New firmware update brings glorious HDR support to Vizio SmartCast TVs

By Brendan Hesse Published May 16, 2017

vizio smartcast eseries hdr firmware update 2017 hdr10 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Vizio’s SmartCast E-Series of TVs is about to get a lot more colorful thanks to a new firmware update that brings a number of new features, most importantly streaming support for HDR10 content. HDR content from streaming apps and HDR playback on gaming consoles or UHD Blu-ray players will now be supported by all 2017 Vizio SmartCast E-Series UHD TV models from 55 inches and above.

HDR, or High Dynamic Range, increases the color range and detail of a TV, resulting in dramatically increased contrast and color brightness. HDR10 is essentially the standard “open source” HDR format, which means most devices that can play HDR content will support HDR10. It also means that a large portion of the HDR content out there is HDR10. For example, all UHD Blu-rays as well as Xbox One S and PlayStation 4 Pro consoles all use use HDR10.

Furthermore, HDR content carried by streaming services like Netflix, Vudu, and FandangoNow1 is HDR10. With this update, users will be able to stream HDR content from any of the aforementioned devices, or streamed directly from the apps included on the TV.

Long story short, having HDR10 on Vizio’s SmartCast E-Series TVs — with their full-array backlighting already making for a crisp and bright picture — is going to be a major improvement, and of great benefit to users.

In addition to enhanced picture thanks to HDR, users will also now have easy on-screen access to all picture settings, allowing for quick and immediate picturing tuning with either their Vizio TV remote, a universal IR remotes that include a menu button, or with their Android or iOS device with the SmartCast App.

Customers who already own an applicable SmartCast E-Series display will have immediate access to HDR playback and the new picture settings accessibility once the firmware update is performed (note that the TV will need to connected to the Internet in order to download and install the update). For anyone looking to pick up an HDR-enabled SmartCast E-series for themselves, they are available at Costco, Sam’s Club, and Walmart.

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