Now finally gets 4K HDR and Dolby Atmos, but it comes at a cost
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Now (formerly Now TV) has a new subscription option that finally adds some long-awaited picture and sound features that we've been waiting for. Up until now, it's felt like Now's parent company, Sky, has intentionally held the platform back to not compete with its own Sky Stream service; however, this no longer seems to be the case. On the face of it, its new Ultra Boost feature is good news for Now subscribers. However, there is always a catch, and this one is the price.
Before we get into that, we'll dig into what the Ultra Boost feature option offers. The major news is support for 4K HDR streaming, which is a major upgrade over the 720p SDR quality you get as default with Now. We're not sure exactly which HDR formats Now will support (such as Dolby Vision), but we do see a mention of HDR10+ on Now's support page.
Furthermore, Dolby Atmos immersive audio is coming to the platform. This will, of course, require a Dolby Atmos soundbar or suitable surround-sound system, but it's an appreciated upgrade over the stereo audio support that the non-boosted service offers.
Now is also adding some quality-of-life improvements, such as ad-free streaming and allowing up to three concurrent streams on one account. The existing Boost upgrade also allows for ad-free streaming, but that only supports up to two streams at a time, while video is capped at 1080p and audio is supported up to Dolby Digital 5.1.
It's all looking good for Now so far, but here is where we need to address the price of this upgrade. It's an additional ￡9 a month on top of Now's standard ￡9.99 monthly subscription cost; meaning you'll need to be willing to pay ￡18.99 per month for those picture and sound upgrades. That's also before you add any sports or Sky Cinema content, as Now's basic membership only covers TV shows.
It seems rather steep, especially compared to other streaming platform prices. Netflix's Ultra HD plan isn't far off at ￡17.99 per month here in the UK, but Disney Plus and Amazon Prime Video's equivalent tiers only cost ￡10.99 and ￡11.99 a month respectively. Sky Stream with the UHD and Dolby Atmos upgrade comes in at ￡32 per month which is more expensive, but you also get Netflix bundled in at that price and a much more extensive range of live TV shows.
If we're nitpicking here, we would also have liked to have seen this upgrade be added to the service earlier. One of Now's biggest shows, House Of The Dragon, has just concluded its second season, so it feels like a missed opportunity to have not watched the whole series in 4K HDR and Dolby Atmos.
Nevertheless, the Ultra Boost option is available now, and if you're eager to upgrade your account then just look for the "viewing experience" within your membership options, in which you'll find the Boost upgrades.
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