Dolby has announced its HDR standard Dolby Vision is now fully software-based, meaning that existing devices such as consoles and televisions could be able to implement it.

"There are implementations that can run Dolby Vision in software, certainly in the console space but also in the TV SoC (System On a Chip) space", Dolby representatives told Forbes.

Dolby Vision is a standard for High Dynamic Range (HDR) video which allows compatible displays and source devices to show content with much higher contrast and color saturation than previous broadcast material. It is a competitor to another standard HDR10.

Many proprietary standards require specific hardware to be included, and while there will be hardware implementations of Dolby Vision as well, offering a software version means customers won't necessarily need to buy a new TV to watch encoded content.

That means Dolby Vision could conceivably be added to a PS4 or Xbox One game console, or a streaming device like Nvidia Shield. All the device needs, according to Dolby reps cited in the Forbes report, is sufficient processing power.

Several products that support Dolby Vision are already on the market, including TVs from LG and Vizio, as well as the Google Chromecast Ultra. Sony says its Z9D television from 2016, as well as select 2017 models, will add Dolby Vision via a software update later this year.

At the moment no discs or games has been released with Dolby Vision on board, but Amazon, Netflix and Vudu offer Dolby Vision streaming content.

One advantage that Dolby Vision has over HDR10, is that Dolby Vision won't require version HDMI 2.0a to run. It will run with HDMI 1.4, which potentially allows compatibility with more legacy hardware.

Representatives from Dolby did not respond immediately to our request for a comment.