Starting today, filmmakers have one more place to share (and monetize) HDR video — Vimeo, which just announced support for HDR using the HEVC/H.265 video codec as well as 10-bit Rec. 2020 color and a new maximum of 8K resolution.
In a blog post announcing the change, Sara Poorsattar, Vimeo’s director of product, video, wrote that Vimeo members will be able to upload HDR videos using existing integration with software including Adobe Premiere Pro, Apple Final Cut Pro X and Dropbox, as well as the dedicated Vimeo upload page.
HDR playback is supported, of course, only on HDR-capable displays that are being fed HDR-enabled sources. That means HDR playback is available on the Apple iPhone X, iPad Pro and Apple TV 4K — but not on any desktop Apple systems. Android playback and Google’s Chromecast Ultra are not yet supported but may be soon, Vimeo said. HDR videos will also be available to viewers in a separate, SDR-optimized version, the company said.
The move brings Vimeo into closer parity with YouTube, which has supported 8K playback (on beefy computers with thick bandwidth pipes) since 2015 and added HDR support for Android devices (but not iOS) earlier this year. Netflix was an early supporter of HDR on television sets and added HDR support for capable iOS and Android devices in September.
HDR support will be enabled in more codecs, such as VP9, in 2018, Vimeo said.
