Netflix is planning to offer HDR quality mobile content for viewing on supporting devices because of an increasing mobile subscriber base and the company's belief that the format will eventually be universally adopted on mobile platforms.

The comments were made yesterday by Netflix executive Neil Hunt during a briefing with journalists, as part of a two-day event at Dolby Laboratories and Netflix headquarters in San Francisco. Hunt made the remarks as the two companies prepare to launch new Netflix series Iron Fist, which is being shot natively in HDR.

HDR stands for high dynamic range, meaning a display supporting the standard is capable of reproducing a wider and richer range of colors, brighter whites, and deeper blacks. HDR content is already available on Netflix and Amazon Video, but only for streaming to televisions that support the standard. However, Hunt and Dolby executives told The Verge that HDR is about to make the leap from big-screen to mobile, with Netflix aiming to be at the forefront of a global transition.

Iron Fist netflix

It's been about a year since Netflix became available globally — with the exception of a few markets, including China, and since then it has seen mobile usage soar. In established markets like the US and Canada, most Netflix watching still happens on TVs, Hunt said; but in some Asian countries, especially India, "mobile screens are the majority consumption device."

Both Netflix and Amazon are said to be gearing up to stream HDR content on mobile devices, possibly as early as April this year, although a specific date from either company has yet to be confirmed. Samsung's recently announced Tab 3 with AMOLED display is the first tablet to support videos with greater dynamic range, while the LG G6 is the first phone to support both HDR10 (the 10-bit open standard) and Dolby Vision HDR.

Apple is expected to announce new iPad models soon, possibly as early as next week, but apart from plenty of speculation regarding screen sizes, no rumors have mentioned the display technology that could feature. The same can't be said for Apple's rumored "iPhone 8", which will reportedly have a Samsung-supplied OLED display, making it more likely to support the HDR10 standard.

In addition to the mobile HDR announcement, Netflix said it was considering the idea of streaming mobile-specific cuts of its original movies and TV shows.

"It's not inconceivable that you could take a master [copy] and make a different cut for mobile," Hunt said. To date, Netflix hasn't been delivering different cuts for different viewing platforms, Hunt said, but "it's something we will explore over the next few years."

According to The Verge, the idea would be to create a version of the content with scenes or shots that are more easily visible or immersive on a mobile phone, given that certain shots can be hard to see or can appear diminished on a relatively small phone screen.

Tag: Netflix

Top Rated Comments

dannys1 Avatar
103 months ago
What? Where'd you get that info?
Read any interview about any OLED TV with HDR on the internet. It can't compete peak brightness nits with LED backlight.

It's dynamic range on SDR is better than LED due to the black levels so it makes HDR even less noticeable on the displays. LCD panels are capable of 2000 nits, the very best OLED sets can only do 800nits at the moment.

That coupled with the fact that the black level gradients are not great (but getting better each year) on OLED is why i'm not 100% sold on the technology (yet). Black black are only good if you get every shade of black from 0.1% upwards otherwise you get a jarring black in places there should be subtle details and that's as bad as over contrast. Couple this with LED technology using advanced honeycomb backlighting to emulated OLED's per pixel brightness and the gap between the two is getting closer than ever. Neither is a clear winner, both have pros and cons.

Fundamentally on a phone though the nits are not going to be near high enough to display proper HDR - the Galaxy S7 only manages 440nits. You need at least 550-600 for it to be effective at the top end, maybe Apple are building the brightest handheld OLED ever that competes with it's big brothers.
[doublepost=1489671679][/doublepost]
The up to 1000 nits of brightness of the Apple Watch display with simultaneous perfect blacks isn't enough for you?
1000 nits would indeed be ideal, but no one has built that into a screen the size an iPhone would use yet. Also refrain from using "perfect blacks" perfect BLACK yes, (eg off) however as mentioned the grades of black below 'off' are yet to be anywhere near "perfect" on OLED yet unfortunately.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
thisisnotmyname Avatar
103 months ago
I am probably in a small minority, but I couldn't care less about this. It is not like videos look crappy on non-HDR phones. Maybe I just need to see a demo and compare it.

