What is HDR (High Dynamic Range)?

High dynamic range (HDR) video is one of the newest HDTV feature bullet points. It could push video content past the (now non-existant) limitations to which broadcast and other media standards have adhered to for decades. But adoption could be slow over the next few years because it's a complicated and somewhat esoteric feature.

Standard Dynamic Range
HDTV contrast is the difference between how dark and bright it can get. Dynamic range describes the extremes in that difference, and how much detail can be shown in between. Essentially, dynamic range is display contrast, and HDR represents broadening that contrast. However, just expanding the range between bright and dark is insufficient to improve a picture's detail. Whether a panel can reach 100 cd/m2 (relatively dim) or 500 cd/m2 (incredibly bright), and whether its black levels are 0.1 (washed out, nearly gray) or 0.005 (incredibly dark), it can ultimately only show so much information based on the signal it's receiving.

Current popular video formats, including broadcast television and Blu-ray discs, are limited by standards built around the physical boundaries presented by older technologies. Black is set to only so black, because as Christopher Guest eloquently wrote, it could get none more black. Similarly, white could only get so bright within the limitations of display technology. Now, with organic LED (OLED) and local dimming LED backlighting systems on newer LCD panels, that range is increasing. They can reach further extremes, but video formats can't take advantage of it. Only so much information is presented in the signal, and an HDTV capable of reaching beyond those limits still has to stretch and work with the information present.

What Is HDR?
That's where HDR video comes in. It removes the limitations presented by older video signals and provides information about brightness and color across a much wider range. HDR-capable displays can read that information and show an image built from a wider gamut of color and brightness. Besides the wider range, HDR video simply contains more data to describe more steps in between the extremes. This means that very bright objects and very dark objects on the same screen can be shown very bright and very dark if the display supports it, with all of the necessary steps in between described in the signal and not synthesized by the image processor.

To put it more simply, HDR content on HDR-compatible HDTVs can get brighter and darker at the same time, and show more shades of gray in between. Similarly, they can produce deeper and more vivid reds, greens, and blues, and show more shades in between. Deep shadows aren't simply black voids; more details can be seen in the darkness, while the picture stays very dark. Bright shots aren't simply sunny, vivid pictures; fine details in the brightest surfaces remain clear. Vivid objects aren't simply saturated; more shades of colors can be seen.

This requires much more data, and like ultra high-definition video, current optical media can't handle it. Blu-ray discs cannot hold HDR information. That will change over the next few years as the UHD Alliance pushes the Ultra HD Blu-ray standard. It's a disc type that can hold more data, and is built to contain 4K video, HDR video, and even object-based surround sound like Dolby Atmos. It could solve all of the distribution problems of 4K and HDR without requiring a very fast Internet connection. Online streaming will still be a valid way to offer 4K and HDR video, but Ultra HD, Blu-ray provides a physical and broadly accessible way to get it.

What You'll Need
Don't expect to see these discs on your Blu-ray player, though. While they're called Blu-ray discs, they still use different technology and different encoding standards to stuff all of that information onto the medium. You'll need an Ultra HD, Blu-ray player to use these new discs. We'll see if some players will be able to read this media with firmware upgrades in the future, but for now it seems that new players will be necessary.

You'll need an HDR-compatible HDTV, as well. HDR is not 4K. A 4K screen might support HDR, but that doesn't apply to all sets. If your HDTV doesn't support HDR, it won't take advantage of the additional information in the signal, and the panel isn't calibrated to handle that information if it was properly read. So, if you haven't picked up a 4K television yet, you might want to wait for an HDR-compatible one that fits your needs in the future. If you have, don't fret; HDR content is even newer and rare than 4K video, and we won't see it become widely available for a while. The HDR content situation was similar to the 4K video situation three years ago; what's out there is mostly there to show off the technology rather than present a really compelling, broad reason for consumers to adopt it just yet.

Where Is it Now?
Currently, Amazon, 20th Century Fox, Universal, BBC, LG, Broadcom, the UHD Alliance, the CEA, and other organizations are working on standards and distribution methods for HDR content. LG has been promoting its OLED televisions as being HDR-capable, as having Samsung with its own high-end LED televisions. HDR video remains very limited, with only some movies available through a very specific distribution method, like hard drives with the HDR films preloaded on them to ship with HDR-compatible HDTVs.

We'll be keeping an eye out for more HDR news and products as they come out. Expect new HDR displays and content to appear in January at CES 2016.

10 new features of Android 6.0 Marshmallow

After months of waiting, Google has finally announced that the next version of its mobile OS Android will be called Marshmallow. Also, it the next update of the OS will be numbered Android 6.0, instead of Android 5.2 as previously speculated.

Announced at Google I/O 2015, Android Marshmallow brings with it a number of new features to spruce up your smartphones and tablets (provided they get the update).

