The company just announced it will now offer certain movies and TV shows on its Prime Instant Video Service in 4K, or Ultra HD, which offers four times the number of pixels as standard full HD for ridiculously clear images.
The move comes after rival Netflix started rolling out 4K video streaming in April. But unlike Netflix's 4K offering, which costs $3 a month more than its standard streaming plan, you won't need to pay anything extra to view Amazon's super high-resolution content. It's included with an Amazon Prime membership, though you'll need a pricey 4K TV set to view it.
The list of 4K-ready content includes Amazon original series Alpha House and Transparent as well as Sony movies like After Earth, American Hustle, Captain Phillips, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and This Is the End.
Also available in 4K are the BBC thriller Orphan Black and the concert "Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga: Cheek to Cheek LIVE! Plus, Amazon's new lineup of shows debuting later this year and next year, including Mozart in the Jungle, Bosch, Hand of God, The After, and Red Oaks, will also be available for streaming in Ultra HD.
"We want to deliver the best entertainment experience, and offering Ultra HD movies and TV shows raises the bar on quality and innovation that customers have come to expect from Amazon," Amazon Digital Video Vice President Michael Paull said in a statement.
Meanwhile, video-sharing site Vimeo is also getting into 4K. You can't yet stream Vimeo videos in 4K, but the site on Monday announced that users can now download 4K video files for super-clear visuals on compatible screens like the Retina 5K display found on the latest iMac.
Streaming 4K media from a smartphone to an ultra high-definition TV, meanwhile, is now closer to reality. By the end of 2015, manufacturers will begin replacing current USB 3.0 ports with the next-gen USB 3.1, which doubles the transfer rate from 4.8 Gbps to 9.6 Gbps.
