Ultra HD Premium spec announced for HDR 4K content and devices

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The Ultra HD Alliance has announced an official specification for 4K HDR devices and content, marked with a new Ultra HD Premium logo.

Now that most of us have got our heads around 4K, the Ultra HD Alliance, the industry group in charge of promoting 4K, has announced a new specification to clarify the specification of next-gen devices and content.

The move, announced at CES 2016, is largely triggered by the increasing focus on High Dynamic Range (HDR) 4K content, which is increasingly seen as the optimum Ultra HD experience.

The new specification is called Ultra HD Premium and an accompanying logo will now appear on products and services that conform to the spec.

The Ultra HD Premium spec focuses on "resolution, HDR, peak luminance, black levels and wide color gamut among others. The specifications also make recommendations for immersive audio and other features".

It may sound technical - and, well, it is - but the logo should mean an at-a-glance way for consumers to know exactly what 4K content they're being delivered. And that it should be the 'premium' 4K experience.

  • Image Resolution: 3840x2160
  • Colour Bit Depth: Minimum 10-bit signal
  • Colour: BT.2020 colour representation
  • High Dynamic Range: SMPTE ST2084 EOTF
Joe Cox
Joe Cox
Content Director

Joe is the Content Director for What Hi-Fi? and Future’s Product Testing, having previously been the Global Editor-in-Chief of What Hi-Fi?. He has worked on What Hi-Fi? across the print magazine and website for almost 20 years, writing news, reviews and features on everything from turntables to TVs, headphones to hi-fi separates. He has covered product launch events across the world, from Apple to Technics, Sony and Samsung; reported from CES, the Bristol Show, and Munich High End for many years; and written for sites such as the BBC, Stuff, and the Guardian. In his spare time, he enjoys expanding his vinyl collection and cycling (not at the same time).