YouTube Videos Are About To Get A Huge Upgrade, HDR And Everything

YouTube videos have been getting better in terms of resolution year after year. Now, they even offer 4K streaming and 360-degree viewing. The next upgrade coming up is to apply high dynamic range (HDR) to their videos. Baby and cat clips are about to have even better color.

The most popular video hosting and streaming site in the world just launched HDR support for its video content today, Forbes reports. This means that videos are going to have enhanced contrast, better shadows, brighter highlights, and an overall improved display.

This particular upgrade is incredibly important for those streaming videos on widescreen, 1080p to 4K TVs. It offers support for a wider range of color gamut, which will then make pictures look deeper, richer, and generally better to look at. YouTube itself is calling the results of the upgrade “the most spectacular image quality we’ve ever streamed.”

However, it’s worth noting that the upgrade applies only to a select number of devices right now. Specifically, it only works for the TVs mentioned above that already come with HDR support. Also, the TVs need to stream videos via Chromecast Ultra devices by Google.

The Verge also notes that the amount of content available that even employ HDR support are incredibly limited. So, even though the effects of the video quality through this upgrade is staggering, it’s not something that everyone can experience with too many videos.

As a result of current limitations in devices and content, YouTube is encouraging content creators and their corresponding viewers to lend some of their weight behind HDR. The more people watch HDR videos, the more YouTubers will start offering them. From there, the cycle goes on and on.

By offering and building on this feature now, YouTube is in a better position to maintain its spot at the top of the industry. With so many competitors rising out of the woodwork, the video streaming site needs to stay ahead of the game.