I guess the best thing about this news is what it means for other devices. Maybe one of the great things in Tim Cook's clogged pipeline is a HDR Apple TV.
The buzz I've heard around HDR is that it will have more real impact than the ever increasing resolutions we're seeing on screens (not just mobile). We're already at the point where most people's televisions are too small and/or too far away from their viewing location to realize the resolution they've purchased. A 55" screen at 12' won't produce noticeable image improvements above 720p, it's just too far for our eyes to detect the difference. For that same 55" screen to be useful in 4K you'd need to be 6' away, with most people placing a television on one wall and sitting against the opposite that has to be a very narrow room. A lot of people buy high res just because they feel it is "better" without considering whether they can make use of the resolution in their viewing environment. On the other hand, our eyes are capable of seeing many more colors than the 8 bit RGB system prevalent today (we can see about seven billion compared with 16 million colors in 8 bit color space).
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Juicy Box Avatar
103 months ago
The buzz I've heard around HDR is that it will have more real impact than the ever increasing resolutions we're seeing on screens (not just mobile). We're already at the point where most people's televisions are too small and/or too far away from their viewing location to realize the resolution they've purchased. A 55" screen at 12' won't produce noticeable image improvements above 720p, it's just too far for our eyes to detect the difference. For that same 55" screen to be useful in 4K you'd need to be 6' away, with most people placing a television on one wall and sitting against the opposite that has to be a very narrow room. A lot of people buy high res just because they feel it is "better" without considering whether they can make use of the resolution in their viewing environment. On the other hand, our eyes are capable of seeing many more colors than the 8 bit RGB system prevalent today (we can see about seven billion compared with 16 million colors in 8 bit color space).
I understand the impact of HDR for TVs, but I question the impact of having an HDR on the phone.

But again, I am pretty sure I am in a minority.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Return Zero Avatar
103 months ago
Read any interview about any OLED TV with HDR on the internet. It can't compete peak brightness nits with LED backlight.

It's dynamic range on SDR is better than LED due to the black levels so it makes HDR even less noticeable on the displays. LCD panels are capable of 2000 nits, the very best OLED sets can only do 800nits at the moment.

That coupled with the fact that the black level gradients are not great (but getting better each year) on OLED is why i'm not 100% sold on the technology (yet). Black black are only good if you get every shade of black from 0.1% upwards otherwise you get a jarring black in places there should be subtle details and that's as bad as over contrast. Couple this with LED technology using advanced honeycomb backlighting to emulated OLED's per pixel brightness and the gap between the two is getting closer than ever. Neither is a clear winner, both have pros and cons.

Fundamentally on a phone though the nits are not going to be near high enough to display proper HDR - the Galaxy S7 only manages 440nits. You need at least 550-600 for it to be effective at the top end, maybe Apple are building the brightest handheld OLED ever that competes with it's big brothers.
[doublepost=1489671679][/doublepost]

1000 nits would indeed be ideal, but no one has built that into a screen the size an iPhone would use yet. Also refrain from using "perfect blacks" perfect BLACK yes, (eg off) however as mentioned the grades of black below 'off' are yet to be anywhere near "perfect" on OLED yet unfortunately.
That's why there are two separate standards for HDR content, requiring 1100 nits for LCD and only 540 nits for OLED (last I looked). So, even if an OLED set is fully HDR spec'd, it might not be the best choice for viewing with moderate to high ambient light.

That said, even in dark rooms, OLED still isn't perfect as you say... I totally agree about the crushed blacks. I was very close to buying a 65" OLED a few months back but I decided that it wasn't "perfect" enough to shell out $3k for. Actually, I ended up going the projector route (1080p LED with a 92" tensioned screen, spent well under $1k total) and don't regret a thing. Sure, the contrast is comparatively terrible and it's a far cry from HDR, but blu-rays still look fantastic, and that big-screen cinema feel is just plain fun. I'm going to enjoy this setup for a while, until the world of 4K HDR hardware and content gets a little more firmly established.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Scottsoapbox Avatar
103 months ago
"Native HDR" :rolleyes:

HDR just doesn't down sample color depth at the end of editing to fit standard TV colors.
[doublepost=1489670886][/doublepost]
The buzz I've heard around HDR is that it will have more real impact than the ever increasing resolutions we're seeing on screens (not just mobile). We're already at the point where most people's televisions are too small and/or too far away from their viewing location to realize the resolution they've purchased. A 55" screen at 12' won't produce noticeable image improvements above 720p, it's just too far for our eyes to detect the difference. For that same 55" screen to be useful in 4K you'd need to be 6' away, with most people placing a television on one wall and sitting against the opposite that has to be a very narrow room. A lot of people buy high res just because they feel it is "better" without considering whether they can make use of the resolution in their viewing environment. On the other hand, our eyes are capable of seeing many more colors than the 8 bit RGB system prevalent today (we can see about seven billion compared with 16 million colors in 8 bit color space).
Exactly why I need to get a 85" TV to appreciate the higher resolution. :)
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GubbyMan Avatar
103 months ago
Interesting considering the next iPhone is runoured to have an OLED screen and OLED isn't bright enough yet to full take advantage of HDR.
The up to 1000 nits of brightness of the Apple Watch display with simultaneous perfect blacks isn't enough for you?

