Kyncl casually dropped the announcement during a discussion about 360-degree video experience, which the service also supports, with GoPro CEO Nick Woodman and Chris Milk, CEO of VRSE, a virtual-reality studio.
Similar to HDR mode on smartphone cameras, which combine multiple exposures into a single frame, HDR video brings out better color and detail. Whereas contrast focuses on bright whites and black blacks, HDR is about all the colors and shades in between, making them more vivid and subtleties in the image more discernible.
You need a screen that supports HDR to see the full benefits of it, however, and many TV manufacturers announced support for the technology in their new models. Some newer video playback devices (like Ultra HD Blu-ray players, which deliver true 4K content) support it as well.
With the announcement, YouTube joins both Amazon and Netflix in supporting HDR.
The announcement came during a keynote that focused mainly on the promise of virtual reality and 360-degree video. Kyncl touted YouTube's efforts in this area, including the VRSE project promoted by the New York Times, which delivered more than a million Google Cardboard VR viewers to its subscribers.