Amazon has unveiled plans to begin streaming its online movies and TV shows in High Dynamic Range (HDR) for customers in the U.S., the U.K., and Germany later this year.

The announcement was made last week, some three months after Netflix, Amazon's chief rival, revealed their own plans of offering HDR video content to their subscribers at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

HDR technology allows viewers to see an image in a wider contrast ratio between dark and white areas compared to normal imaging. The combination of multiple shots in varying levels of exposure results in deeper and richer quality of videos.

Amazon's Prime Instant Video service is considered to be one of the few that provides customers with online streaming in 4K ultra high definition (UHD) quality. The transition to HDR is viewed as the next logical step to bringing higher quality video content to homes.

"4K Ultra HD picture resolution was just the beginning - we're excited that Prime members will soon be able to view movies and TV shows including Amazon Originals in HDR quality," Michael Paull, Amazon's vice president of digital video said.

"HDR is the natural next step in our commitment to premium entertainment, and we can't wait for customers to have even more choice in how they watch their favorite titles on Amazon Prime Instant Video."

Similar to the debut of 4K content, the lineup of available HDR shows will likely be limited in the beginning but more shows will eventually be added.

One of the obstacles that service providers faced in the past was the shortage of available HDR-compatible television sets. Most of the TVs sold could only handle 100 nits, the measurement of screen brightness, compared to the 1,000 nits required for HDR viewing. This problem, however, is currently being addressed by TV manufacturers by releasing HDR TVs later this year.

Amazon has been working closely with leading electronics companies together with studios in Hollywood to give its Prime members the best HDR experience.

For owners who wish to switch to HDR, TVs have to be updated using an HDMI 2.0 connection to the latest version of firmware. An official list of supported devices, however, has yet to be released.

Photo: John Karakatsanis | Flickr