Weekly Rewind
4K vs. HDR, and the streaming video quality gap: This week, TechHive published some more of my coverage from a recent streaming video conference in New York. The first is about 4K video versus HDR, and how the industry seems to be favoring the latter. HDR looks better and is less expensive to deliver than 4K, but it’s unclear whether TV makers and content providers will ever uncouple the two technologies.
I also wrote about why streaming video quality lags behind cable and broadcast TV. Framerates aren’t always as fast, surround sound is a rarity, and the action is always behind for live events, leading to social media spoilers. At least streaming video providers seem optimistic that they can solve these problems before too long.
Apple’s embrace of 4K and HDR: Speaking of streaming quality, Apple announced this week that it will support HEVC, a popular format for 4K and HDR, on iOS and macOS. Apple’s new iPad Pros are the company’s first devices with HDR displays, and it’s logical to assume the next Apple TV will have 4K HDR support.
Video codecs can seem like a profoundly boring topic, but new codecs are essential for streaming higher-quality video while consuming less data. Most of our devices use a format that’s now a decade old and woefully inefficient. And while there’s some contention around what the successor should be, Apple throwing its support behind HEVC is a big deal for moving things forward. Analyst Dan Rayburn has an insightful piece if you want to soak in some more details.
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