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Samsung Introduces HDR10 + Gaming Extension

At the Samsung Tech Software Conference, the company announced and detailed its plans to optimize HDR10 + for console and cloud gaming with video streaming. According to Bongil Bak, chief engineer of the SW R&D group at Samsung Electronics, the new application will be built on three pillars: VRR (variable refresh rate), automatic HDR calibration and low latency tone mapping.

At the same time, he explained that the refresh rate even in future TV models will be limited to 120 Hz, but there is no information yet on whether the already released models will be able to support HDR10 + in games after a software update in the future.

Obviously, automatic HDR calibration means the same thing promoted by the HDR Gaming Interest Group (HGIG), of which Samsung is an official member. This refers to the automatic range adjustment in games based on a signal from a TV or monitor transmitted via HDMI.

The third pillar is not the protocol, but the goal – to achieve the minimum latency required for tone mapping (gamma correction) when outputting HDR video in games.

Samsung’s HDR10 + Gaming Extension is an alternative to Dolby’s Dolby Vision program for set-top boxes and games, already supported by Microsoft on Xbox Series S / X and select TVs. The new models of the company will definitely receive it, but what will happen with the content is still completely unclear.

Samsung representatives have not announced plans to implement HDR10 + in consoles, computers and games for consoles and PCs. The company may focus on cloud gaming with video streaming – earlier this week, the South Korean company announced it is developing its own cloud gaming platform for Smart TVs based on the Tizen OS.

There are already many similar platforms today – everyone knows about GeForce Now, Google Stadia, PlayStation Now and Xbox Game Pass (xCloud), but none of them are available on Samsung TVs.