Dolby Vision HDR streaming will soon arrive on Xbox One

News
By
published

Dolby's HDR format is coming to Microsoft's 4K consoles

Though the Xbox One S and Xbox One X have supported the HDR10 format since their respective launches, the slightly more advanced Dolby Vision format has remained unsupported on all games consoles to date.

However, that's about to change, with an announcement on Xbox Wire revealing that Microsoft's 4K-capable consoles are set to receive an update that will enable Dolby Vision streaming, allowing users to watch Netflix in the 12-bit high-dynamic-range format.

System Update 1810 has already started rolling out to Xbox Insiders in a preview build, and is expected to arrive for everyone else in the coming weeks. It also brings with it additional language options for the Narrator feature, Avatars on the dashboard, and revised search functionality that will show you games that you own even if they aren't installed.

Unlike HDR10, which applies general settings to an entire show or movie, Dolby Vision uses metadata to adjust its brightness and color on a scene-by-scene basis, providing an experience that's closer to what the filmmakers originally intended. 

At present, there's no word on whether there are any plans for any video game-related Dolby Vision support, though the Dolby Atmos audio format is already supported on Microsoft's consoles in a gaming capacity. 

TOPICS
Stephen Lambrechts
Stephen Lambrechts
Senior Journalist, Phones and Entertainment

Stephen primarily covers phones and entertainment for TechRadar's Australian team, and has written professionally across the categories of tech, film, television and gaming in both print and online for over a decade. He's obsessed with smartphones, televisions, consoles and gaming PCs, and has a deep-seated desire to consume all forms of media at the highest quality possible. 

He's also likely to talk a person’s ear off at the mere mention of Android, cats, retro sneaker releases, travelling and physical media, such as vinyl and boutique Blu-ray releases. Right now, he's most excited about QD-OLED technology, The Batman and Hellblade 2: Senua's Saga.