2018 TVs from Samsung, Panasonic are getting HDR10+ via firmware updates

By Kris Wouk August 28, 2018

As it currently stands, there are two major high dynamic range (HDR) technologies: HDR10 and Dolby Vision. While many TV manufacturers support both, some like Samsung and Panasonic have left out support for Dolby Vision. TVs from both manufacturers still display HDR just fine, but Dolby Vision offers a few things that HDR10 doesn’t, including per-frame metadata. Now, TVs from both Samsung and Panasonic are catching up in a big way, thanks to a firmware update that brings a new HDR technology called HDR10+.

As the name implies, HDR10+ builds on HDR10 by adding dynamic metadata to each frame, which lets the TV adapt the picture on a per-frame basis, making for an even more life-like picture. Among other things, this fixes a potential problem with standard HDR10 where night scenes can end up looking too dark. Dolby Vision still has some advantages — it supports 12-bit color while HDR10+ only supports 10-bit, for example — but HDR10+ also has the advantage of being royalty free, while Dolby Vision is not.

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This shouldn’t exactly come as a surprise. In June, HDR10+ Technologies, a joint venture put together by Samsung, Panasonic, and 20th Century Fox, announced a certification program for HDR10+. While it wasn’t announced that Samsung and Panasonic would bring the technology to their TVs so soon, it was an easy assumption considering both companies’ stake in HDR10+.

As for 20th Century Fox, the company has commited to support the technology in its upcoming releases, and will have more to say about that, including titles being released that will feature HDR10+, in the coming weeks. This wouldn’t be the first content to make use of HDR10+ though. In the tail end of 2017, Amazon added support for HDR10+ to more than 100 titles, including The Grand Tour, The Tick, and The Man in the High Castle.

While they might be the biggest names currently associated with HDR10+, the three mentioned above are hardly the only companies planning to support the HDR technology. A full list of companies adopting the new technology is available via the HDR10+ website, and while many of them produce tools for content providers, this could entice more companies to support the technology.

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Samsung’s new Frame TV transforms your living room into a 4K art gallery

A Samsung Frame TV hangs on a wall.

Since the first flat panel TVs were introduced, the holy grail of television (at least in the mind of manufacturers) has been a TV that didn’t look like a TV, but instead looked like a piece of framed art on the wall – a window to another world, if you will. It’s a tact that has been tried before, but Samsung’s new Frame TV (yes, that’s its name) perhaps strikes closer to this target than any of its predecessors. And you know what? It’s not even outrageously expensive.
In true art gallery fashion, the Frame TV is sold in two pieces: The display panel itself is available in a 55-inch model at $2,000, and a 65-inch model at $2800. But if you want it to look like art, you’ll need to buy one of the bezels available in white, beige, and walnut – think of it as the frame for your painting – for $200 or $250, respective to size.
Lest we be too quick to dismiss this as another gimmick, we must point out that Samsung has gone to great lengths to make this TV look like art – we’ve seen it in action, and it is convincing. Adding to the suspension of disbelief is Samsung’s Invisible Connection cable, a fishing line-like fiber optic cable that delivers the video signal from common components like a cable box, Blu-ray player, or Roku, also found in the company’s QLED TV line. Samsung also ports over its no-gap custom wall mount system for the Frame TV, so there will be no tell-tale gap between the TV and the wall.
An "Art Store" is also available for the display with a growing collection of works to choose from, numbering around 100 already. Frame TV owners can purchase works from “established and emerging artists, curated by several international organizations, galleries and museums, including Artspace, LUMAS, Magnum Photos, Saatchi Art and Sedition,” according to Samsung. The digital art will run $20 per piece, or an annual subscription is available for $5 per month.
When the TV isn’t being used as a … you know … TV, it goes into “art mode,” and changes its processing so that the still image really does look like art. Motion sensors will detect when nobody is present in the room, and the TV will go into a power saving mode until motion is detected, at which point the TV will reactivate. This is still a TV, though, and you can expect the best of Samsung’s technology here, including 4K Ultra HD resolution, wide color gamut, and HDR10 support.
The Frame TV will be available starting at $2,000 beginning Sunday, June 18.