Google adds HDR video to Play Movies - but only in US and Canada

By Adam Smith
published

Titles like Kong: Skull Island, Mad Max: Fury Road, Suicide Squad, and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them will all be available in HDR, but those of us in the UK will have to wait.

Are you a fan of 4K HDR movies? Then we've got some good news and some bad news. The good news is that Google's Play Movies & TV app has just been updated to support High Dynamic Range playback.

High Dynamic Range, or HDR, is a way to increase the number of colours in a picture - putting a greater range of hues between the brightest whites and the darkest blacks.

The bad news? The update is only available in the US and Canada.

While Google hasn't released a comprehensive list of all the films available - because that would be too easy, now, wouldn't it? - titles like Kong: Skull Island, The Lego Movie (and The Lego Batman Movie), Mad Max: Fury Road, Suicide Squad, and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them are now all available with HDR.

We'll let you know once the update hits the UK; for now, you might have to stick with another streaming service for your HDR needs.

Read more:

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Adam Smith

Adam was a staff writer for What Hi-Fi?, reviewing consumer gadgets for online and print publication, as well as researching and producing features and advice pieces on new technology in the hi-fi industry. He has since worked for PC Mag as a contributing editor and is now a science and technology reporter for The Independent.