Here we take a look at 10 of the features you can look forward to with the next build of Android...

Google Now on Tap
One of the key Android Marshmallow features is Google Now on Tap, a more advanced version of the company's digital assistant. While Google Now is presently available, on most phones, only via the Search app, Android 6.0 will make it all-pervasive.

This means that you will be able to pull up Google Now to make a quick search across any app while using the smartphone. All you need to do is to select any section on the screen, for example, any particular text, and Google Now on Tap will pull up relevant information, including context-based definitions.

Chrome Custom Tabs
Many a times, you click a link in an app and it either takes you to the default browser (like Chrome, Opera, etc.) or opens the link to the in-app browser. With Android 6.0, app makers will be able to integrate Chrome tabs into their apps, but retain the app's customized look. 

The toolbar color, enter & exit animations, and custom actions as well as the overflow menu can be picked by the app makers even if the link is on an external website.

One of the key uses for the app makers is that the user stays within the app and gets a seamless experience. 


For the users, Custom Chrome Tabs saves them the trouble of logging into websites they are already connected to or authenticate permissions more than once. Moreover, this feature has provision for pre-fetch content, so autofill data and passwords can be entered with just a tap.

Battery life enhancements
While Android Lollipop's Project Volta did not bring as much battery life improvement as was promised by Google, the company claims to have brought a fix with Android Marshmallow's Doze feature. Basically, this feature is said to bring your smartphone to a near-off state when it has been idle for a long time. 

In Google's tests, Android 6.0's Doze resulted in two times the battery life compared to Android 5.0 on the same device with the same apps.


Though Doze allows important notifications and alarms to pass, it does not let the apps refresh in the background, so you won't be able to get key updates as soon as you pick up your phone after a while.

Fingerprint support goes native
While many manufacturers, like Samsung, HTC, OnePlus, Oppo etc., have been using fingerprint sensors in their smartphones for quite some time, Google is making fingerprint sensor support native with Android 6.0.

This will not only add a new security layer to all smartphones (if manufacturers want to add this feature, that is) but also allow payment authentication via Android Pay.


Moreover, fingerprint support can be added to other apps as password for logins.

USB Type C and faster charging
Google is doing away with microUSB as the standard for the Android smartphones with the Android Marshmallow update, replacing it with USB Type C.

This relatively new USB type is backwards-compatible, which means that (like Apple's Lightning adapter) the charging cable can be inserted in the port either way, making it a convenience for all users.


USB Type C has two other advantages: It allows for faster data transfer rates and charge devices faster. In fact, Google says USB Type C can charge products up to 3-5 times faster than the current crop of microUSB chargers.

App permissions
Google has rebooted app permissions with Android 6.0. The Marshmallow will allow users to accept or deny permissions to apps as when they are updated; for example, if an app you download wants to access your camera, you can choose to deny to that requirement while approving the others.

This is different from the current setup, where you must accept all permissions if you want to download an app.

If an app adds new features and wants to access more of your phone's hardware, you can choose to accept to deny those changes while downloading the update.


Android 6.0 Marshmallow also allows you to revisit app permissions; for example, you denied any particular permission initially, you can go into settings and accept it later.

Android Pay
Android 6.0 Marshmallow will bring in Android Pay, an NFC-based payment system that will rival Apple Pay and Samsung Pay.

Though it will be launched with Android Marshmallow, it will still be available for devices running on Android 4.4 and above.

Based on Google Wallet, this feature allows you to save your credit cards and loyalty cards in one place. When you want to make a transaction, you will be able to authenticate the transaction via your fingerprint or via your virtual card number (given by Android Pay while registering).

Direct Share
Sharing on Android is already pretty convenient, but Google is trying to make it easier with Android 6.0 Marshmallow with it a new feature called Direct Share.

Though a lot is not known about this feature yet, we know that Direct Share will enable apps to share content (for example images) to specific contacts with just one click.


So, if you share stuff with particular contacts frequently, the software will recognize this behavior and show those contacts on top. It is expected that the APIs will allow for more features, but it will eventually depend on the app makers to integrate them.

New boot animation
Google is bringing in a little change to the boot animation with Android 6.0 Marshmallow, which will now show four colorful circles moving about and morphing into various shapes before settling into the Android logo.

This replaces the Android 5.0 Lollipop boot animation, which had four colorful spheres bouncing about for a few seconds before turning into the Android logo.

Customizable toggles
While most custom Android skins allow users to personalize the toggles in the notifications drawer, it is still not a native feature of Google's mobile operating system.

That is, however, about to change with Android Marshmallow, as users will be able to customize the toggles they want on Nexus devices as well (along with any other smartphone that runs on the stock version of Android 6.0).