Following the recent change to prevent those without TV licenses to use iPlayer, the BBC is trialing some added incentive with its new 4K resolution TV streaming.
The first program to be used to test the 4K high dynamic range is Planet Earth II. iPlayer now has four-minute clips from the TV show that are available to stream in Ultra HD to see how viable 4K resolution is for the streaming service.
4K televisions are not as common in households at this point, meaning only a few license holders will be able to participate in the test.
The head of broadcast and connected systems at BBC Research and Development, Phil Layton, explains the clips and their ambitions.
“One of the clips is a frog on a leaf with lots of rain, and the reason this is so interesting is that the redness of the frog is a really deep Ferrari red that you would never get in broadcast television at the moment.
“We want to show that this is how the BBC could make ultra-high definition HDR material available to iPlayer.”
The test footage is available to stream now, providing that you have your own 4K television and a TV license.
