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Anonymous User
Not applicable

No support for 4K, Dolby Atmos, or Dolby Vision.

So to my understanding you pay extra for boost which brings your content up to 1080p. Okay great but it begs the question, with so many streaming apps out there like Netflix, Disney Plus etc that support top quality sound and picture, why does one of UK's leading brands in entertainment not provide the same quality. Pretty much all new movies and TV shows are provided in 4K let alone with Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision. I just find it a little frustrating I guess because I only pay for NOW as there are movies and tv shows that cant be found anywhere else, I would expect for the price you pay, you get the best quality. Even 5.1 doesn't sound great on the NOW app. I would hope one day higher quality content could be provided.

15 REPLIES 15
Anonymous User
Not applicable

If the deal with HBO really has come to an end and HBO Max is finally coming to the UK, I will certainly be getting rid of NOW in favor of that. The HBO content is one of the biggest reasons to sign up to NOW.

RoyB
Legend

@Anonymous User 

Well, it won’t be for a while yet, but this industry commentator has views that chime with me….

https://the-media-leader.com/content-is-always-king-with-the-uk-launch-of-hbo-max-in-2025/

Set a Payment PIN on your account so that no-one but you can buy memberships on it. Check your bank accounts monthly for any other unexpected payments to Now. That way you can at least nip them in the bud, while you and Now figure out whose fault they are.
redchiz1
Champion 2

Interesting read that @RoyB thanks. 

Anonymous User
Not applicable

I don't think they will launch a new service i think by 2025 Discovery Plus will have been renamed to something else and HBO content will just be added to that along with BT Sport+Eurosport Combination.

RoyB
Legend

@nst 

I think I could live with three services - a monopoly would have us back at Sky-style pricing and lock-ins.

One shift is already occurring though - from the ‘TV’ model to the ‘Cinema’ model.

In the TV model, you treat streaming like TV, but paid for - PayView, if you like. You pony up your subscription, and then you choose from all the content laid out for you.

In the Cinema model, though, it’s more like going to the flicks, when you look to see who has what movie, and go to the relevant cinema accordingly.

We’re just starting to choose streaming services on something like this basis, except of course it’s a one-month lock-in each time.

Look at what I just said. The month-by-month flexibility of the new streaming services, once so prized, now being described as a lock-in 😛

So might we move away from subscriptions to rental, as per anything Amazon Prime doesn’t want to just give us as part of our subscription now?

Or will the content providers start to learn why the big US movie studios never branched out into owning cinemas, and find that the ‘extra profits’ for running your own streaming service get soaked up by all the Live Chat, Content Team, and other infrastructure you need?

And go back to doing deals, with streaming services that concentrate on just that, and themselves stop branching out into making content?

Its going to be interesting to see if Paramount+ survives very long after we have watched Yellowstone and its prequel, or if it gets subsumed into Peacock.

Even on Amazon, I worry about Bosch; Legacy on FreeVee; I mean thanks very much, and we love it, but can one advert for Audible really fund a whole episode?

Too much content chasing too few dollars; something has to give 😢

Set a Payment PIN on your account so that no-one but you can buy memberships on it. Check your bank accounts monthly for any other unexpected payments to Now. That way you can at least nip them in the bud, while you and Now figure out whose fault they are.
nst
Elite

@RoyB 

Something does indeed have to give.  It certainly will... it will take a couple of years to kick in but it will.

And sure, the more discerning consumer will look at each service in isolation and pay a single month when there is enough content to warrant the money - binge it all, then cancel the sub.  This is how it will work but I fail to see how the streaming companies are happy with this approach although its theirs in the making.

Rental is indeed the key here, especially with movies.  Personally, when I made the decision to cancel the Cinema pass, it had become clear to me that I was only really, on average, watching one movie per month - and some of those were things id seen before and watched again for the sake of it.  I decided that if i rented the movie from Apple it would be £5 and in 4K ATMOS quality too - and even at one a month it would still be a 50% saving on the cinema pass but in better quality.

Has this worked for me in practise?  Ill be honest.. not really.  There are currently about 4 movies that are on NOW that I would want to watch - that I didnt watch at the cinema, and I certainly want to see - sadly it seems that the rental window on Apple is very short in practice and once it then goes to Sky that rental is no longer possible.   Of course the solution to this is to actually rent the thing when its available (before Sky get it) and then it would be fine.... its just surprising that the rental window closes at all - but it does.  So im left with buying a single months cinema pass - and sure, thats cheap for 4 movies, but id certainly cancel straight away.