HDR: TV technology promises sharper colors

LAS VEGAS, Nev. — For years, TV makers have focused on making pictures sharper. Now, their attention is shifting to improving the way sets display color, with a newish technology called HDR taking center stage.

HDR, or high dynamic range, promises brighter whites, darker blacks, and a richer range of colors — at least when you’re watching the few select movie titles that get released in the format. Trouble is, there aren’t all that many of those yet, and other HDR viewing options are likely to remain scarce for the immediate future.

HDR represents the latest effort by the world’s television makers to goose demand for new sets. Global television shipments are expected to flatline this year, says research firm IHS — and that’s an improvement over 2015, when shipments fell 4 percent. TV makers are still touting the previous new new thing — 4K, or ultra highdefinition, sets, which have four times the pixels of current highdefinition screens. While 4K has stopped the bleeding, it hasn’t jolted the TV industry back to life.

HDR faces some similar challenges. As with 4K, studios have to release movies and shows in the new format for owners to get the most out of new HDR sets.

Market leader Samsung, which introduced TVs with HDR support last year, is improving this year’s sets by boosting brightness on the top line “SUHD” models by 20 percent. Joe Stinziano, an executive vice president with Samsung Electronics America, said Samsung wouldn’t muddle the HDR issue, unlike its competitors.

“We don’t sell ‘HDR compatible’ sets like some others do,” he said in an interview. “All that means is that the picture will show on your TV … but it’s not HDR. We never did that and we don’t do that.”