Blue Planet II Hits BBC iPlayer In 4K HDR

Milestone time. Blue Planet II is coming to the BBC iPlayer, in 4K and HDR, making it the first BBC series to land on the streaming service.

It follows Planet Earth II, another highly rated natural history production that arrived on Ultra HD Bluray earlier in the year, making it the first time the viewers were treated to this content in these two new technologies.

Narrated by Sir David Attenborough, the sequel to the popular series will be available to watch in 4K and HDR for 30 days on compatible TVs immediately after the final episode airs on BBC One on Sunday, December 10.

You will also be able to download it onto your devices for 30 days, albeit not in 4K or HDR.

There will be a gap of one week after the time limit expires on January 8, after which the 4K HDR presentation will be up for grab on Ultra HD Bluray. Preorders for which are already underway, with a retail release set for January 15.

Some technical information, if you are ready to take the dive.

Blue Planet II will stream in Hybrid Log-Gamma. Unsurprising, as it is an HDR format that BBC R&D codeveloped with Japanese broadcaster NHK for worldwide broadcasts. BBC calls it the most lifelike TV show it ever made, as it also embraced wide color gamut technology for this landmark series.

As for what you need to enjoy the 4K HDR presentation?

A compatible TV, of course, along with at least 23 Mbps broadband connection. You can view the full list of devices that are compatible with this here.

Overall, this is a major step up from one of the premier broadcasters around, and should pave the way for others to embraced 4K and HDR formats for their content. There used to be a time when owners of high-end 4K HDR enabled television sets were starved for content and programming.

But not anymore.