Skip to main content

Amazon’s latest bright idea is to offer UHD content in High Dynamic Range later this year

Since its introduction, Amazon’s Prime Instant Video service has been playing fast-follower to Netflix. Not long after Netflix announced it was diving into producing original series, Amazon said it was doing the same; Netflix barreled into 4K UHD resolution, and shortly thereafter, Amazon did too. Today we see that trend continuing as Amazon announces that its original series will soon be the first titles from the service to be offered up in High Dynamic Range.

But what does that even mean?

Recommended Videos

For those unfamiliar, High Dynamic Range is one of the latest buzzwords to hit TV tech — some even say it is a more visually impressive evolution of TV picture quality than 4K resolution. Often referred to as HDR, this new feature in video imagery is designed to allow striking contrast between light and dark images, creating a dazzling picture that aims to model what we see in the natural world under the illumination of sunlight. That Amazon intends to provide HDR content is a good sign streaming video quality at large, but don’t get too excited just yet.

How HDR will work in the context of TV hasn’t been settled on just yet. If you haven’t yet heard, a consortium of electronics manufacturers and content creators have gathered together to create the UHD Alliance. This group is working on standardizing Ultra HD TV, and part of that work involves defining HDR for TVs, and how HDR content will be delivered and rendered in consumers homes.

We do know, however, that viewing HDR content will require a UHD TV that can support HDMI 2.0a, a new spec that was released just two days ago (April 8, 2015). So, as you can imagine, there are few TVs available now that can support HDR, and they are pretty pricey. Samsung’s 2015 SUHD TVs, for example, are some of the few models out right now that will be able to handle HDR in the future. New models from the likes of Sony, Samsung, LG, and Panasonic all have their own versions of HDR (along with wider color gamut), but those are yet to be released.

As if that wasn’t complicated enough, it turns out that all HDR is not created equal.

For instance, Dolby’s new take on HDR, called Dolby Vision, wants to eventually raise the brightness of your TV from around 100 nits, the unit used to measure brightness, to about 4,000 nits! The idea is to boost the brightness in only small patches of the image, to greatly enhance the contrast between light and dark, and make your TV look more like a window than a screen.

However, as we mentioned in a recent article, some think that kind of boost is too bright, and that deeper blacks are the solution to creating a more realistic image. In any event, Dolby’s vision of what HDR should be won’t be realized by any of the major brand TVs you’ll see coming to market this year.

So, while Amazon’s bid to stream HDR content is a welcome addition to a growing pool of sources, pickins will be slim for a while. We can expect new movies to come with HDR on UHD Blu-ray later this year, but, just as we saw with the introduction of 4K, older content will need to be remastered, and that process will take some time.

All that being said, Amazon’s new commitment to HDR is another exciting advancement for the future of video imagery. We’ll be seeing the effects of HDR hit the marketplace soon, so stay tuned to find out if the latest wave in visual splendor is all it’s cracked up to be.

Updated 4/10/2015 at 6:30 PST: After our original publication of this piece, we were contacted by Amazon’s PR reps who corrected their initial claim that Amazon originals Bosch and Transparent were confirmed by Amazon for HDR release. As yet, no titles have been officially confirmed by Amazon, according to the firm.

Ryan Waniata
Former Home Theater & Entertainment Editor
Ryan Waniata is a multi-year veteran of the digital media industry, a lover of all things tech, audio, and TV, and a…
The Beats Pill — our favorite Bluetooth speaker — at lowest price for Prime Day
The 2024 model of Beats Pill Bluetooth speaker on a table near a pool.

Are you planning to shop for Bluetooth speaker deals this Prime Day? You're should go for the Beats Pill, which is again available for its lowest-ever price of $98 from Amazon for the shopping event. The 35% discount on its original price of $150 will let you save $52, but you have to act fast. That's because we're pretty sure that stocks are already flying off the shelves for this amazing audio accessory, so before they're all gone, secure your own by pushing forward with your purchase immediately.

Buy Now

Read more
Our best budget headphones are even more affordable for Prime Day at 20% off
Side view of the 1More SonoFlow.

Amazon's Prime Day is finally here, bringing with it huge discounts for headphone deals. For a budget-friendly option that's even more affordable for the shopping event, check out the 1More SonoFlow. From their sticker price of $75, they're down to only $60 for $15 in savings, but there's no time to waste if you're interested because the offer may not last until the end of Prime Day. Push through with your purchase as soon as possible to get these headphones at 20% off.

Buy Now

Read more
Marshall Middleton Bluetooth speaker is 44% off for Prime Day, but not for long
The Marshall Middleton Bluetooth speaker on a bookshelf.

Bluetooth speaker deals are always popular during Amazon's Prime Day, and this year is no exception. We've found a lot of interesting offers, and this one is among our favorites -- the Marshall Middleton at 44% off, slashing its price to just $180 from $320 originally. We're not sure if this offer will stay online until the end of the shopping event, so if you want to take advantage of this $140 discount, you're going to have to complete your purchase as soon as you can.

$180 at Amazon

Read more