Starting today, YouTube creators will be able to stream their high dynamic range (HDR) videos online, the company reported. The platform has supported HDR in pre-recorded content since 2016, but live content will now also benefit from the technology. YouTube promises to be the first major live HDR support platform." At launch, it follows HDR10 and HLG standards, and YouTube says it plans to extend this offering in the future.
HDR is a tool that allows videos to display a broader variety of colors and brightness. Blacks may be darker, and whites may be lighter, showing more detail in the shadows and highlights of the background, respectively. As a result, the images look much more powerful and vivid, prompting others to argue that jumping from SDR (standard dynamic range) to HDR gives a greater advantage than jumping from 1080p to 4K. YouTube added support for 4K live streaming back in 2016.
In order to benefit from the new technologies, developers will need to use one of the supported encoders on Google lists, and users will need to watch on a supported playback system, such as a YouTube app on HDR TVs, a Chromecast Super, or an Android device with an HDR monitor. YouTube says it plans to introduce support for more HDR video streaming encoders and mobile devices in the future.
