Google Chrome browser for Android to get HDR video support
Google is planning to add HDR video support to the Chrome browser for Android. The information comes from a couple of commits (commits record source code changes to the repository) that were recently spotted on Chromium Gerrit (the web-based team code collaboration tool for Chrome).
According to these commits, the Android version of Google's ubiquitous web browser will be able to extract VP9 HDR metadata from the video container and pass it to the MediaCodec. In layman's terms, this means that Chrome will be able to playback HDR videos on a compatible device.
In case you're wondering, High Dynamic Range (HDR) videos offer superior contrast and color accuracy which results in an overall improvement of video quality. A good number of top-end smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy S8, Note 8, LG V30, Sony Xperia XZ Premium and others feature HDR screens.
Apps like YouTube, Google Play Movies, and Netflix already support HDR, but the amount of such content is rather limited at the moment. Still, we suspect that we'll see more of these videos popping up as compatibility grows.
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