advantagebynotchargingextraforits4K/
HDRcontent.Netflix,meanwhile,forcesyou
toupgradeyouraccounttoitspremiumtier
ifyouwanttomakethemostofyourTV.
Whilebuilt-inappsoffertheeasiest
accesstoHDRcontent,externaldevicessuch
as the Apple TV 4K and Chromecast Ultra
havestrengthsoftheirown,withaccessto
theiTunesmoviestore(whichhasagrowing
libraryof4KHDRnewmoviecontent)and
phone-based control, respectively.
Ifyouwanttheabsolutebestpicture
qualityrightnowhowever,thenphysical
mediaisyourbestbet.Notneedingtofitinto
a certain internet bandwidth means that
itcanofferamuchlesscompressed
experience. Less compression means more
much data, and more data means more
detail ready for your enjoyment.If you want the best
picture right now,
then physical media
is your best bet
THEBESTOFTHEBESTHDRCONTENT
he tech is one thing, but seeing it in action is something else
Soyou’vegotyourshinynewHDR-enabled
TV–whatshouldyoustartwatching?
Thankfully, there’s enough HDR content
out there in 2018 that you don’t have to
watch something just because it supports
HDR. Plenty of the bigger T V shows and
movies that have been released over the past
couple of years support it, so the challenge is
PRUHDERXWĆQGLQJFRQWHQWWKDWPDNHVWKH
mostofHDRratherthansimplyincludingit
as part of the package.
IntermsofTVshows,bothAmazonPrime
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producing their original shows in HDR, so
you have plenty of options.The Grand TouronAmazonPrimeisagreatshowcase.It
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EHWWHURQH[SHQVLYHWHOOLHV
2XUSLFN IURP1HWćL[èVFDWDORJXHDWWKH
moment isStar Trek: Discovery.The
combinationofthedarknessofspacewith
thescorchingbrightnessofanicepairof
photontorpedoeswerejustmadetobe
watchedonanHDRTV.
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BBC-producedPlanet Earth 2. You’ll have to
purchaseitonUltraHDBlu-raytowatchitin
HDR(thoughtheBeebisusingitforHLG
trialsonsomeTVs),butthenaturalbeautyof
its nature footage is frequently awe-inspiring.<RXU FKRLFH ZKHQ LW FRPHV WR ĆOPV LV HYHQ
more wide-ranging. If you want something
modern,wehaveonlygoodthingstosay
about3DFLĆF5LP&RUQ\WKHPHFKĆJKWVPD\
be, but its presentation can’t be beat.
Sicariomight not have similarly bombastic
visuals, but when the whole movie is literally
abouttheinterplayoflightanddarkyou’re
guaranteed something stunning.
0DG 0D[ )XU\ 5RDGisamoviesopacked
fulloflightandcolourthatitwouldbea
crime to watch it on anything less than the
PRVWH[SHQVLYH79\RXFDQDQG+'5UHDOO\
bringsitout.It’sthesameforBlade Runner
2049 – it’s a dynamic range showcase.Sony’s sets use different backlighting
techniques to achieve fantastic HDR results,
butSamsungflagship,theQ9F,willgoeven
brighter,albeitwithoutthesamelevelof
controlbetweenlightand dark areas as
Sony’s best efforts.
WHERECANIGETHDRCONTENT?
hankstotheadventofSmartTVsand
streaming, if you buy an HDR TV, it will
havealotofHDRcontentavailablewithout
youhavingtobuyanyexternalhardware.
Rightnow,thetwobiggestsourcesof
HDRcontentareNetflixandAmazonPrime
InstantVideo.Bothproducealltheiroriginal
contentinHDR,andmanythird-party
showsandfilmssupportthestandard,too.
You’l l h ave to pay for b ot h ser v ice s of
course, and here Amazon has the slight
UltraHDBlu-rayistheformatyoushould
be paying attention to here. Depending on
thedisc,theformatincludessupportfor
every major HDR standard (aside from the
broadcast-optimised HLG).
UHDBlu-rayplayersrangefromtheones
thatarebuiltintotheXboxOneSandX
videogameconsoles,topremiummodels
such as the Oppo UDP-203 that include
supportforDolbyVisioninadditionto
HDR10. With few Vision compatible discs
availablenow,youcouldsaveabitofmoney
with a cheaper player, but there’s no telling
howmanytitleswillsupportitinthefuture.
Finally,therearealsoHDRoptions
available if you’re more into gaming thanwatchingTVorfilms.Atthemomentthere
arefourHDR-equippedgamesconsolesout
there, the Xbox One S, Xbox One X, PS4 Pro,
and PS4 - although the latter is unable to
offer 4K in addition to HDR.
All three have their strengths and
weaknesses,buttheXboxOneXhasthe
widest support for 4K games. Within each of
the console’s libraries, HDR support varies
onagame-by-gamebasis,sobesuretoread
the small print. With the right content, the
right source and the right TV, you’re ready to
enjoyeverythingthatHDRhastooffer. Still
think 4K is the be all and end all?YouneedHDMI2.0portsforHDR,
which compatible TVs will have, but it’s
notalwaysallofthem,socheckyour
manual. Your old cables should work42 T3WINTER 2018 Discover more at techradar.com/au
he complete guide to...
HDR TV & movies