By The Ultra HD & Dolby Atmos pack is available for £6 per month extra on Sky Stream and Sky Glass. Find out what you can watch in 4K Ultra HD quality.
In the UK, Sky TV customers with a Sky Stream box or Sky Glass TV can now add the Ultra HD & Dolby Atmos pack for an extra £6 per month. This gives you access to ultra high-definition 4K content from Sky including shows, documentaries, sports, films and more (dependent on your subscription). You’ll also get 10-bit HDR and Dolby Atmos surround sound on selected shows.
In this article, we’ll look at the Ultra HD & Dolby Atmos pack from Sky and what you’re able to watch if you pay for the upgrade. We’ll also look at the best Sky TV deals with Ultra HD & Dolby Atmos surround sound included.
| Prices From: | £6 per month |
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| Contact Length: | 31-day rolling contract |
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| Requirements: |
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| Best Deals: | See Sky Ultra HD TV deals → |
Contents
What Do I Need For Ultra HD & Dolby Atmos?
Before adding the Ultra HD & Dolby Atmos pack to your Sky TV service, you’ll need to make sure you have a compatible TV and broadband service:
You’ll need a compatible 4K television. To watch in Ultra HD quality, you’ll need a 4K television (3840×2160 pixels or 2160p at 50 frames per second). It will also need to support HDCP 2.2 technology. Most 4K televisions that have been manufactured since 2014 should be compatible with Sky’s Ultra HD service. This includes Sky Glass which is 4K-ready.- You’ll need a broadband connection with download speeds of at least 25Mbps. To stream in Ultra HD quality, you’ll need at least 25Mbps of available bandwidth on your broadband. Bear in mind that you’ll also need bandwidth for anything else you’re doing on the internet at the same time. For instance, if you have a 36Mbps connection, you’ll be left with just 11Mbps for everything else besides Ultra HD streaming (e.g. browsing the web and working from home). If you’re using Sky Whole Home, you’ll need to multiply up the bandwidth requirements (so for instance, you’ll need 50Mbps if you’re streaming 4K video in two rooms at the same time).
You’ll need a HDR-compatible television (with 10-bit HLG support) if you want to watch selected 4K content with HDR. You’ll also need a compatible Dolby Atmos sound system if you want to experience surround sound on compatible content.
If you buy the Sky Glass television, it will have all of this built-in, including 4K HDR and a Dolby Atmos sound system. If you’re using your own television with a Sky Stream box, you’ll need to make sure your own system is compatible before you buy.
Sky Ultra HD Channels & Shows
If you add the Ultra HD & Dolby Atmos pack to your Sky TV service, it will give you access to the following content in Ultra HD quality:
- Sky Entertainment: You’ll be able to watch some Sky Originals and selected Sky Nature shows in Ultra HD quality. For instance, House Of The Dragon is available on catch-up in Ultra HD quality.
- Sky Sports (if you have the Sky Sports Pack): You’ll be able to watch all of Sky’s Premier League games and every F1 race live in Ultra HD quality. There is also other selected Ultra HD content on the Sky Sports Main Event UHD channel such as international cricket, the DP World & PGA Tours.
- Sky Cinema (if you have the Sky Cinema Pack): You’ll be able to watch selected blockbuster movies in Ultra HD quality.
- and more…
You’ll also get Dolby Atmos surround sound on a selection of Sky’s 4K content such as English Premier League football matches and selected movies on Sky Cinema.
What’s Excluded From The Pack?
It’s worth noting that Sky’s Ultra HD & Dolby Atmos upgrade only impacts the availability of 4K content on Sky’s own television channels. It doesn’t impact whether you’ll be able to watch Ultra HD & Dolby Atmos content on any other app or service.
To give an example, your Sky Stream or Sky Glass service comes with an inclusive Netflix Basic subscription. This allows you to watch content from Netflix in HD quality. If you’d like to upgrade this to Ultra HD, you’ll need to get Netflix Premium for an extra £8 per month. This is totally separate and independent from Sky’s Ultra HD & Dolby Atmos pack. In other words, you can upgrade your Netflix to Ultra HD quality, without the need to also take Sky’s Ultra HD & Dolby Atmos pack.
According to Sky, Ultra HD content is currently supported within the Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime, YouTube and Apple TV+ apps on Sky Stream and Sky Glass. Apart the normal subscription fee for each respective service, there’s no additional cost for accessing Ultra HD content on Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube and Apple TV+. There’s also no need to have Sky’s Ultra HD & Dolby Atmos pack to get it.
