News

'Ultra HD Premium' TVs arrive

The Ultra HD Alliance (UHDA) has launched a new consumer logo to help buyers know that the screen they're purchasing offers the state-of-the-art in current AV standards. TVs (and content services) carrying the 'Ultra HD Premium' logo are deemed by the UHDA to comply with 'performance metrics' for resolution, High Dynamic Range, peak luminance, black levels and wide colour gamut. These are the 'key characteristics of a robust next-generation experience' says the industry group.

LG is refreshing its OLED TV lineup in 2017 to include 10 separate models, and – in a world's first – introducing Dolby Atmos support via upfiring speaker drivers. 

Sony will join Panasonic and LG in the OLED TV market later this year with a new Bravia OLED series, known as the A1, that will support Dolby Vision. There will be 77in, 65in and 55in versions available.

Dolby has announced that three Hollywood studios – Universal Pictures, Lionsgate and Warner Bros – have pledged to release movies mastered in Dolby Vision on Ultra HD Blu-ray, news that is sure to excite and annoy AV hedz in equal measure. Dolby Vision is an optional HDR standard of the Ultra HD Blu-ray specification and employs dynamic metadata to manage the HDR performance of your display. The HDR 10 standard, which is mandatory for Ultra HD Blu-ray, uses less advanced static metadata. Content is mastered at 12-bit, and at greater nit levels. Dolby Vision is also the preferred mastering HDR format amongst Hollywood studios, due to accomplished authoring tools and the ease with which an HDR 10 version can then be outputted. All groovy then? Not quite. Firstly, Dolby Vision support is limited amongst 4K TVs, with only some LG sets on the market currently supporting it. Sony has announced forthcoming models at this year's CES, but both Samsung and Panasonic remain uncommitted.

Released through the theatrical arm of cult video label Arrow, Blade of the Immortal is a bloody treat for action fans. Based on the manga of the same name, this is a samurai action movie with a frenetic modern aesthetic, framed with gorgeous cinematography. The opening prelude, shot in highly dynamic monochrome, recalls classic Japanese Samurai cinema, before splashing into vivid hues.