HDR10+ Taps Oregon Consulting Firm to Organize Platform, PTO Records Show
HDR10+ Technologies, a limited liability company formed in Delaware, filed dual applications Jan. 2 to register the stylized logo unveiled at CES for the Fox-Panasonic-Samsung royalty-free dynamic-metadata high-dynamic-range platform announced just before IFA (see 1708280018), Patent and Trademark Office records show. The two filings -- one for a range of possible consumer tech device applications, the other for "software as a service" uses and for videogaming and streaming-video purposes -- were filed about 36 hours before the “3C” consortium debuted the logo in a pre-CES announcement that said it was gaining “momentum” for the platform.
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PTO records show HDR Technologies is headquartered at a Beaverton, Oregon, address that’s home to the VTM Group, a consulting firm that runs the Open Connectivity Foundation and helped organize or run other tech groups in which Samsung had a founding role, including the Secure Content Storage Association (see 1408280029). VTM also runs the AirFuel Alliance, the wireless-charging consortium formed three years ago after the combination of the Alliance for Wireless Power and Power Matters Alliance (see 1511040023).
Warner Home Entertainment has pledged HDR10+ content support and Ultra HD Blu-ray “metadata generation tools” were developed with third parties and will soon be available for content creators, said the 3C announcement, which was otherwise scarce on new details. The three companies previously said they would begin licensing the HDR10+ platform in January, but the pre-CES announcement said 3C isn't yet ready to share “technical specifications” with prospective licensees. "The technical specifications haven't been finalized," Fox spokesman Chris Bess said. "Our plan is to begin licensing once that happens and hopefully that won't be too far off. Everyone is working to get it done as soon as possible."
Unveiling of the HDR10+ logo appeared to quash speculation born at IFA that the 3C consortium would seek a new name for the platform. “Support continues to grow for HDR10+ and companies are looking forward to applying the 3C specifications and certification program,” said the announcement. “More than 25 companies spanning many different industries have expressed strong interest in supporting the HDR10+ platform, further reinforcing its path to success.”
Licensees will gain access to the platform's technical and compliance test specs, plus authorization to use patents "from the three companies directly related to the technical specification and the test specification," said the announcement. Much of the intellectual property that's the basis of Samsung’s invention of the technology now called HDR10+ appears to be contained in a U.S. patent that Samsung’s Korean parent landed in April (see 1709100006).
The HDR10+ license program "will provide interested companies with the necessary technical and testing specifications to implement HDR10+ technology in a way that both maintains high picture quality and gives each manufacturer the ability to apply dynamic tone mapping innovatively," said the announcement. Of TV set makers besides Panasonic and Samsung that recently weighed in on adopting HDR10+, LG said it likely wouldn't do so because its Active HDR dynamic tone-mapping technology does much the same as HDR10+ (see 1801020031), while TCL said it's ready to endorse HDR10+ if it gains "mainstream consumer adoption" (see 1801080064).