Is the UHD & Dolby Atmos Pack Worth It?
It really depends on what you want to watch in Ultra HD or with Dolby Atmos surround sound.
It’s important to remember that the ‘UHD & Dolby Atmos’ pack is only required when you want to watch Sky’s own content in Ultra HD. It doesn’t affect any other service such as Netflix or Disney+ (you’ll be able to watch those in Ultra HD quality if your subscription to the relevant service allows it).
When it comes to Sky’s Ultra HD content, this really depends on which package you have. On the basic Sky Entertainment pack, there are selected Sky Original shows and a number of Sky Nature documentaries available in Ultra HD. Given the vast majority of other content and channels will still be in HD-quality, it may not be worth the extra £6 per month to upgrade.
The equation changes slightly if you also have Sky Sports or Sky Cinema on your plan. If you’re a Sky Sports subscriber, the ‘UHD & Dolby Atmos’ pack will unlock Ultra HD-quality viewing on English Premier League games, along with live Formula 1 races, some international cricket and golf. If you’re a Sky Cinema customer, you can also watch some of the latest films in Ultra HD quality with this pack.
Finally, it’s worth checking the download speed on your home broadband connection before you sign up for the ‘UHD & Dolby Atmos’ pack. You’ll need to reserve about 25Mbps for streaming in Ultra HD quality. To avoid buffering and to ensure you have enough bandwidth leftover for everything else, it’s generally best to have a total download speed of at least 50Mbps.
Sky TV Deals with Ultra HD & Dolby Atmos
Sky’s Ultra HD & Dolby Atmos pack is available on the Sky Stream box and Sky Glass TV.
At present, the basic Sky Entertainment & Netflix pack for Sky Stream costs £15 per month on an 24-month contract. Once you’ve chosen this deal, you can add Ultra HD & Dolby Atmos for an extra £6 per month.
| Service | Broadband & TV | Monthly Cost (may rise during contract) |
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 Sky Stream, Essential TV & Netflix
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Broadband not included | £15.00 +£6/month Ultra HD No upfront fee 24 month contract | See deal |
Sky Stream, Essential TV & Netflix (31 day)
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Broadband not included | £18.00 +£6/month Ultra HD No upfront fee 1 month contract | See deal |
Sky Stream, Ultimate TV & Netflix
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Broadband not included | £22.00 +£6/month Ultra HD No upfront fee 24 month contract | See deal |
Sky Stream, Ultimate TV & Netflix (31 day)
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Broadband not included | £25.00 +£6/month Ultra HD No upfront fee 1 month contract | See deal |
For extra savings, consider taking Sky Broadband together with Sky TV. At present, it’s possible to get a combined package from £39 per month with broadband and TV (plus an extra £6 per month for the Ultra HD & Dolby Atmos pack).
| Service | Broadband & TV | Monthly Cost (may rise during contract) |
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|---|---|---|---|
Sky Stream, Essential TV & Netflix with Full Fibre 75 Broadband
| 75Mbps average download
| £39.00 +£6/month Ultra HD No upfront fee 24 month contract | See deal |
Sky Stream, Essential TV & Netflix with Full Fibre 150 Broadband
| 150Mbps average download
| £40.00 +£6/month Ultra HD No upfront fee 24 month contract | See deal |
Sky Stream, Ultimate TV & Netflix with Full Fibre 75 Broadband
| 75Mbps average download
| £43.00 +£6/month Ultra HD No upfront fee 24 month contract | See deal |
Sky Stream, Ultimate TV & Netflix with Full Fibre 150 Broadband
| 150Mbps average download
| £44.00 +£6/month Ultra HD No upfront fee 24 month contract | See deal |
Sky Stream, Essential TV & Netflix with Full Fibre 500 Broadband
| 500Mbps average download
| £45.00 +£6/month Ultra HD No upfront fee 24 month contract | See deal |
Sky Stream, Ultimate TV & Netflix with Full Fibre 500 Broadband
| 500Mbps average download
| £49.00 +£6/month Ultra HD No upfront fee 24 month contract | See deal |
More Information
For more information about Ultra HD and Dolby Atmos on Sky, please see Sky’s official website.
FFU01 said:
It really isn’t worth it. Hardly any of the content is in Dolby Atmos and you can’t tell if it is until you start watching. It’s a bit of a rip off at the moment!