Google, Paramount+ (formerly CBS All Access) and Roku have announced that they will now also stream Samsung’s HDR10+ format.
Unfortunately there is no uniform standard when it comes to HDR. Samsung is a major player in the TV market and therefore has a say in the matter. Meanwhile, the proprietary HDR10+ format is supported by more than a hundred companies. Including the aforementioned newcomers, we are talking about Amazon, YouTube, Philips, Panasonic and more reputable companies.
On Amazon Prime you can already watch various streams in Samsung HDR10+, including The Grand Tour.
Chromecast
That Google also chooses to offer HDR10+ means, that this flavor of HDR can soon be expected on Chromecast devices. Such more universal systems are extremely consumer friendly, because the Chromecast, for example, also supports the rival Dolby Vision HDR.
You do not have to make a forced choice. It is the power of software that makes equipment today more flexible than ever. A different box for each format is therefore no longer necessary. Moreover, it means that competing formats can often co-exist without problems. Whether Samsung will ultimately ‘win’ is therefore questionable. In the end it will be the consumer who decides who will be the most popular, but even then the ‘underdog’ can still live on.