Du to start 4K streaming in UAE

UAE telecom provider du will soon start broadcasting 4K content to its subscribers in the UAE.

Du says it has already tied up with several studios and facilities are in place for content upgrades.

The announcement comes almost a month after its competitor Etisalat said it plans to introduce 4K content during the first quarter of 2016.

"Very soon we plan to introduce 4K streaming to our subscribers," says Samer Geissah, Vice-President, Consumer, New business and Innovation, du. The service is expected to start sometime by the end of March.

Commenting on the available content he says, "We have already obtained rights from certain studios for delivering their 4K content. To start with we will be offering a bunch of TV series and movies in 4K," he added.

Although 4K television sets started gaining prominence in the UAE since 2014, the non-availability of 4K content from mainstream providers made those units good enough only for HD channels.

Telcos and service providers are also under pressure to introduce 4K following the increasing presence of streaming services such as ICFlix, Starz and Netflix.

Netflix which made itself legally available here in the UAE a few weeks ago has been offering some titles are in Ultra HD or 4K, with a resolution of 3840x2160 pixels, about four times more than full HD.

In December, Etisalat announced that it has partnered with Huawei to introduce the first Ultra HD 4K IPTV service in the Middle East and Africa, MEA, which will be available exclusively for Etisalat’s eLife customers in the UAE starting in the first quarter of 2016.

Etisalat says it will soon introduce a new set top box that would be capable enough to handle 4K content.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.