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YouTube Brings Support for HDR Videos

YouTube Brings Support for HDR Videos

By Akhil Arora | Updated: 8 November 2016 12:07 IST

Highlights

HDR videos can now be uploaded to YouTube
You'll need a 4K HDR TV to view these videos
You'll also need an external player, such as Chromecast Ultra

YouTube has added support for high dynamic range (HDR) videos, it announced via its official blog on Monday. That means you can now enjoy a better and more accurate range of colours, and benefit from deeper blacks and brighter whites that HDR brings.

There is a big catch here though – unlike HDR images, which can be seen on any display, you’ll need to buy a screen that supports HDR specifications to be able to view HDR videos. TVs that support HDR videos tend to be 4K in most cases, which naturally equates to a high price point. The good ones – the likes of Sony Bravia’s 55-inch X9300D, 65-inch Z9D, and Samsung’s own 65-inch KS9000 – that we have personally reviewed cost anywhere between Rs. 2.5 – 5 lakhs. And that’s a lot to ask for, considering the dearth of content so far.

Before YouTube’s foray this week, your options for HDR video content were limited to either Netflix or a 4K HDR Blu-ray. That does seem to be Google’s play here – by introducing a future technology to the world’s biggest streaming service, it’s hoping to keep YouTube at the forefront. To ensure wider adoption, the company is working with a bunch of creators – a playlist of just four videos for now – and has set up the requisite technology, at YouTube Spaces in Los Angeles and New York, and documentation to promote the new offering.

If you do have a TV that supports HDR, you can try out HDR on YouTube via a HDR Blu-ray player, the Xbox One S, and the upcoming PlayStation 4 Pro or the Chromecast Ultra. Google mentioned that YouTube HDR support would soon rollout to Samsung’s 2016 4K TVs as well.

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