From Netflix to Disney Plus: How the biggest streamers handle HDR

You may have everything you need to watch your favorite shows and movies in glorious HDR, but that doesn't mean streaming services will let you.

It's probably a safe bet that most folks consume TV shows and movies through streaming apps like Netflix and Hulu. After all, why spend $30 on a UHD Blu-Ray disc when you can just stream the content you want to watch from the cloud instead? That said, HDR support across the big-name streaming apps is spotty. Even if you're all set up to see the heightened range of whites and blacks that makes HDR images shine, there's almost no guarantee your favorite service will accommodate you.

Some streaming platforms support it at no extra cost, while others charge you more for the privilege. And some well-known services don't have the option to enable HDR at all.

So, allow us to break it down for you.

Netflix

Imagine the glory of 'Tiger King,' but with a way higher range of color. Credit: NETFLIX

Let's start with Netflix. It more or less kicked off the streaming phenomenon and is still maybe the most recognizable name in the business. The good news? Netflix supports HDR. The bad news? You'll have to pay extra for it.

As the Netflix website helpfully lays out, you need to pay for the $15.99 per month Premium plan to even think about watching anything in HDR. Assuming you've done that and everything is in order, you'll see either an HDR or a Dolby Vision logo next to compatible titles on the Netflix menu, depending on which standard your TV employs.

We don't have an exact number for how many Netflix titles are streamable in HDR just yet, but we'll update this article if we get one. In the meantime, you'll just have to check each show or film you want to watch on a case-by-case basis.

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SEE ALSO: Here’s how to unlock Netflix’s hidden categories

Hulu

This one's easy. Hulu's original content is available in a wide range of display resolutions, including 4K, but it doesn't stream things in HDR right now. We're still in the relatively early stages of consumer adoption of HDR, so this shouldn't surprise anyone. As explained by our friends at PCMag, the industry hasn't even settled on one type of HDR. Next!

HBO NOW

Game of Thrones. Succession. Curb Your Enthusiasm. HBO is home to some of the most beloved TV shows ever made and not a single one of them can be streamed in HDR on HBO NOW. The service doesn't even support 4K yet. Bummer.

Amazon Prime Video

'Hunters' is one Amazon original that's presented in HDR. Credit: amazon

If you're disappointed by Hulu and HBO's lack of HDR support, Prime Video is here for you. You don't even have to pay extra. Unfortunately, much like Netflix, it's unnecessarily difficult to seek out shows and movies that actually use HDR on the service.

Your best bet appears to be any of Amazon's original programming. Go to the show page for Huntersor Jack Ryan, for example, and you'll see a small HDR badge above the episode description in the same spot where Prime Video tells you whether or not a show supports 5.1 surround sound. As far as I can tell, this is the only real way to tell if something on Prime supports HDR.

Also like Netflix, Amazon hasn't provided us with the number of HDR-compatible titles on Prime Video. We'll update if we hear back.

Disney Plus

The best 'Star Wars' movie is in HDR on Disney Plus. Credit: disney

Last, but not least is Disney Plus, the newest streaming service on our list. When it launched last year, HDR was supported on day one at no additional charge. That's great!

Unfortunately, things aren't all magical in the Magic Kingdom online. Display experts have accused Disney Plus of — for lack of a better term — faking its HDR. Shows like The Mandalorianmay not be shown in trueHDR on Disney Plus, which means the image might look worse than it would if you just turned off HDR. But if you like the way it looks anyway, that's fine!

We reached out to Disney for a list of titles available in HDR, or at least a number, but they couldn't provide that either. That said, Disney Plus does have an "Ultra HD and HDR" category in its "Movies" page. If you want a quick snapshot of the movies that support HDR, such as many of the Star Warsand Marvel movies, just look there.

Hopefully, the next iteration of this list will have better news for all you HDR-heads out there. It's only a matter of time before it's supported by a wider breadth of apps.