YouTube TV Adds 4K Package, 5.1 Dolby Audio & More Ahead Of Tokyo Olympics – Deadline
YouTube TV is rolling out an option for streaming in 4K as well as enhancements like 5.1 Dolby Audio, with the aim of improving the experience of watching next month’s Tokyo Olympics.
The new features of the streaming TV bundle are available as of today. The Olympics are due to kick off on July 23.
YouTube TV said the new 4K Plus package will cost subscribers an extra $20 a month, but new users can get a one-month free trial and pay just $10 a month for their first year. Other streaming bundle providers like FuboTV have already been offering 4K options to their subscribers.
Parent company Google announced earlier this year that YouTube TV had surpassed 3 million subscribers, making it the main rival of Hulu + Live TV in the streaming pay-TV category. After a recent price hike, YouTube TV’s base service is now $65 a month.
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In a blog post announcing the new offerings, YouTube product chief Neil Mohan noted that testing for 4K had begun in February. In addition to the high-resolution streaming, which will enhance live sports as well as on-demand programming from Discovery, FX and other programmers, the package brings subscribers other benefits. They include the ability to download programming to play later on a phone or tablet, as well as unlimited streams on home WiFi. The YouTube TV base package allows a maximum of three streams.
Calling 5.1 audio one of the biggest requests from subscribers, Mohan said it would be offered to all subscribers on select devices in the coming weeks without an extra charge. “You can soon watch movies as if you were in the theater, and enhance your watch experience even more with surround-sound audio,” he wrote.
Along with the sound and picture enhancements, YouTube is adding features designed to improve the viewing experience for live sports, especially the Olympics. The interface will allow a viewer to jump to the sport they care most about while in a recording of multiple events. Augmented search tools will enable subscribers to search the sports they want and add them to their DVR. A medal counter will also reflect how each country is faring in Tokyo in real time.
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