Comcast's Dolby Vision Nod Says Not All HDR 'Created Equally': Colliers

Comcast's supporting only Dolby Vision HDR in its Tokyo Olympics coverage reinforces that not all HDR formats are “created equally,” Colliers' Steven Frankel wrote investors Wednesday. Comcast said Tuesday it will deliver the Tokyo Olympics to X1, Flex and Stream customers in Dolby Vision and Atmos. The games open July 23 for a two-week run.

Comcast customers can see the Olympics in 4K with Dolby Atmos and Vision during live and on-demand portions of the event, Frankel noted. “We find it interesting that the only HDR format that Comcast is supporting is Dolby Vision,” said the analyst, saying Dolby Vision “delivers a superior experience” to formats including HDR10 and hybrid log gamma. “The delivery of such a high profile event in Vision & Atmos helps drive Dolby's virtuous circle where content with Vision/Atmos drives demand for more devices with Dolby's technology.”

For the first time, the Olympics will be shown “live in 4K HDR with Dolby Atmos immersive audio,” and Comcast X1 customers will have full access, said the MVPD. X1 customers with compatible devices will be able to experience “all HDR coverage in Dolby Vision HDR,” Comcast said. Live coverage will be available in “most markets” and include every night of the NBC prime-time show, the opening and closing ceremonies, plus gymnastics, track and field, swimming, diving, beach volleyball, golf and tennis, it said.

Comcast X1 customers will have access to all 7,000 hours of NBCUniversal’s network and streaming coverage with ways to personalize and discover games, said the company. Audio description for visually impaired customers will be enabled on the Olympics prime-time show and opening and closing ceremonies, including the 4K version, it said. X1 customers will be able to organize content by sport to make it easier to find the content they care about, Comcast said. Any “favorited” sports will carry over to the Xfinity Stream app, so customers will see the same personalized experience when accessing the games from a mobile device, it said.

Every Olympic sport, “top athlete and major nation” will have its own voice-enabled X1 destination that blends live, on demand and short-form programming so customers can stay up to date on favorite sports, personalities and teams. Pages will be refreshed daily and will showcase programming that’s currently airing and coming up soon, plus highlights.

Xfinity Flex streaming customers will have access to an “X1-like” Olympics destination that brings all the Olympics-related programming available to stream on the platform into one integrated location they can access by saying “Olympics” into the Xfinity voice remote, said the company.

Anchoring the Olympics destination will be all of Peacock’s free live and on-demand programming, including six themed channels; four live-studio shows; live coverage of gymnastics, track and field and the U.S. men’s basketball team; "hundreds" of short-form highlights and trending news clips; and several original docuseries and documentaries. Peacock’s programming will be curated alongside other Olympic-related programming from YouTube, HBO Max and Amazon Prime Video, Comcast said.

Comcast Flex customers wanting to experience more of the Olympic Games can upgrade to Xfinity TV via the Stream app so they can access NBC’s live coverage, including the opening ceremony and nightly prime-time show, Telemundo, and special access to Olympic Channel and Universo on their Flex device, said the company.