Remember the jump from VHS and Video CDs to DVDs? Back then 480p was the bomb, and it certainly made everyone clamor for DVD quality editions each time a movie was released. Then came the jump to Blu-ray (after the HD DVD format died out, of course, in the battle for Full HD supremacy) which clearly saw the resolution in our TV shows and movies pull ahead by a stunning margin. Now that Full HD resolution has become the norm for quite some time already, we are now being told that it is time to upgrade the TVs in our living rooms. Not only must they be “smart”, they should also be 4K or Ultra HD ready. This would mean obtaining existing material in our movie and TV libraries all over again in order to take advantage of the higher resolution count, which might prove to be a tiring exercise for some, while for enthusiasts, it is an exciting moment. Google too, does not want to miss out on this potentially lucrative sector by offering 4K content on their Google Play Movies & TV service.

Content providers do play a very important role in terms of pushing forward a particular technology, and while Google Play Movies & TV is not exactly on par with that of Netflix, it still does have a fair number of users and followers. So, with more and more widespread availability of 4K content regardless of the platform, there might be an untold “pressure” on consumers thay their eyeballs deserve far better than Full HD resolution -- and hence, an upgrade or replacement on the existing library would have to be undertaken. Not only that, with more and more 4K content being made available (and hopefully at the right price), it would also mean a shift in our hardware. TVs will need to be replaced, and so too, will smartphone displays and even computer monitors.

At this point in time, Google claims that they already carry over 12k movies in their library that are available in 4K resolution. Of course, at time of publishing, one will only be able to bring home 4K resolution movies if you happen to reside in the US and Canada. Fret not though, if North America is not your residence, Google will work on bringing the very same 4K movies and TV shows to you in the future, although as to when that will happen remains to be seen.

Perhaps this is also another move by Google to push the sales of their own Chromecast Ultra, which (incidentally) offers support for 4K Casting -- and anyone who picks it up at the moment will also receive a free 4K movie. If you love to download 4K movies as well as TV shows for offline viewing, now might also be a good time to keep a keen eye out for higher capacity microSD memory cards as 4K content is going to be a whole lot larger in size compared to Full HD files.

This is certainly a major update for Google Play Movies & TV, and it bodes well for those who already have a 4K TV at home.