In a new update for Google Play Movies & TV, Google has made HDR viewing available for the users of NVIDIA Shield TV and compatible Sony Smart TVs that are connected to the Android TV device.
Last year, Google had made HDR content available for smart TVs via the Chromecast Ultra dongle, and that was that. Now that the HDR viewing option has been extended to two bases of smart TV users, the update brings millions more into the fold of HDR casting on smart TVs, a trend which is catching up quick.
However, there was still no word about the possibility of watching HDR content from Google Play Movies & TV on the smart televisions without the need for another hardware device to provide the go-between. If and when that happens, HDR casting on large screens would become much more common. As of now, Google requires the smart TV user to meet several technical specifications for making HDR content viewable on the television display.
Among the more notable requirements is that a speed of 15 Mbps and more is needed for casting 4K ultra HD movies or shows. Failing to meet the requirement, the smart TV users can still cast the videos but they would be displayed in HD quality only. Of course, it is understood that the smart TV in question must be able to display ultra HD quality films for the UHD content to be cast.
In 2015, Sony and Android teamed up to bring out Android TV, which made using Android for entertainment possible on compatible smart television screens. The idea was to offer users the experience of easy streaming without the need of cable or dish television. Essentially, Android TV was a hardware built on the previous Chromecast dongle, which in turn was dependent on WiFi for casting videos from your Android device to the TV.
The NVIDIA Shield TV casting device, on the other hand, is the more expensive option, but offers great gaming and entertainment casting options, and so is highly popular. Earlier this year, the NVIDIA Shield got an update that made it faster and smaller than it was, and got great reviews for it. While the Google Play Movies & TV app was available for users of the NVIDIA Shield, the HDR content casting will only make the Shield users even happier.
