As of June 2021, HBO Max had around 44 million subscribers to its streaming service. This is roughly the same amount as Hulu and far behind Disney+ and Netflix’s numbers.
HBO Max’s popularity is due largely to its vast collection of WarnerMedia films and its connection with DC.
4K is becoming more and more popular, estimated to be the standard in viewing by 2025. Around 44% of US households have a form of 4K device in 2021.
4K has grown by around 13% between mid-year 2020 and mid-year 2021, showing the rising interest in high-resolution content in US homes.
Does HBO Max 4K in 2024?
HBO Max does have content in 4K UHD, HDR 10, and Dolby Vision on its ad-free plan. Movies that are available in 4K are also available in HD. HBO Max’s 4K offerings are limited and are not available on the ad-supported plan.
4K resolution content is relatively new to HBO Max, having only been introduced with the release of Wonder Woman 1984 on December 25, 2020.
Since Wonder Woman 1984’s 4K release on HBO Max, the streaming service has added other titles to its 4K content with plans to continue to add 4K movies to its library.
HBO Max, which started streaming in May 2020, is late to the game when it comes to 4K content. Netflix, Disney+, and Hulu all had 4K content upon HBO Max’s release.
When HBO Max started streaming its two prequels, HBO Now and HBO Go also did not offer any kind of 4K as it wasn’t too popular when they began.
How Can I Tell If HBO Max Is Streaming In 4K?
There are a few stipulations to being able to stream HBO Max in 4K.
Make sure you are playing HBO Max on a 4K HDR TV that is capable of displaying Dolby Vision or HDR10 or
- A 4K HDR streaming device connected to a 4K compatible TV
- Dependable high-speed internet of 25 Mbps or higher
- Dolby Atmos Surround sound system
- Ad-free HBO Max account
- To play HBO Max in 4K, all devices need to be compatible with HDMI 2.0 and HDCP 2.2.
HDMI 2.0 significantly improves bandwidth, enhancing video and audio. HDCP 2.2 is high-bandwidth digital content protection, which prevents the copying of 4K content.
How Do I Watch (Or Enable) 4K In HBO Max?
HBO Max is unable to support 4K content on a PC or laptop. Even if the PC or laptop is 4K compatible, HBO Max cannot ensure it is being played using high-bandwidth digital content protection.
You can download the HBO Max app to play 4K content from a 4K compatible TV, an Xbox One S or higher, or Xfinity X1 or Xfinity Flex.
There are a few 4K TVs that do not support Dolby Atmos sound and will not play HBO Max 4K content in its best quality.
You can find a complete list of compatible devices for HBO Max 4K on HBO Max’s website.
How Do I Know Which HBO Max Movies And Shows Are In 4K?
There are currently not many titles on HBO Max available in 4K, but there are some. These include:
- Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice: Ultimate Edition
- Dune
- Godzilla Vs Kong
- Judas and The Black Messiah
- The Many Saints of Newark
- The Little Things
- The Matrix
- The Matrix Reloaded
- The Matrix Revolutions
- No Sudden Move
- Mortal Kombat
- Those Who Wish Me Dead
- Tom and Jerry
- Zack Snyder’s Justice League
- Zack Snyder’s Justice League: Justice is Gray
- Wonder Woman
- Wonder Woman 1984
HBO Max plans to add more titles to this list soon.
What Speed Does HBO Max Need For 4K?
HBO Max 4K content will need at least a 25 Mbps high-speed internet connection to stream in 4K but suggests 50 Mbps for optimum quality.
If you plan on watching 4K titles on multiple devices at the same time, your internet speed will need to be significantly higher than that.
HBO Max will automatically adjust the quality of your viewing to the speed of your connection. If your internet speed is less than 25 Mbps it will revert to HD resolution.
Different brands of smart TVs will have different settings. For most, to test your internet connection, go to settings>network>test connection.
What Devices Will Support HBO Max in 4K?
Not all 4K devices will be compatible with HBO Max 4K content. The following are currently suitable:
- Xfinity X1
- Xfinity Flex
- Xbox One S, One X, and Series X/S
- Vizion 4K Smart TV
- Samsung 4K TV
- Roku Ultra 4800x, Roku 4K TV, Roku Premiere, Roku Streaming Stick+
- LG 4K smart TVs
- Cox Contour 2, Contour Stream Player
- Google Chromecast Ultra
- Chromecast with Google TV
- Apple 4K TV
- AT&T Streaming Box and android TVs
- Amazon Fire Stick 4K
- Fire TV Cube
HBO Max plans on expanding its availability of compatible devices. HBO Max is not available on any PC or laptop.
Does HBO Max Charge More For 4K?
HBO Max does not charge extra for 4K, however, you cannot access 4K on the ad-supported plan. The ad-supported plan is $9.99 per month, while the ad-free plan, which includes 4K content, is $14.99 per month.
Is HBO Max 4K?
HBO Max currently has 4K titles, but there are only 17 titles available in 4K. HBO Max plans on adding more 4K movies to its library including select future DC features. 4K content on HBO Max is limited to its ad-free plan which is $14.99 per month.
You cannot manually change the video quality while streaming HBO Max, it will automatically stream to the best possible resolution for your device settings and internet speed.
If using an Xfinity box to stream HBO Max content, some X1 devices will not be compatible with 4K content. You need an X1 Xi6 box to stream 4K.
With HBO Max’s extensive library of WarnerMedia video, as well as DC, Studio Ghibli, and more, it is difficult to believe that it has such a limited amount of 4K available.
Since HBO Max didn’t get in the 4K streaming game until the end of 2020 with the release of Wonder Woman 1984, it has some catching up to do.
