Op-Ed: HDR Is More Important Than Ultra HD Resolution

By James DeRuvo (doddleNEWS)

Now that we’re gradually turning the corner on 4K, there’s a new arms race brewing. RED fired the first shot with DRAGON’s 6K sensor, and then moved further over the horizon with the 8K Weapon and Helium cameras, and for a source material, that amount of digital real estate is great for projecting on the silver screen. But there’s an emerging argument out there that high dynamic range, or HDR, is an even more important technological advance, and in the home it couldn’t be more true.

When I saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens in Dolby Vision, it was like watching it for the first time, even though I had seen it three times before. The bolder colors, the detail in light and shadow, all of it provided another layer of eye candy that provided a much better cinematic experience for me. It wasn’t that it was projected in 4K, it was the HDR.

And for me, that’s where my heart now is. Give me high dynamic range when I watch a movie, and I’ll forgo high frame rate, 3D, or even 8K all day long. Why would I prefer dynamic range to greater resolution? Well, extremes in both light shadow in 8K will look just as bright, or even brighter, dark, or even darker with more resolution, while being able to see deep within those extremes with HDR provides better detail.

I can live with watching a film in 4K or even less, mind you, as long as the exposure of the image seeks to mine the depths of both light extremes for every bit of data and detail it is willing to surrender. It is in HDR, in my opinion, that the most detail of the image is provided.

It’s why we see 4K TV manufacturers developing a high dynamic range spec and talking more about it. It’s the reason why you don’t even hear them talk about 3D anymore, even though Hollywood still makes 3D transfers of every blockbuster film. 3D may be alive and well in the movie theaters where they can charge an extra couple of bucks for the tickets, but in the home market, it’s as dead as it was in the 1970s.

But even then, there’s still very little in the way of content for 4K, or even ultra high definition. 4K Blu-rays are starting to come out, sure. But nowhere near the market saturation to make me be in a hurry to buy a 4K TV. Then there’s the fact that networks are still broadcasting in 1080i, or even worse 720p (this isn’t NHK after all), and even Netflix streaming in 4K is still highlight compressed.

And that’s fine, because to be honest, I like my 1080p TV. Its got great colors and the black levels just can’t be beat. But I’m already doing research on the Ultra HD Premium spec and seeing which models have it, and watching very carefully to see if and when the prices drop. I’m hoping that come Black Friday, we’ll see some deals for these models. If not, I can always wait until next year. By then, the TV manufacturers will start showcasing more 8K TVs at CES, and the techno-rati will starting claiming that 4K is dead. Right on schedule.

Then when the prices drop on those Ultra HD Premium 4K TVs, I’ll pick one up, and the larger the screen, the better. Let the early adopters throw away their money on 8K. It’s what they love to do. Hopefully by then, there will be something to watch on it.

Hat Tip - Business Insider