Some viewers are chomping at the bit for more 4K. On Geekzone, one member bemoaned that the Fifa World Cup would screen pay-per-view on TVNZ+, where the video quality is lower. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt would be fantastic to watch it on 4K,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n
(A TVNZ spokeswoman told the Herald this week: \u201cWe have no immediate plans to add 4K to TVNZ+, but our new TVNZ+ platform, launching in the coming months, means it\u2019s a possibility for the future.\u201d).<\/p>\n
But AV enthusiast John Tester says the viewer experience is falling short of what it could be, because \u201chigh dynamic range\u201d (HDR), a key companion technology, is not part of the package.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout HDR, it looks washed out and dull,\u201d Tester says.<\/p>\n
What is HDR?<\/p>\n
HDR is a feature designed to show a greater range between the brightest and darkest parts of the image, the New York Times\u2019 Wirecutter says.<\/p>\n
With standard dynamic range, \u201cyou might have clouds in a bright sky that look like amorphous white blobs. With HDR, those white blobs have a fluffy, cloud-like texture, and they can look brighter, creating a more punchy and lifelike image\u201d.<\/p>\n
Like 4K, HDR is now a feature on almost every TV, even budget models. It has been since around 2018 (the Dolby Atmos situation is fuzzier, with some makes and models supporting rival spatial audio standards, and many won\u2019t have a TV and audio system that can handle it, regardless).<\/p>\n
Dolby Atmos AWOL<\/p>\n
Tester, a now-retired tech enthusiast and Formula 1 fan who worked on mainframe computers and in video before joining the IRD, also bemoans the lack of support for Dolby Atmos, which provides \u201c3D\u201d spatial audio.<\/p>\n
All of the multinational streaming services couple 4K with HDR and Dolby Atmos, if only on their most expensive plans.<\/p>\n
And Tester noted that Sky TV in the UK (which no longer has any crossover ownership with Sky NZ) offers Formula One races in 4K UHD with HDR and Dolby Atmos.<\/p>\n
He said Sky NZ did not offer the same full-blooded coverage to skimp on bandwidth costs. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not complaining, because I get what I pay for,\u201d Tester says \u2013 a reference to Sky NZ offering 4K UHD at no extra cost. Sky UK charges an extra \u00a36 ($14) per month for an \u201cUltra HD and Dolby Atmos\u201d add-on. <\/p>\n
\u201cI just think the marketing\u2019s a bit overhyped.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sky responds<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do not include HDR on our 4K UHD broadcasts at this time,\u201d a Sky spokeswoman said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis option adds additional complexity to our technical set-up so it was not included at the launch of our 4K UHD offering. We welcome customer feedback on this, as it may be an option for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
She added, \u201cSport codes that offer their coverage in 4K UHD tend to offer both HD and UHD feeds, and the broadcaster then selects their feed of choice. We currently take the HD feed from Sky UK and broadcast it at the quality we receive it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do intend to broadcast Formula 1 in 4K UHD next season, so look forward to sharing more on this in due course.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Sky didn\u2019t support Dolby\u2019s 3D spatial sound, it did support surround sound, the spokeswoman said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe audio on our sports coverage is typically broadcast in either Dolby 2.0 or Dolby 5.1, depending on what is available from the host broadcaster, as a package with the visuals. <\/p>\n
\u201cBoth these audio options provide a great audience experience, with the multi-channel option, Dolby 5.1, typically used for premium sporting broadcasts such as the All Blacks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Postscript: My two cents \u2013 give us 4K for entertainment<\/p>\n
It\u2019s notable that in a multipage Geekzone thread discussing 4K, there are no complaints about the stability of Sky\u2019s stream with live sports events \u2013 which was once such a bug-bear (and which remains a challenge as Netflix viewers discovered not so long ago with the streamer\u2019s live coverage of the Mike Tyson-Jake Paul bout).<\/p>\n
Most of the chat was around how to locate Sky\u2019s 4K content (which can be confusing when the same event is on more than one channel), how to tell when content is \u201cupscaled\u201d (that is tech smarts are used to insert extra pixels to make standard HD look more like 4K UHD) and which devices are supported (you\u2019ll need the new Sky Box \u2013 the small white one or a Sky Pod, see Sky\u2019s primer here<\/a>).<\/p>\n Personally, when I\u2019m watching live sport, I\u2019m perfectly happy with standard high definition. My key desire is that the picture doesn\u2019t judder or cut out \u2013 and HD rather than UHD increases the odds of a smooth, uninterrupted viewing experience.<\/p>\n Movies and mini-series are a different story. I\u2019d love Neon and Sky\u2019s HBO channel to offer 4K and HDR, which have been available on Netflix since 2013 and are now old hat on all of the multinational streamers as they mull a jump to 8K.<\/p>\n But it looks like I\u2019m in for quite a wait.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t have a timeline for entertainment at this stage,\u201d the Sky spokeswoman said.<\/p>\n Chris Keall is an Auckland-based member of the Herald\u2019s business team. He joined the Herald in 2018 and is the technology editor and a senior business writer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Some viewers are chomping at the bit for more 4K. On Geekzone, one member bemoaned that the Fifa…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":270505,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[25160,1443,153220,11231,3013,124,13801,12252,1601,3592,15248,153221,42,2959,702,17768,43,153218,153219,4993,6327,312,5976,8861,313,40,38,41,39,437,64520,6923,1533],"class_list":["post-270504","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-4k","tag-about","tag-audiovisual","tag-boost","tag-but","tag-could","tag-definition","tag-expands","tag-expert","tag-fall","tag-falls","tag-geek","tag-headlines","tag-high","tag-it","tag-means","tag-news","tag-pennypinching","tag-picturequality","tag-quality","tag-rugby","tag-says","tag-short","tag-sky","tag-super","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-tv","tag-ultra","tag-what","tag-will"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270504","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=270504"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270504\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/270505"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=270504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=270504"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=270504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}