Dolby Vision and HDR10 are the two leading HDR formats. HDR means "high dynamic range." The dynamic range is the difference between the darkest part of a picture and the brightest part. The predecessor of HDR was "standard dynamic range,"’ or SDR. HDR improves on SDR by providing greater contrast— allowing a bigger difference between the bright parts and the dark parts in the same scene — higher peak brightness, and a more expansive color range, creating a more immersive viewing experience. It aims to make bright colors brighter and dark colors darker without losing any detail.

HDR10 is the standard used in all 4K UHD TVs. Its static metadata sets an average HDR value for an entire movie or TV episode, altering the display settings based on that average. This static metadata can alter the viewing experience, as the data is drawn from only two points, the brightest frames and the darkest frames. Content which may typically have a darker tone with sudden points of brightness, such as a gritty action film with explosions or a space thriller, may find the HDR settings are too high, losing shadow depth and deep blacks to compensate for brief bright flashes later in the movie or episode.

Dolby Vision uses dynamic scene-by-scene metadata to control HDR settings, automatically adjusting your set as each scene changes. Dolby Vision keeps pace with the story on screen and optimizes the device’s HDR settings for each view. Dolby Vision lets content creators explore more of the color palette HDR has to offer rather than being constrained by static metadata. The result is a stunning range of mind-popping color.

HDR10+ is another version of HDR that uses dynamic metadata, currently, supported by fewer devices and content. All devices that can support Dolby Vision can also support HDR10, and further support HLG, which adds HDR to content from broadcast television, such as sporting events.

LED, OLED, QD-OLED, QNED: Understanding Different TV Display Technology

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