What? Where'd you get that info?
Newer HDR LCD TVs actually have better brightness than OLED TVs. But we're talking about 2500+ nits.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

2007 iPhone

Apple Discontinuing This 18-Year-Old iPhone Feature

Saturday February 8, 2025 3:51 pm PST by
The end of an 18-year era is on the horizon for the iPhone. Apple reportedly plans to announce a new iPhone SE as soon as next week, and the device is expected to feature a full-screen design with Face ID, instead of a Touch ID home button. That means Apple will no longer sell any new iPhone models with a home button, for the first time since the original iPhone launched. The home button...
oppo find n5 fingers

World's Thinnest Foldable Phone Launches Next Week

Monday February 10, 2025 3:05 am PST by
Oppo has confirmed a February 20 global launch for its Find N5, which the company claims is the world's thinnest device in the foldable phone category. The phone is expected to be re-branded as the OnePlus Open 2 in the US. The Chinese vendor has been teasing the device in the last few weeks, touting its waterproofing and nearly invisible display crease, and highlighting its thinness by compa...
iPhone SE 4 Thumb 1

'New' iPhone SE Product Listing Appears on French Website

Wednesday February 12, 2025 6:49 am PST by
As the wait continues for Apple's long-rumored, fourth-generation iPhone SE, French electronics retailer Boulanger has prematurely published a product listing for a "new" model of the iPhone SE. The placeholder page says the device is "coming soon," but it offers no further information, and the price shown is obviously not real. The listing was spotted by a reader of the French technology...
m2 macbook air blue

M4 MacBook Air Release Continues to Appear Imminent

Monday February 10, 2025 10:56 am PST by
There continue to be signs of a new MacBook Air with an M4 chip, indicating that we could see the machine launch in the not too distant future. A private account on X today shared the identifiers that the MacBook Air will use, and those identifiers correspond to the M4 chip. According to the source, both the 13-inch MacBook Air and the 15-inch MacBook Air will be equipped with Apple's...
watchOS 11 Thumb 2 1

Apple Releases watchOS 11.3.1

Monday February 10, 2025 10:04 am PST by
Apple today released watchOS 11.3.1, a minor update to the operating system that runs on the Apple Watch. watchOS 11.3.1 is compatible with the Apple Watch Series 6 and later, all Apple Watch Ultra models, and the Apple Watch SE 2. watchOS 11.3.1 can be downloaded by opening up the Apple Watch app and going to General > Software Update. To install the new software, the Apple Watch needs to...
sequoia

Apple Releases macOS Sequoia 15.3.1

Monday February 10, 2025 10:11 am PST by
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.3.1, a minor update to the macOS Sequoia operating system that came out last September. macOS 15.3.1 comes a few weeks after the launch of macOS Sequoia 15.3. Mac users can download the ‌‌‌macOS Sequoia‌‌‌ update through the Software Update section of System Settings. Apple has also released macOS 13.7.4 and macOS 14.7.4 for those who are...
Powerbeats Pro 2 Orange

Powerbeats Pro 2 Given to Customer Early, Expected to Debut Tomorrow

Monday February 10, 2025 7:42 am PST by
Apple's long-awaited Powerbeats Pro 2 are finally expected to be announced this Tuesday. Ahead of time, one lucky Walmart customer was able to get their hands on the earbuds early, according to a since-deleted Reddit post over the weekend. A leaked image of the Powerbeats Pro 2 in Electric Orange "My local Walmart had them in the cage," the Reddit user explained. "I asked if I can buy them...
iOS 18

Apple Releases iOS 18.3.1 With Bug Fixes

Monday February 10, 2025 10:09 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 18.3.1 and iPadOS 18.3.1, minor updates for the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that came out last September. iOS 18.3.1 comes two weeks after Apple released iOS 18.3. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. Apple has also released iPadOS 17.7.5 for those still running...
apple silicon mac lineup 2024 feature purple

Apple Increases Mac Trade-In Values for a Limited Time

Sunday February 9, 2025 3:53 pm PST by
Apple today increased its estimated trade-in values for select Mac models in the United States, with the full changes outlined below. Apple says the extra trade-in credit for select Macs is available with the purchase of an eligible new Apple device through April 2. The trade-in values increased by between $10 and $50. Model New Value Old Value MacBook Pro Up to $925 ...