High Dynamic Range Streams to Amazon

Amazon Prime has announced that it is now offering episodes of its original series in high dynamic range.

HDR is considered the next step after 4K images in improving video quality.

High dynamic range on 4K sets offers improved color quality, better blacks and highlights, providing a more vivid, bright and lifelike image.

The first series to be made available in HDR is the first season of Amazon’s Mozart in the Jungle.

The provider says that more series will be “coming soon.”

Amazon is not charging Prime Members any extra for the HDR but users must have a TV capable of displaying the HDR images. Adding HDR capabilities to 4K TVs was a major theme at CES in January of 2015.

Starting June 24, HDR is available through the Amazon Video app on Samsung SUHD TVs.

"HDR is a technical innovation that provides a truly stunning viewing experience and we're thrilled to be the first to offer this unmatched picture quality," said Michael Paull, VP of digital video at Amazon in a statement. "We can't wait for our Prime members to watch and re-watch Mozart in the Jungle in HDR at no additional cost to their membership, and we look forward to adding more titles and devices that support HDR this year."

Amazon HDR streaming will also be available on this year’s LG OLED 4K ULTRA HD TVs, LG noted in a statement, in “the coming weeks.”

Tim Alessi, head of new product development for home entertainment, at LG Electronics USA added that “OLED technology is perfectly suited for HDR content because it delivers perfect, absolute black—which only OLED TVs can achieve. By starting from perfect black, OLED is able to produce the required light ranges at a lower peak brightness, resulting in an exceptional, and comfortable, HDR viewing experience from any viewing angle.”