How to get the BBC iPlayer 4K Ultra HD Planet Earth 2 trial on your TV

The BBC has started its first ever consumer trial of 4K content, offering a four-minute clip of Planet Earth 2 in Ultra HD through its free streaming platform, BBC iPlayer.

What’s more, it also uses Hybrid Log Gamma (HLG) picture tech, a form of HDR, to present greater contrast on compatible televisions.

In short, even though it is just a four-minute research and development test, this is the best format offered by BBC iPlayer to date and could signal the future for the corporation.

So, how do you watch it? When is it available until? And what do you need?

BBC iPlayer Planet Earth 2 4K Ultra HD trial: When and where is it available?

The Ultra HD trial started on Thursday 8 December and runs until early 2017. It is available on BBC iPlayer on compatible Smart TV sets – ones that can play back HLG images. You will get an alert on your version of iPlayer if your TV is already compatible when you first start it up.

BBC iPlayer Planet Earth 2 4K Ultra HD trial: What TVs are compatible and can I get it on my TV?

As the BBC tech team has high standards as to how it wants the footage to be seen, it will only work on specific televisions. Some TVs are capable of 4K HDR and/or 4K HLG video playback, but they need slight tweaks by the manufacturers to play the Planet Earth 2 content correctly. Therefore, the list of compatible TVs is currently limited to recent Panasonic 4K sets

Here is the complete list of compatible TVs so far:

• Panasonic CX680 Series
• Panasonic CX700 series
• Panasonic CR730 series
• Panasonic CX800 series – reviewed here
• Panasonic CR852 series
• Panasonic CZ950 Series
• Panasonic DX902 Series (Screen Sizes: 65, 58,50) – reviewed here
• Panasonic DR852 series (Screen Sizes: 65, 55)
• Panasonic DX802 series (Screen Sizes: 58, 50) – reviewed here
• Panasonic DX750 series (Screen Sizes: 65, 58, 50)
• Panasonic Dx720 series (Screen Sizes: 58, 50)
• Panasonic DX700 Series (Screen Sizes: 58, 50)
• Panasonic DX680 Series (Screen Sizes: 55, 49, 40)
• Panasonic DX650 series (Screen Sizes: 55, 49, 40)

If you have one of the above televisions, woo-hoo, you’re set. If you don’t but you’re sure your television can receive 4K HLG video, such as the 2016 LG OLED series of TVs, don’t fret. The BBC has told Pocket-lint that more televisions will be added to the list during the trial.

The broadcaster is working with manufacturers to make sufficient software changes in order to present the trial footage in the correct manner. We’ll update the list above as more compatible sets are added.

BBC iPlayer Planet Earth 2 4K Ultra HD trial: How do I play it on my TV?

If you do have one of the Panasonic TVs (or a television that has subsequently been made compatible), you should load up the BBC iPlayer app on your Smart set and you will be presented with an opening screen asking whether you want to try “better quality video” or go straight to the normal iPlayer homescreen. Choose “Try it”.

• How to watch 4K Ultra HD content on TV and online

BBC iPlayer Planet Earth 2 4K Ultra HD trial: What is HLG?

We all know what a 4K resolution is (3840 x 2160) for Ultra HD video, but what is Hybrid Log Gamma? Well, we’ve got a handy guide explaining exactly that here: What is Hybrid Log Gamma and why should you care?

It is basically a high contrast picture format, a bit like high dynamic range (HDR), but easier to broadcast. The feature above goes into much more depth.

Can I watch Planet Earth 2 in 4K Ultra HD elsewhere?

Strangely, although Planet Earth 2 (or Planet Earth II, as it is written in the show credits) was entirely shot in Ultra HD, the BBC is only broadcasting it in Full HD. And, at present, the only disc versions soon to be available are DVD and Blu-ray.

A 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray version is listed on Amazon.com, with a price of $59.99, but there’s no release date nor UK equivalent.

The four-minute tech test is the best you can get for now.