Some do, yeah. I have a friend who is real upset about the change, for instance. But I get you - I don't even have a device with 4k resolution, and I am perfectly content.
The on-device TV demos and Sony's 'core' 4k streaming service
>Nothing streaming at typical cable bitrates is worthy of being called "UHD," let alone "4K."
I agree! However, by that same token, 1080p streams aren't really 1080p. A not-actually-4k stream still looks dramatically better than a not-actually-1080p stream.
The Dolby Atmos/Vision standards also provide HDR, dynamic brightness, and surround sound. People spend thousands of dollars on home theater setups to meet those standards. Max has almost completely stopped producing cinematic content, so I can’t imagine the upsell making much sense.
If you are spending thousands of dollars on a home theater, surely streaming was a no go from the start? Blueray is the only available option which has a chance of delivering the optimal experience.
A lot of people, myself included, are fine with “less than optimal”. Sure, I’d prefer a blu-ray for my favorite epics, but a great home theater system also makes streaming content a satisfying and convenient experience. There’s also a lot of content one wants to watch that never makes it to blu-ray
Blu-ray is not raw, it is just HEVC with a higher bitrate. Most content encoded at a high profile level is not even going to hit the bitrate limit of a good streaming service + connection. Other than pausing during an action scene to take a still, I can’t perceive the difference.
I don't particularly care either. These streaming services will compress the video pretty horribly anyway. I saw lagging artifacts in a panning shot once and I started wondering why I pay these people.