Latest technologies in video industry see the rapid growth of HDR popularity. YouTube, the biggest video sharing website on the internet, respond to it by launching its HDR channel. People with HDR-capable devices can now enjoy HDR videos on YouTube HDR. If you are curious about that, you may begin asking whether YouTube’s newest channel and the shift to HDR technology matter.
What Is HDR?
HDR video or High Dynamic Range video is simply video that looks very much better and more realistic than non-HDR, or SDR (Standard Dynamic Range), video. When you visit an electronic store to buy a new TV, the “wow” that you utter when you see a TV with excellent contrast means you are likely seeing an HDR TV. This kind of experience becomes more common nowadays as the popularity of HDR TV and other HDR devices rapidly grows.
HDR quality is not equivalent with resolution. A 4K TV may look amazing with its large image and high pixel density, but in fact, a 1080p HDR video will look much better than what appears on a 4K TV. You will see the difference if have seen both videos, even if you don’t put them side by side. Of course, video that looks best is the one that is made using HDR technology and HDR camera and shown on high-resolution TV. You can thus enjoy the most amazing video watching experience if you watch a 4K HDR video.
HDR technology allows video playing devices to show video that is as realistic as it is in the real world or in what the film director imagines. HDR technology allows those devices to show not only high contrast, but true contrast. It also allows those devices to show a much higher number of colors than those shown on ordinary screens. Blacks will look pure blacks and colors will be shown with brightness levels and color variation similar to those in the real world.
Viewing HDR Video
To view HDR video, you need both the source and the playing device. The latter is easier to deal with as HDR-capable devices have now become pervasive on the market. They are also quite affordable to buy. The majority of midrange and high-end TVs that are marketed today support HDR technology, so if you want to enjoy HDR videos and movies today, buying a HDR-capable device doesn’t always mean you have to drain your bank account.
The source is what is now considered scarce. There are not many video publishers that can provide you with HDR videos. You can indeed find them at Netflix and Amazon, but there is hardly any mainstream video sharing website that shows HDR videos. Therefore, when YouTube decides to open a new HDR channel that includes not only HDR videos with lower resolutions, but also 4K ones, that should be good news for all HDR lovers. From now on, enjoying YouTube will not be the same anymore.
Does YouTube HDR Matter?
We now go back to the question we ask at the title of this article. If enjoying HDR videos on YouTube requires that you buy a new device, if you haven’t already had one, is the purchase really worth the money? I can say that it is worth the money and you should definitely enjoy the new channel.
For years, we have been accustomed to hearing a slogan saying that a television is the window of the world. Now with High Dynamic Range technology, turning on your TV will be very much the same with opening your window. You will see very accurate representation of the world as if you are not seeing it on screen. In the near future, most handheld devices that have screen on them will be enhanced with HDR support, so if you don’t join the pack now, you will be left behind when everyone else has started enjoying the ultra-realistic videos.
HDR is something of the future and it will likely a desirable feature, especially in entertainment industry. YouTube is not the first to adopt it, filmmakers have become more insistent to use it to enhance the visual quality of their movies and video games have been using it since more than a decade ago. Compare the grayish image of PlayStation 3 and the more realistic image of PlayStation 4 and you will understand why HDR technology in almost everything does matter.
Conclusion
High Dynamic Range technology brings a new sensation in your entertainment. With YouTube now supporting this technology, it should be easy for you to find a source of true enjoyment when you want to watch movies or videos.
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