When we did our review of HBO Max the main gripe was the lack of 4k, HDR and Dolby Atmos. But apparently that will all change with the premiere of Wonder Woman 1984 that will stream in 4k, HDR10/Dolby Vision, and immersive Dolby Atmos audio (that according to Director Patty Jenkins who revealed the news today via Twitter).
Of course, the best way to watch a film as big as Wonder Woman 1984 is on the biggest screen possible, but because of Covid-19 seats and theater locations will be limited (or closed like they are in Los Angeles) when #WW84 debuts on Dec. 25th.
But since the majority of fans will be viewing Wonder Woman 1984 for the first time in a home environment (with Warner Bros. giving up a potential $1B in box office revenue) the ability to see it in 4k resolution could make the smaller screen premiere more bearable.
Not to mention the audio experience Dolby Atmos can bring to home theaters with the right set up (don’t worry, if your audio system doesn’t support Atmos the format will revert to the best surround sound possible). Read: How to Get Dolby Atmos to Work
For those of you who need to catch up on what’s happening with WW84, the film is releasing to theaters and on HBO Max simultaneosly on Dec. 25th. It’s a great move by Warner Bros. to try and procure more subscribers to their $14.99 per month service, but the movie will only last on the streamer for one month. After that, Wonder Woman 1984 will be offered for digital purchase or on-demand, followed by physical media and rental options.
“We realize that a lot of consumers can’t go back to the movies due to the pandemic, so we also want to give them the option to see Wonder Woman 1984 via our HBO Max platform,” said Ann Sarnoff, Chair and CEO, WarnerMedia Studios and Networks Group.
According to WarnerMedia, 4k will be supported on Apple TV 4K, Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K, Amazon Fire TV Cube and 4K Fire TV Edition smart TVs, Chromecast Ultra, AT&T TV and select Android TV devices.
As well as in traditional theaters, Wonder Woman 1984 is expected to premiere in select 3D cinemas including IMAX locations.
This gives everyone a very enjoyable experience, thanks for sharing
GregoryP HBOMAX is for the folks who don’t care about quality audio and just play it from their lousy TV speakers or some 2.1 soundbar they found on sale. With a good selection and so on you’d think AT&T the owner of this application would be more timely in their technology as a tech company, guess not.
HBO Max doesn’t even support 5.1, much less Atmos. While HBO says they have DD 5.1 sound, it’s not true. Check Reddit, it’s well known that 5.1 has been absent since around July when an HBO disabled it with an app update. They are so far behind technically vs the other streaming services they won’t even admit the reality of their capabilities.