Vudu picks up HDR support on Xbox One X and Xbox One S

By Matt Brown
published

Vudu has picked up its first wave of HDR10 content, marking its debut on Xbox One X and Xbox One S consoles.

Online video service Vudu has announced (opens in new tab) an expansion of its High Dynamic Range (HDR) content, bringing support for HDR10 to select titles. Expanding upon the company's previous offerings of an alternate HDR standard, "Dolby Vision," this latest addition open's Vudu's 4K HDR offerings to a wider range of devices.

Microsoft's Xbox One X and its lower-spec predecessor, the Xbox One S both support HDR10 rather than Dolby Vision, meaning this latest change marks the debut of Vudu's HDR library on Microsoft's gaming consoles. With HDR enabled, content will be delivered with a wider color gamut and a higher contrast ratio – essentially colors should look a lot more vibrant and appealing. This joins an existing library of HDR-compatible apps on Xbox One, including Amazon Video and Netflix.

For those using 4K HDR displays with an Xbox One console, following the latest update, supported content should be automatically displayed in HDR. As of launch, Vudu claims 36 movies current support HDR10, including Mad Max: Fury Road, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and Ghost in the Shell. With support now rolled out across a wider range of content, a steadier flow of content can be expected going forward.

See at Microsoft Store (opens in new tab)

Matt Brown
Matt Brown

Matt Brown was formerly a Windows Central's Senior Editor, Xbox & PC, at Future. Following over seven years of professional consumer technology and gaming coverage, he’s focused on the world of Microsoft's gaming efforts. You can follow him on Twitter @mattjbrown.

8 Comments
  • Tried last night. I don't like HDR on movies. Games is different.
  • Vudu is great. I like their app on Xbox and windows 10
  • Next we need the free movies like on Roku and web app.
  • That would be nice, but most of those are lower-bandwidth streams that don't have HDR content (or multiple audio streams, or CC, etc.).
  • Vudu has free movies, with commercials.
  • There is a posting in Xbox user voice for Dolby Vision support please go upvote it. The dynamic meta data and the 12 bit luminance and color are superior to hdr10. And with vudu/netflix/amazon/hd bluray and atoms that update to DV would make the Xbox the best streamaing device ever period. Now go vote.
  • There is no visible benefit to Dolby Vision at this time.  It's requirements, such as 4000 nits, are not achievable with today's tv's and the tv's that claim DV compatibility are simply able to decode it, not display at the spec.  Some types of tv's, such as OLED tv's, can never meet the DV spec since it does not take the type of technology into account.  OLED's won't hit the minimum level of nits ever, for instance, but their image still is the best on the market today. DV is a spec sheet monster, but in practice has no practical effect on image quality.  There are no panels that can actually output the color space DV specifies, and no lighting that can output its nits.  It's a solution in search of a problem, and the technology to support it. I'm fine with MS adding DV support, my tv does support it even though it'll never match its requirements.  I just don't see it as a priority given the lack of supporting infrastructure.
  • Huh, that's interesting. I didn't know that about Dolby vision.