Sky has officially announced that 4K content is coming to its Sky Q streaming service, but what will you be able to enjoy in Ultra HD? Now that we know the release date of 4K on Sky, here’s everything you’ll be able to watch in UHD later this year.
On August 13, Sky will finally fix up and look sharp, giving its Sky Q subscribers what they’ve wanted for a very long time – 4K movies and TV.
The fancy-pants viewing will be exclusive to the Sky Q Silver box, which is the firm’s premium set-top offering, and take in a wide range of content, from blockbuster movies to sport and even concerts.
Got a 4K TV and Sky Q, or wondering if it’s time to ante up? Here’s all the content we know is coming.
Related: Best 4K TV 2016
What to watch in 4K Ultra HD on Sky Q
When it comes to movies, Sky promises to offer more than 70 new titles in 4K this year, more than 30 older films and box sets for rental via the Sky Store, and a further library of classics that’ll be bundled with your package. The best viewing experience will be the latest releases, of course, and the crème de la crème will be those films that were shot in 4K, or near-4K quality.
To our mind, The Revenant will be the best flick to really take in the difference, closely followed by the likes of The Martian and Spectre. How The Godfather upscales to 4K remains to be seen.
Related: What is HDR?
With regards to TV shows, Sky has pledged to release ‘lots’ of content including five new drama series and series 4 of The Blacklist, plus more than 30 hours of natural history shows and documentaries.
These include Sky’s share of David Attenborough’s catalogue, Richard Hammond’s Jungle Quest, and National Geographic programmes like Morgan Freeman’s new Story of God.
Sport enthusiasts are especially well catered to, with Sky Q offering no less than 124 live Premier League fixtures in 4K, as well as showing every 2017 Formula 1 race in Ultra HD. We expect more to follow, with cricket and maybe even American football getting the UHD treatment looking ahead to next year.
We haven’t seen many matches in 4K, but
Even music aficionados have something to look forward to, as Sky will be airing a Blur gig in 4K in the near future. We’d rather see an Albarn/Gallagher cage fight in glorious Ultra HD, of course, but you can’t have it all.
Related: Ultimate guide to 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray movies, players and discs
Sky Q and 4K content – it’s just the beginning
Sky is a bit late to the 4K streaming party, with BT Sport, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video all offering UHD viewing for some time. Better late than never, though, and the initial Sky Q offering looks promising, with the new blockbuster movies and sport coverage particular highlights.
If that’s your thing, you’re unlikely to be dissatisfied if you jump over to Sky Q now.
The Sky Q Silver box
We’d also expect to see Sky’s Ultra HD offering expand fairly rapidly in the not-too-distant future, making Sky Q an even more attractive proposition.
Depending on your interests, you may want to subscribe to Sky Q right away, or wait until we know more about the next batch of 4K content landing on the service to see if it appeals to you.
We’ll keep this article updated with all the latest UHD content available on Sky Q as it becomes available, so check back regularly to learn the latest.
Watch: Hands-on with Sky Q
Tempted by Sky Q now it offers 4K Ultra HD content? Let us know in the comments below.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
