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The big news for DIRECTV's commercial customers is the H26K receiver. This is the first DIRECTV box designed from the ground up especially for commercial use. It's also the first standalone receiver to do 4K. Naturally, it's flying off the shelves at Solid Signal, especially since you can't get it from DIRECTV call centers. But of course, the questions have been coming from every side and one of the most common concerns 4K HDR programming. I'll answer the question at the top of this article, but first I want to go back and explain why this is even "a thing."

What is 4K HDR?

A lot of customers are saying they want 4K HDR because they think it's the latest, therefore they must have it. I agree that it's a great thing to have, and here's why.

"4K" is a measure of the pixel count of the signal. Specifically, it's a resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels. That actually nets out to 8,294,400 pixels, but for whatever reason they don't call it "8K." Not the point, I guess. a 4K signal isn't going to necessarily have better quality than an HD signal, but most of the time it does. If all the production is done in 4K and the signal is properly created, you'll see about four times the amount of detail compared to an HD signal. This makes watching sports a genuine pleasure, because you'll see things you never saw before.

"HDR" means "high dynamic range" and it describes the difference between the brightest and darkest parts of the signal. When you first saw an HD signal in decades past, it wasn't really the detail level that impressed you. It was the dynamic range. Compared to HD, standard definition looks flat and gray. On the other hand, 4K HDR looks hyper-realistic, almost like being in a dream. Of course, like anything else it has to be done right, or else it won't look any better than any other TV picture. Done properly, 4K HDR will give you detail in the shadowed areas of a stadium while keeping the sunlit areas bright and green.

Yes, this receiver does HDR. But let me explain.

DIRECTV was the first pay-TV provider in the country to broadcast in 4K HDR. While that was great for a headline a decade ago, it means that they standardized on a very early form of HDR called HLG, or hybrid log-gamma. This was one of the first HDR standards and while it still looks amazing, it's not as advanced as other forms of HDR like HDR10+ and Dolby Vision. You'll still get an incredible experience compared to regular SD or HD, but perhaps it won't look as good as 4K Blu-ray discs or the top level of streaming apps.

You also need to know that DIRECTV takes content protection very seriously and they seem to use an aggressive form of it. The H26K uses the latest version of content protection, called HDCP 2.3. That means that you'll get 4K HDR with the latest TVs and brand new cables, but you may not get it with older hardware.

Don't let that dim your enthusiasm, though.

There's nothing like watching sports on a giant, properly calibrated screen in 4K HDR. And no one can do it for commercial customers like DIRECTV. You'll definitely find that it's worth it to watch in 4K HDR, and no one has more 4K HDR live channels than DIRECTV.

I'll also remind you that in most cases, streaming over the internet is not allowed in business environments. It has to do with the way copyright laws are enforced. If you don't think they'll catch you, think again. Whenever you stream you're letting the streaming company know exactly where you are. Sooner or later they'll come knocking and demand money for a settlement. I've seen it happen too many times before.

Get commercial DIRECTV from Signal Connect

Signal Connect, the commercial arm of Signal Group, is DIRECTV's Commercial Dealer of the Year. We're here to take care of our commercial, industrial, lodging, and institutional customers like no one else can. You'll get the kind of customer service you really deserve, along with experts who understand the specific challenges of your business.

Call the tech team at Signal Connect today at 888-233-7563. We're here for you during East Coast business hours. If it's after hours, no problem! Fill out the form below. We'll get right back to you!


The post Does the DIRECTV H26K do HDR? appeared first on The Solid Signal Blog.

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