Vizio Firmware Upgrade Brings HDR 10 to 4K Sets

A firmware upgrade for two lines of Vizio Ultra High-Def (UHD) 4K TV sets will enable support for HDR 10, the industry’s baseline standard for high dynamic range (HDR) video content, for UHD Blu-ray Discs that include the enhanced video feature.

The upgrade covers the first two UHD Blu-ray players currently in the market, the Samsung UHD-K8500 and Philips BDP7501/F7. The firmware update doesn’t cover the Xbox One S, which hit stores earlier this month and includes a UHD Blu-ray drive. Panasonic’s DMP-UB900 player, the fourth in the market, is expected to hit stores in September.

The firmware update covers Vizio’s SmartCast P-Series and M-Series UHD TVs, which already supported Dolby Vision, a proprietary HDR technology.

“When we launched the Vizio SmartCast P-Series and M-Series Ultra HD HDR display collections, it was always our intent to accommodate the HDR10 standard in addition to our support for Dolby Vision," said Vizio CTO Matt McRae, in a statement. "While Dolby Vision offers consumers excellent picture quality, it was important to us to give consumers options. VIZIO now offers HDR 10 and Dolby Vision compatible displays with some of the best picture quality options available for the home experience.”

Along with the firmware update, Vizio has added support for new Dolby Vision-enabled titles for Vudu, the Walmart-owned streaming service, including Batman v Superman, The Nice Guys and Keanu.

Vizio was acquired by Chinese tech company LeEco for $2 billion in late July.