PRESS AND NEWS CENTER
January 15, 2016
High Dynamic Range Rules At CES 2016
Analysis
High dynamic range (HDR) technology took the CES show by storm last week, driven by the UHD Alliances release of new standards that include HDR. HDR boosts the range of contrast -- or luminescence -- and improves color performance in order to give consumers more immersive video experiences.
For all the buzz surrounding 4K UHD at last year’s CES, the technology stumbled over poor initial experiences, CCS Insight’s Paolo Pescatore, pointed out. Though there were only a handful of HDR-capable TVs at CES 2015, manufacturers launched a plethora of HDR-capable TVs at this year’s show in Las Vegas.
Bottom Line: The surge of interest in – and deployment of – HDR is fast becoming critical for content creators, consumers and consumer electronics manufacturers. While early adopters of 4K UHD TVs were challenged by the lack of content, content creators like Amazon, Netflix, BT Europe, YouTube, 21st Century Fox, Vudu, Universal and MGM have embraced HDR. Look for content creators, consumer electronics manufacturers and others to leverage the power of HDR in their 2016 business strategies.
News
The UHD Alliance unveiled its specifications for 4K UHD displays, content and distribution, at CES 2016, according to M&E Daily. The group also debuted an “Ultra HD Premium” logo for UHD devices, content and services. The consortium of consumer electronics manufacturers, five of the six major studios, content distributors and tech companies aim to deliver a seamless UHD experience across the entire UHD ecosystem.[subscribe_reminder]
Discussions at CES 2016 about the future of 4K UHD TV quickly settled on a single point: 4K without HDR is not a winning proposition, Videonet reported. “4K married with HDR will be adopted a lot faster than just plain 4K,” said Mark Turner, Technicolor’s Vice President of Business Development and Relationships at Technicolor. “4K hasn’t really fired passions in the creative community. HDR does, because then you have a wider color palette and have more detail in the shadows and more highlights.”
HDR TV sets, offering enhanced brightness for a broader palette of light outputs and sparkling highlights, will soon be commonplace in the global ultra-high-definition (UHD) TV market, IHS reports. Unit shipments of HDR TVs are expected to grow from 2.9 million in 2016 to 32.6 million in 2019 -- and that forecast covers only sets that meet the UHD Alliance’s acceptance criteria.
Samsung, LG, Sony and Panasonic announced that they have -- or soon will have -- TVs that support High Dynamic Range (HDR), BBC News reports. As LG, Samsung and other major TV manufacturers embrace high dynamic range (HDR) the technology is increasingly likely to become a game-changer for consumer entertainment, David Watkins of Strategy Analytics told CNBC.
Here is a sample of some of the other HDR news to come out of CES 2016:
- Technicolor and Royal Philips announced plans to collaborate on HDR solutions, Variety reports. Technicolor also announced HDR deals with LG and several System on Chip (SoC) manufacturers.
- LG announced that all of its 2016 OLED 4K TVs will support Dolby Vision HDR technology, TechRadar reports.
- In a keynote address at CES 2016 in Las Vegas Thursday, an executive of YouTube declared that the company will support HDR video in the future.
- TCL announced a collaboration with Dolby Laboratories to enable high-dynamic range (HDR) performance in the new TCL 65” X1 4K Ultra HD TVs.
- DTS showcased a wide array of products and services incorporating its DTS:X digital audio technology at CES 2016. Partner announcements include firmware updates by Marantz and Denon to add DTS:X immersive sound.