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Amazon beats Netflix to the punch: HDR streaming now available to Prime members

Kris Wouk
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samsung SUHD TV 4k
Rich Shibley/Digital Trends
If you’re an Amazon Prime member, you know that there are a ton of benefits in addition to free two-day shipping. Now another feature has been added to the service that could have members jumping with joy — assuming they own the right type of TV. Making good on its promise a few months back, Amazon announced today that the debut season of its upcoming series Mozart in the Jungle will be available in 4K Ultra HD with High Dynamic Range (HDR) support for Prime members.

One of the most exciting new technologies in picture quality, HDR basically allows for much more contrast between light and dark images, along with a wider color gamut that allows for a massive expansion of available colors, allowing for a picture that more accurately depicts the real world.

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“HDR is a technical innovation that provides a truly stunning viewing experience and we’re thrilled to be the first to offer this unmatched picture quality,” Amazon vice president of digital video Michael Paull said in the press release announcing the new feature.

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“We can’t wait for our Prime members to watch and re-watch Mozart in the Jungle in HDR at no additional cost to their membership, and we look forward to adding more titles and devices that support HDR this year,” Paull added.

holding-mozart-in-the-jungle-gael-garcia-bernal
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Currently, HDR for Amazon video is limited to a few select televisions. In fact, at this point, HDR is only available through the Amazon app on Samsung SUHD TVs. There is no word on which TVs will be added in the near future, but given the relatively small number of TVs that currently support HDR, if you own a TV with HDR support from Panasonic, Sony, and a select number of others, your chances of landing Amazon Prime HDR are likely pretty good.

Amazon plans to offer more of its original series in HDR in the future, but for now there is no word on what future titles will be available with HDR support.

While its only one series and quite limited in terms of who can actually watch the series in HDR, this makes Amazon the first video service to offer HDR support. Netflix has also said that it plans to offer HDR support, but there is still no word on when titles will be available with HDR on the service.

Mozart in the Jungle is available in HDR for Prime members starting today, so if you own a Samsung SUHD TV and are wondering what all the fuss is about, you might want to carve out some time to go and see it for yourself.

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Kris Wouk
Kris Wouk
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Kris Wouk is a tech writer, gadget reviewer, blogger, and whatever it's called when someone makes videos for the web. In his…
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