Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Audio / Video
  3. News

Google Play sides with team Samsung in the HDR format war

By

Designed to rival Dolby Vision, HDR10+ is the brainchild of Samsung, which teamed up with Panasonic and 20th Century Fox to bring it to life. Together, these brands make up an initiative known as HDR10+ Technologies, and it’s this initiative that has announced that HDR10+ will soon expand to Google Play Movies and TV. This means customers will have the option to both download and stream 4K Ultra HD content in HDR10+ through the service.

lg-55-inch-4k-ultra-hd-smart-led-hdr-tv
Image used with permission by copyright holder

What’s interesting, though, is that Dolby Vision and HDR10+ are equal in the real-world. Both utilize dynamic metadata to optimize content on a scene-by-scene, or even frame-by-frame basis. So, why was it created? Well, it’s an advancement on HDR10 — one of the first and most basic forms of HDR, which uses static metadata to set the viewing standard for the entire movie instead of optimizing each frame. Alas, it couldn’t rival Dolby Vision.

Recommended Videos

However, Dolby Vision is the more advanced out of the two. It supports up to 68.7 billion colors (12-bit), versus the 1.07 billion (10-bit) that HDR10+ can tap into, and has a peak brightness of 10,000 cd/m². HDR10+, on the other hand, doesn’t exceed 4000 cd/m². Here’s the kicker: There aren’t a whole lot of 4K TVs or even 8K TVs on the market that can stretch above 1000 cd/m², and there certainly isn’t a single one that can render 12-bit color. Sigh.

Related

As it stands, Dolby Vision and HDR10+ are pretty evenly matched — for now, at least. But this isn’t something Google Play Movies & TV viewers need to worry about, seeing as it doesn’t support Dolby Vision (though it’s said to be working on adding it in the not-too-distant future). So the fact of the matter is, HDR10+ is going to mark a massive improvement in viewing when it arrives on the service in the coming months, if not weeks.

This news comes after Vizio announced that it will be arming its 4K TVs with HDR10+ out of the box moving forward, starting with the new Vizio P-Series Quantum X, Vizio P-Series Quantum, Vizio M-Series Quantum, and Vizio V-Series.

Follow our live blog for more CES news and announcements.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Josh Levenson
Josh Levenson
Having spent half a decade writing about the latest AV, mobile and social news for some of the world’s largest…
The coolest products Samsung showed off at CES: Ballie, Neon, and lots of TVs
Samsung's ball-shaped robot, called Ballie.

This story is part of our continuing coverage of CES 2020, including tech and gadgets from the showroom floor.

Samsung was one of the biggest booths (more like an entire wing), and the company showed off some new and groundbreaking tech at CES this week. 

Read more
Best AirPods Max deals: New and refurbished for $420
A woman wearing the Apple AirPods Max.

The AirPods Max are Apple’s high end headphone offering, and while they come in at a premium price point, they sometimes make some of the best Apple deals and best AirPods deals you can shop. They offer high quality sound that can compete and even best almost anything you’ll find hanging out among the best headphone deals, and they fit right into the Apple software ecosystem if you utilize several Apple devices. While there aren’t often a lot of AirPods Max deals to shop, there are some out there right now. We’ve rounded them up below, and if you’re looking for a premium in-ear headphone solution by Apple you can also check out the best AirPods Pro deals currently going on.
Apple AirPods Max -- $450, was $549

The AirPods Max are Apple's first attempt at a set of over-the-ear headphones. They got a lot of things right. We love these headphones, even when compared against some audiophile options that prioritize sound quality. The AirPods Max have awesome noise cancelling. Everything Apple learned with the earbud-style AirPods works even better with the cup style of the AirPods Max. Along with great ANC comes a great transparency mode. With a twist of the Max's massive knob, you'll go from complete silence to feeling like you're not wearing headphones at all. The audio on phone calls is great as well, and they pair better with the iPhone than any non-Apple headphones could ever hope to.

Read more
Sonos Roam 2 gets a surprise release alongside an app update
The Sonos Roam 2.

Alongside today's launch of its first headphones, the Sonos Ace, Sonos has also quietly unveiled the second generation of its popular portable wireless speaker, the Sonos 2.

The Sonos Roam 1 launched in 2021 and has been a mainstay on out best best Bluetooth speakers list ever since for its portability, excellent sound, and Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, which allows it to connect to your Sonos network system. The second generation of the Sonos Roam remains largely the same (which isn't a bad thing), except for a couple of key features.

Read more