Samsung and Amazon formally announced the release Wednesday of the first 4K Ultra HD content supporting Samsung’s new HDR10+ dynamic HDR technology.
Amazon said it is offering Amazon Prime subscribers access to “hundreds of hours” of content carrying HDR10+ dynamic metadata.
HDR10+ is based on the existing baseline HDR10 platform that uses static metadata. This takes one scene of a movie or program and applies instructions on how a supporting TV is to present brightness, darkness and color elements throughout the entire presentation. HDR10+ adds to that dynamic metadata and color tone mapping that allows filmmakers to determine how to fine-tune the look of HDR on a supporting TV screen on a scene-by-scene and even shot-by-shot basis, for greater realism.
Read more on the first HDR10+ content after the jump:
The system is very similar to the Dolby Vision HDR technology that has been spreading to Ultra HD Blu-ray and streaming content. But where Dolby requires licensing fees and control over how a television manufacturer is to implement and utilize Dolby Vision, Samsung is offering HDR10+ as an open platform without licensing fees.
Samsung has developed a certification program and logo for HDR10+ partners and their products/services.
In addition to Amazon, Samsung has already enlisted a handful of supporting companies including: Panasonic (which still produces 4K Ultra HDTVs outside of the United States), Philips and 20th Century Fox.
Some of those initial supporting companies have joined Samsung in an HDR10+ Alliance to promote and implement the use of HDR10+ equipment and content.
In the latest announcement, Amazon and Samsung said the “entire Amazon Prime Video HDR catalog is now available in HDR10+.” This includes such popular Amazon Prime Originals series as The Grand Tour, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Jean-Claude Van Johnson, The Tick and The Man in the High Castle. Amazon said HDR10+ is also applied to “hundreds of licensed titles.”
Naturally, support for HDR10+ is available now throughout the Samsung 2017 UHD TV lineup highlighted by its premium tier of QLED (quantum dot enhanced) 4K LED-LCD TV models.
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In a statement announcing the HDR10+ content launch, Sang Yoon Kim, Samsung Electronics America Smart TV Business Development VP, said: “The launch marks the first opportunity for consumers and the industry to experience HDR10+ technology through a streaming service.”
Like HDR10 and Dolby Vision, HDR10+ is still based on PQ (Perceptual Quantization) Electro Optical Transfer Function (EOTF) as outlined in the ST-2084 specification. The system enhances highlights and shadows using the aforementioned dynamic metadata, while working with less of a compressed HDR range than HDR10 alone.
By applying individualized tone mapping to each scene, HDR10+ offers an enhanced visual experience with more detailed expressions, brighter shadow areas and more accurate color renderings that stay true to the creator’s original intent, Samsung said. Through the utilization of the precise “Bezier” based tone-mapping guidelines, “Amazon can deliver the optimal viewing experience across a variety of TV models,” according to joint release statement.
Greg Hart, Prime Video VP, said, “The viewing experience of HDR10+ combined with Prime Video’s award-winning content is ushering in a new era of entertainment for consumers on these devices.”
Samsung is expected to make HDR10+ a big part of its CES 2018 exhibit and demonstrations in Las Vegas, Jan. 9th-12th.
By Greg Tarr
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