Netflix has announced that it will finally support the increasingly popular HDR10+ format. This format rivals Dolby Vision and should greatly improve the quality of your favorite movies and shows—as long as you have a supported device.
With this change, Netflix now supports three major formats, with the goal of delivering better sound, crisp pictures, and stunning visuals to our living rooms and devices. Now, Netflix supports HDR10, HDR10+, and Dolby Vision. So, if your TV only supports one of those, or you’ve been missing out on HDR10+ content, you’ll finally be able to pay up and access it.
So, what is HDR10+ anyway? Well, HDR is one of the best features you’ll find on 4K TVs, along with most 8K televisions as well. It stands for “high dynamic range,” and lets your TV display a broader range of colors, shadows, and more. Basically, you’ll see darker blacks with crisp shadows and detail, along with brighter colors and light scenes. It doesn’t sound special, but it’s a big deal.
Here’s what Netflix had to say about this big change: “We are excited to announce that we are now streaming HDR10+ content on our service for AV1-enabled devices, enhancing the viewing experience for certified HDR10+ devices, which previously only received HDR10 content.”
HDR10+ and Dolby Vision are a big upgrade to regular HDR (officially called HDR10) thanks to a wider dynamic range of colors. This makes everything bright, crisp, and bold. Now, instead of your TV trying to upscale or improve colors, your Netflix stream will deliver it readymade for TVs. If you’ve been enjoying Netflix on a TV that uses Dolby Vision, you likely won’t notice a difference, but if your TV offers HDR10+, this new format should make everything look darker or brighter.
Interestingly enough, Netflix first rolled out support for basic HDR back in 2016 with the debut of Marco Polo. Then, eventually, TVs got bigger and brighter, and more standards started to be adopted. Oh, how things have changed in the last nine years.
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For now, Netflix says HDR10+ content is available for “50% of all eligible viewing hours” but aims to make it an option on all content by the end of the year. That’s impressive on its own, and the wait shouldn’t be too long for everything else.
So, what’s the catch? For starters, you’ll only be able to access HDR10+ content with a Netflix Premium subscription. Then, until it becomes an option for all the content on Netflix, you’ll just have to check and see if your favorite shows or movies have support. As a reminder, popular TVs from Samsung work with HDR10+, but not LG TVs. Well, at least not yet. Different manufacturers support different standards, so it’s great to see Netflix adding HDR10+ to the list, completing its offering of the three major types.
For comparison, the HDR10+ format is already available (in some capacity) on Apple TV+, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Paramount+, and select other providers or streaming services. Either way, this is a significant upgrade for those with select devices that can take advantage of HDR10+. So, the next time you browse Netflix, look for it before you start your binge-watch session.
Source: NetflixtechBlog
