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from the we-want-moar-pixels-and-moar-colours dept.
The BBC has begun a trial of 4K high dynamic range (HDR) video on its iPlayer streaming platform.
The test involves four minutes of footage from its Planet Earth II series, which promise to reveal more detail and present more vibrant colours than was possible before.
It is part of efforts to develop technologies that will make live broadcasts in the new formats possible.
But only a minority of TVs can screen the footage at this stage.
"One of the clips is a frog on a leaf with lots of rain, and the reason this is so interesting is that the redness of the frog is a really deep Ferrari red that you would never get in broadcast television at the moment," explained Phil Layton, head of broadcast and connected systems at BBC Research & Development.
[...] But programmes will cost more to make if they take advantage of the innovations. So, the improved quality will have to be weighed against the fact the majority of viewers will be unlikely to have TVs that support the new technologies for some time to come.
In the meantime, Amazon and Netflix both offer some pre-recorded shows and movies in HDR and 4K.
And BT and Sky both offer movies and sport in 4K but not HDR.
There's always the chicken/egg situation with video - without the screens that can view them, there's little point making the content, and without the content being available, there's little point in producing the screens. Has 4K reached the critical mass that will make it inevitable, or will it retreat the way that 3D did?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 10 2016, @06:19PM
but you'd have to sit so close to the TV in order to actually tell the difference that most people just don't have the necessary space for a screen like that.
Huh? Close? Not enough space? How much space is necessary for closeness?