
Customers with DirecTV’s Genie HD DVR will be able to watch 4K programming – a mix of new releases, archival films and nature documentaries from Paramount and K2 Communications -- on supporting 2014 Samsung UHD TVs. Those viewers will screen the images in four times the resolution of the high-definition format.
Among the other titles available in 4K: Transformers: Age of Extinction, Dinosaurs Alive!, Legends of Flight, The Last Reef and Antarctica.
Update: A DirecTV official confirmed that the initial slate of 4K titles will be pay-per-view, with prices ranging from $3.99 to $15.99 per title.
"For more than 20 years, DirecTV has been changing the way people watch TV as the first to move the industry from analog to digital to HD and now the ultimate TV experience with 4K TV,” said Romulo Pontual, executive vice president and CTO, DirecTV. "The picture quality and depth of detail that 4K provides is nothing short of remarkable and we will continue to expand our 4K lineup as consumer demand grows and evolves."
The rollout comes a week after DirecTV president and CEO Mike White, speaking on the company’s third-quarter earnings call, said it would enter the 4K VOD arena.
Comcast is also expected to launch a 4K VOD streaming app on Samsung TVs before the end of the year.
--Multichannel News Technology Editor Jeff Baumgartner contributed to this report.
