As we inch ever closer to a world in which 4K becomes the new standard resolution, Google is helping its customers prepare by offering to upgrade many of their old purchases for free. On Tuesday, Google announced that whenever 4K movies become available from participating studios, it will automatically upgrade your past movie purchases so that you can stream them in 4K, even if you bought the movie in SD or HD.
All you have to do to receive the 4K upgrades is open the Google Play Movies & TV app, and you’ll see a screen like the one at the top of this post that will let you know how many movies in your collection were upgraded. You will have the opportunity to click through and see a full list of the upgrades as well.
In addition to free 4K upgrades, Google is also lowering the price of 4K movies across the board, so that you might actually considering shelling out a few extra bucks for the best-looking version of the movie. As you can see on the Google Play store, many recent 4K titles have dropped to $19.99 or less.
Plus, if you prefer to watch 4K movies right from your smart TV, Google is expanding the number of television sets it supports as well. In addition to 4K Sony Bravia TVs, the Play Movies & TV app also supports 4K movies on “most” 4K Samsung Smart TVs, and support for LG TVs is in the works for the future. And finally, the Play Movies & TV app for Samsung, LG, and Vizio TVs has been updated “with a modern look and feel to provide a better experience.”
