UHD, HDR & next-gen codecs support

4K/8K UHD video support

4K/8K UHD video allows for a new and improved viewer experience. 4K/8K UHD video is best delivered with an adaptive bitrate streaming technology, like HLS or MPEG-DASH. You can deliver 4K/8K UHD content with Radiant Media Player for on-demand, live or DVR video streaming.

4K/8K UHD content decoding requirements:

• Use of next-generation AV1 or HEVC video codecs. Do not forget to include a fallback option to AVC/H.264 video in your HLS/MPEG-DASH manifest to support legacy devices that do not support AV1 or HEVC.
• High-end recent multi-core processor
• 4K/8K compatible video card
• An Internet connection that can consistently maintain an average of 20+ Mbps download speed

HDR video content

4K/8K UHD video is often delivered in HDR format. You can learn more about HDR video format in our blog post. Radiant Media Player can display HDR video format provided the following conditions are met:

• The video codec (HEVC or AV1) carries HDR metadata
• The targeted device can display HDR content

HEVC support

Radiant Media Player relies on the device it runs on to provide HEVC decoding support to render HEVC content with HTML5 video. As of January 2025 the following environments are HEVC-compatible:

• iOS 12+ & iPadOS 13+ Safari
• iOS 12+ & iPadOS 13+ WebView-based mobile apps (including Ionic, Flutter, Apache Cordova, WebView apps)
• Safari 12+ for macOS High Sierra+
• Chrome 107+ on Windows 8+, macOS Big Sur, ChromeOS and Android 6+ for devices with HEVC hardware support available
• Opera 94+ on Windows 8+, macOS Big Sur, ChromeOS and Android 6+ for devices with HEVC hardware support available
• MS Edge 79+ for macOS Big Sur+, Android 6+ - for Windows 10+ viewer must have the HEVC video extensions from the Microsoft Store installed
• Samsung Internet 21+ for Android 6+
• Samsung TV with Tizen 4+ (2018+)
• LG TV with webOS 4+ (2018+)

This table can give more information.

Because HEVC decoding support may not be available on all devices you will need to use a combination of HEVC & AVC encoded content to reach the whole OTT sphere. The best way to achieve this, is for your HLS/MPEG-DASH manifest to hold both HEVC & AVC variants. When both HEVC & AVC variants are available in a HLS/MPEG-DASH manifest the player will automatically pick the appropriate codec based on device capabilities.

AV1 support

AOMedia Video 1 (AV1) is an open, royalty-free video coding format designed for video transmissions over the Internet. It is being developed by the Alliance for Open Media (AOMedia), a consortium of firms from the semiconductor industry, video on demand providers, and web browser developers, founded in 2015. The AV1 bitstream specification includes a reference video codec. It succeeds VP9. It can have 20% higher data compression than VP9 or HEVC/H.265 from the Moving Picture Experts Group and about 50% higher than the widely used AVC.

As of January 2025 we support AV1 video on:

• Latest Chrome, Firefox, Opera for desktop
• Latest Chrome, Firefox, Samsung Internet, Opera for Android 10+
• Latest WebView-based mobile apps for Android 10+ (including Ionic, Flutter, Apache Cordova, WebView apps)
• For Apple devices (macOS, iOS, iPadOS): supported only on devices with hardware decoder, e.g. iPhone 15 Pro, M3 MacBook Pro ...
• Samsung UHD TV 2020+ (Tizen 5.5+)
• LG UHD TV 2020+ (webOS 5+)

This table can give more information.

A guide for encoding video with AV1 codec and FFmpeg can be found here.

Dolby Vision support

Dolby Vision is a set of technologies developed by Dolby Laboratories for high dynamic range (HDR) video. It covers content creation, distribution, and playback. It includes dynamic metadata that define the aspect ratio and adjust the picture based on a display's capabilities on a per-shot or even per-frame basis, optimizing the presentation. Technically Dolby Vision is not codec but it generally is refered as such when dealing with video encoding/decoding. Dolby Vision Profiles describe the video codec and set of coding techniques used to encode a Dolby Vision asset. For example Profile 5 (notcross-compatible to HDR10 or SDR) has the widest device support for Dolby Vision playback.

Radiant Media Player supports decoding of Dolby Vision content provided the device is exhibiting hardware support for it. The player will automatically look in a MPEG-DASH or HLS manifest for Dolby Vision MIME-TYPE and apply decoding preset as needed. Examples of Dolby Vision MIME-TYPE:

• /^dvh/ Dolby Vision based in HEVC
• /^dva/ Dolby Vision based in AVC
• /^dav/ Dolby Vision based in AV1

Dolby does not keep an up-to-date list of devices with Dolby Vision support but any latest premium smart TV, any latest premium Android TV boxes or any latest premium Android phones should have it.

Remember to add a non-Dolby Vision set in your HLS or MPEG-DASH manifest so that the player can pick it up for devices where Dolby Vision is not supported

AC-3 (Dolby Digital), EC-3 (Dolby Digital Plus) & AC-4 support

We are talking here about audio "codecs" not audio "experience". For example, Dolby Atmos is the brand for Dolby's immersive audio experiences. These can be delivered with various different audio codecs. The AC-4 codec is Dolby's latest platform for bringing Atmos to listeners (but it can also be delivered with AC-3 or even AAC)!

Dolby AC-3 (Dolby Digital) audio codec and its newer version EC-3 (Dolby Digital Plus) are popular audio codecs used to convey multi-channels audio content with video content. It is possible to use AC-3 or EC-3 audio with any video codec. In order to support AC-3 or EC-3 audio the targeted device must exhibit support for it either through native HTML5 video or Media Source Extension. As of January 2025, AC-3/EC-3 audio is supported in our player with:

• MS Edge Legacy and MS Edge 79+ for Windows 7+
• macOS Safari 12+
• iOS 12+ Safari
• Samsung TV with Tizen 4+ (2018+)
• LG TV with webOS 4+ (2018+)

Do not forget to include an AAC track in your HLS or MPEG-DASH manifest to support devices that do not support AC-3/EC-3 audio!

Dolby AC-4: the successor to Dolby EC-3 is Dolby AC-4. We do support Dolby AC-4 in our player with MPEG-DASH or HLS. This should however be noted that AC-4 decoding support is not widespread as of January 2025. The following devices should support AC-4 audio decoding:

• Samsung TV 2018+ (Tizen TV 4+)
• LG TV 2018+ (webOS 4+)