Samsung used the days leading up to the IFA International consumer technology show in Berlin, Germany to reveal that it has enlisted the support of both Panasonic and 20th Century Fox for its HDR10+ dynamic metadata high dynamic range system.
Samsung is making the HDR10+ format available royalty free to add the benefits of dynamic metadata to the current static metadata of the standard HDR10 profile. Static metadata requires that HDR color and luminance grading be added in post production, and is applied at one level through a production.
That would not work for live video, and does not afford the flexibility of varying grading scene to scene or even shot to shot as HDR systems like rival, royalty-ladden Dolby Vision, with dynamic metadata, do.
HDR10+ will allow dynamic tone mapping on a scene-by-scene or even shot-by-shot basis, instead of keeping one constant enhancement level for an entire piece of content, as HDR10 requires now. The changes can be injected into the bitstream on top of the HDR10 metadata.
Read more on the alliance of HDR10+ supporting companies after the jump:
Samsung developed HDR10+ as a royalty-free alternative to Dolby Vision, and both Samsung and 20th Century Fox have eschewed signing on as Dolby Vision supporters.
Samsung said that the HDR10+ system would be made available to more manufacturers beginning early next year.
HDR10+ will require the use of specially encoded content carrying the additional tone mapping and luminance information to supporting televisions. It will allow on the fly HDR broadcasting.
The three-company alliance said it plans to establish an HDR10+ association that will develop a certification and logo program, tentatively called HDR10+, for participating software and hardware partners.
The group will begin a licensing entity to license the HDR10+ platform in January 2018.
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The companies plan to license the “HDR10+” metadata broadly to content companies, and makers of Ultra High Definition TVs, Blu-ray disc players/recorders and set-top boxes, as well as SoC vendors, royalty-free with only a nominal administrative fee.
In a statement Monday announcing the HDR10+ partnership, Jongsuk Chu, Samsung Electronics visual display business senior VP said: “As leaders in home entertainment content and hardware, the three companies are ideal partners for bringing HDR10+ into the homes of consumers everywhere,” said “We are committed to making the latest technology available in our TVs and are confident that HDR10+ will deliver premium quality content and enhance the way you experience television programs and movies in the home.”
Samsung began incorporating HDR10+ support via streaming inall of its 2017 4K Ultra HDTV models, including its top QLED tier.
Among the benefits for partners who wish to adopt the platform, the group said HDR10+ offers system flexibility, for a variety of partners, including content creators, content distributors, TV manufacturers and device makers, to incorporate the platform and improve the viewing experience for audiences. The HDR10+ platform was designed to allow for future development and innovation.
Dan Schinasi, Samsung director of product planning and the company’s representative for both the Ultra HD Alliance and Blu-ray Disc Association, recently told HD Guru, “We are advocating the use of HDR10+ as a royalty-free open standard that allows content creators the capabilities to deliver the ultimate viewing experience. We are working closely with OTA/Cable and satellite providers to expand the ecosystem to provide consumers with the benefits of this platform.”
Earlier this year, Amazon said it plans to make streaming content available in the HDR10+ format, in addition to HDR10 and Dolby Vision.
“HDR10+ is a technological step forward that optimizes picture quality for next generation displays,” said Danny Kaye, 20th Century Fox executive VP and Fox Innovation Lab managing director. “HDR10+ provides dynamic metadata, which precisely describes every scene to deliver unprecedented picture quality. Working in partnership with Panasonic and Samsung through the Fox Innovation Lab, we are able to bring new platforms like HDR10+ to the market that more accurately realize the vision of our filmmakers beyond the theater.”
Panasonic Executive Officer Yuki Kusumi said: “By offering considerable HDR picture quality improvements across a wider range of TVs while accelerating the amount of premium HDR content available, we expect HDR10+ to quickly become the defacto HDR format.”
Panasonic plans to show its first TVs with HDR10+ (for markets outside of the United States) at IFA starting Friday.
The three companies said they plan to make related announcements on the licensing program at CES 2018 in January.
By Greg Tarr
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