So you’re confirming that you don’t have a “4K & HDR” category in your TV app? I’m assuming you own at least one 4K movie via iTunes.I can confirm there is no 4K HDR streaming support on my 2017 iMac in Catalina.
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No 4K, Dolby Vision, HDR support on iMac Pro
- Thread starter BeatCrazy
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Apple says any 2018 Mac or later supports it.
The reason I mention my 2017 is because it supposedly has the necessary hardware to support 4K streaming DRM (Netflix etc.) under Windows.
Correct. My 4K HDR titles show up as HD in the Apple TV app on the 2017 iMac 27”
5K. Meanwhile, they show up as 4K HDR on my 2017 iPad Pro 10.5”, which I bought on the Apple refurb store for just CAD$619 / US$465.
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Apple TV app and DRM’d 4K HDR streaming playback support in macOS 10.15 Catalina
I thought DRM’d 4K HDR video streaming and playback support would come to the Mac in 2017 with 2017 Kaby Lake Macs. It finally comes in 2019 with macOS 10.15 Catalina, in the form of an Apple TV app. Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision supported. iTunes and others like HBO supported but no mention...
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Thanks. But why only streaming? Is it not possible on supported machines to buy a 4K movie, download it and watch as many times you want?
That wasn’t the point of my post. The point was you can do it in Catalina on a 2018 iMac but not a 2017 iMac, even though you can it do it with the same class of hardware as the 2017 on the Windows side.
Yes, I understand your point, but I don't understand how is it going to work on supported Macs. If it is only streaming then it seems to me pointless to buy such a movie, unless you have a fast internet connection without downloading limit.
You can download AFAIK. My posts did not discuss this.
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But as @PBMB states, you can only download HD. 4K requires streaming.
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So, the story in a nutshell is that on perfectly capable Macs from a technical point of view, there won't be 4K movies from the TV app. So it is a matter of decision from Apple's part. Any idea why?
Likely due to hardware-based DRM requirements that Apple is abiding by, dictated by the content owners.
No 4K digital store/services offers 4K download. Probably due to my point above regarding content owners.
In that sense, any monitor can display HDR content, using tone mapping (you can confirm this playing some HDR content in IINA which tonemaps). Display also needs to be able to handle the ST.2084 EOTF (also known as PQ "gamma"). But it will not look like something a HDR-capable display is able to produce.
IMHO it is exactly opposite - I used to have the Bravia X850C that was also labeled as "HDR ready" LCD set. It could not reach 1000nit. It's output is in no aspect comparable to what ZD9 is displaying.
Essentially, to qualify as HDR (Dynamic Range = highest brightness - lowest brightness) it must reach some contrast ratio.
The reason 540nits is accepted for OLEDs is that their black levels are also 10x below that of LEDs.
As I see it - the bottom line : any display can render HDR content. But the qualification specs have been set in place to guarantee a definitely improved and recognisable improvement of user experience.
That’s like saying ‘any car can go 200mph’. A few can do it on a racetrack, most would have to be dropped out of an airplane.
The Sony X850C (like my X850E) shows a distinctly improved colour gamut compared to regular TVs. However, it cannot show the same contrast ratio as higher end TVs (like my LG C8 OLED). However, just having the improved colour gamut is a major improvement. This is something the iMacs can also provide.
BTW, the iMacs have much higher peak brightness than the X850C, about 100 nits higher. LCD TVs with peak brightness in the 500s can actually be decent for HDR, even though they don't meet the arbitrary 1000 nit spec, especially if they have good tone mapping. The iMac's problem IMO is not the peak brightness. The iMac's problem is the fact is that it is an IPS display with black levels that are not very good. But since it's a computer display, we usually want it to be IPS, because VA screens for computers generally would suck for viewing angles.
BTW, OLEDs are "allowed" to not have this 1000 nit spec because they have better black levels and contrast ratios, but they still have to manage image brightness info above 5xx nits. Unfortunately, some TVs, like Sony OLEDs, simply throw most of the higher brightness information away. Such detail just gets all blown out on screen as white. Not good. In this regard, the better algorithms are the ones that tone map the detail to fit into its brightness capabilities. Tone mapping is a good thing. It's a compromise that OLEDs need to have, not 100% true to the original mastering, but works well in the real world, and LCDs can do this too with decent results.
tl;dr:
A P3 WCG LCD screen without the ability to hit anywhere near 1000 nits is still a huge improvement over regular screens for HDR content. This is something that consumers can really appreciate on an iPhone, iPad Air/Pro, MacBook Pro, or iMac.
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I have a 2019 iMac and I don't have the 4k & HDR option in the TV app
It should be under the "Library" tab. I would think all 2019 iMacs have it. My 2012 iMac does not have it.
Essentially, yes, if you make your car's speedometer show 200 even if it is really going only 60mph.
Really, any display can be made to display HDR content via tonemapping (ie squeezing the larger input contrast ratio of a signal into the narrow(er) output ratio of the display device). Thats something HDR photography has been doing for years. Whether the result will be pleasing to the eye, is a completely different story. See also below.
For my taste, it is still only improvement in one direction. I may be spoilt with my 1800-capable screen.
This is something philosophical. I actually do not like the bent down (grayed out) highlights. In this regard Sony's decision to clip may be a good idea (visually), and follows the SDR style. Moreover, I believe Sony's picture modes handle the top end clipping/kneeling down differently. I take this from user 10k's measurements on avsforum.
Indeed, it is, but as I said above, I also expect bright specular highlights from a HDR display. Otherwise I'd only be speaking about WCG display. But it is just me.
I agree with all of your other statements.
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Even when I click on Library it doesn't come up. This is a screenshot of what I see. I know that Alien and Alita are 4k movies because they come up under the 4k/HDR section on my iPad but there's no option on my iMac.
I just installed Catalina on an external backup drive. My main machines are still Mojave.