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Need more contrast in your life?

Here’s everything you need to know
about HDR TV
By Ryan Waniata and Simon Cohen

22-28 minutes

If you’re shopping for a new television, you’ve probably noticed

manufacturers have stopped touting 4K TVs as the hot new
thing. These days, it’s all about HDR — high-dynamic range. Is
this just another clever marketing term to make you feel like your
TV is outdated? In a word: No. While a standard-issue 4K TV is
equipped with more pixels than its HDTV counterpart, an HDR
TV can do more with those pixels. But what, exactly, is HDR
TV?

An HDR TV is a TV (usually with 4K resolution, but not always)

with built-in support for one or more HDR formats. These
formats are required for your HDT TV to look its best and we’ll
dig into them and their differences below, but for now, this is why
HDR matters: It provides a much brighter image with a higher
level of contrast between light and dark areas on the screen,
while also taking advantage of more colors, to create a much
more realistic image. In short, HDR looks way better.

Not impressed? Check out an HDR TV (that’s displaying HDR

content) side-by-side with a non-HDR 4K TV at your local
retailer and we guarantee you will be. The difference can be like
night and day.

Further reading

Best TVs under $1,000

Best 4K TVs under $500

Best TV brands

HDR: The basics

What do you need for HDR TV?

Before we go any further, let’s set the stage. To experience HDR

on a TV, you need at least two things: A TV that supports one or
more HDR formats and the actual content that is produced using
one (or more) of those HDR formats. A third, optional part, is a
playback device like an Ultra HD Blu-ray player or media
streamer that is HDR-compatible.

We say optional because most HDR TVs are also smart TVs,
which means they already have apps for services like Netflix
and Amazon Prime Video. If you’ve got an HDR TV and that TV
can stream HDR content from your favorite streaming service,
then that’s all you really need.

Are all HDR TVs equal?

No, not by a long shot. You’ll find HDR TVs at tons of different
prices and sizes, and picture quality can vary dramatically. A
gorgeous 4K HDR stream of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes
Back from Disney+ simply won’t look as good on a $500 55-inch
4K HDR LED TV as it will on a 55-inch 4K HDR OLED TV or
QLED TV. Think of it like high-octane gasoline: You can put that
same fuel in a Hyundai or a Ferrari, but what the Hyundai does
with that fuel is nothing like what the Ferrari can do with it. A
high-quality HDR TV will make HDR content look its best.

So what’s so special about HDR anyway?

Dan Baker/Digital Trends

HDR content (when viewed on a high-quality HDR TV) looks

better than standard dynamic range (SDR) content because it is
brighter and more colorful. You don’t realize it until you see it
next to HDR, but SDR content — the kind we’ve been watching
for decades on TV, DVD, Blu-ray or via streaming services —
isn’t all that vibrant. HDR ramps up all of the elements we can
see so that they’re more lifelike, or at least more like the kind of
images you’d seen in a movie theater.

After you’ve watched HDR content, going back to SDR can feel
dull and lifeless.

Better brightness, better contrast

HDR increases the contrast of any given on-screen image by

increasing brightness. Contrast is the difference between the
brightest whites and darkest blacks a TV can display. It’s
typically measured as a ratio, e.g. 1:2,000,000, which in this
case would mean that that TV is capable of displaying a bright
area that is 2,000,000 times brighter than its correspondingly
darkest area.

By increasing the maximum amount of nits for a given image,

HDR TVs are capable of a higher contrast ratio. LED TVs in
particular benefit from this increased brightness, as they can’t
show blacks as deep and dark as OLED TVs, so they need to
get brighter to achieve the same or better contrast ratios. For
more on the differences between OLED and LED TVs, check
out our full explainer.

As an aside, if you ever see a TV (usually an OLED TV) market

itself with words “infinite contrast,” that’s a clever way of saying
that if the darkest part of the image is perfect black, then
technically speaking, the brightest part of the image is infinitely
brighter, even if it’s not really very bright at all. Whether you buy
into this reasoning or not, an OLED TV’s ability to kill all light
coming from an individual pixel does give it the best black level
currently possible.
Standard dynamic range TVs generally produce 300 to 500 nits
at most, but in general, HDR TVs aim much higher. Some top-
tier models can display upward of 2,000 nits of peak brightness
for HDR highlights. Sony has shown off a prototype TV capable
of a whopping 10,000 nits of peak brightness.

Brightness, more than any other attribute, is what HDR TVs

need to make HDR images come alive, which is why you should
always check the peak brightness specs of a new HDR TV.
Look for a TV that can deliver at least 1,000 nits to get the most
out of today’s HDR content.

More colors, too

4K TVs equipped with HDR technology almost always possess

the ability to display Wide Color Gamut (WCG). WCG provides a
larger color palette than what HDTVs have been able to show in
the past. 8-bit color, with its millions of shades, used to be the
norm, but WCG offers 10-bit color for billions of shades.

HDR content takes advantage of WCG by encoding videos

using more of those available colors. When you watch HDR
material on an HDR TV, these additional colors add to realism
— because they better match what the human eye is capable of
seeing in nature — but they also improve things like gradients,
where you have a single area on screen that shifts from one end
of a color shade to another, like bright red to dark red. More
color shades mean these shifts will appear smoother.

The many versions of HDR

As we mentioned above, there isn’t just one HDR format. In fact,

at the moment, there are five competing HDR formats: HDR10,
Dolby Vision, HLG, HDR10+, and Advanced HDR by
Technicolor. If you’re worried that this will lead to a format war,
akin to what we saw with VHS vs Beta or Blu-ray vs HD-DVD,
you’re right — there is a risk this could happen. However, the
risk is lower this time because many of the top TV brands
support all of the most common HDR formats. There are some
exceptions though, which we’ll cover in a moment.

For now, let’s take a look at each HDR format to see how they
differ.

HDR10

Though not the first HDR format to emerge, HDR10 is by far the
most widely used. If you have an HDR TV, it supports HDR10,
even if it doesn’t support any other HDR formats. HDR10 is the
de facto HDR standard because it’s open-source, which means
any manufacturer can implement it on its TVs without a
licensing fee, and it has the official backing of several major
industry-standard bodies, like the UHD Alliance. HDR10 allows
for many of the improvements to image quality that HDR makes
possible, but it is not as sophisticated as some of the other HDR
formats.

HDR10 uses 10-bit color, which provides for billions of colors,

versus the millions of colors used by the predominantly 8-bit
color of SDR. Currently, 10-bit color is more than adequate for
HDR, because no TVs on the market are capable of showing
more than 10-bit color. From a brightness (and thus contrast)
point of view, HDR10 provides for a maximum of 1,000 nits. This
is where we begin to see some of HDR10’s limitations: As we’ve
already pointed out, the brightest HDR TVs are capable of much
more than 1,000 nits.

HDR10 uses metadata that rides along with the video signal
down an HDMI cable and allows the source video to tell a TV
how to display colors. HDR10 uses a fairly simple approach,
sending metadata once at the start of a video. This is known as
“static” metadata and it’s an effective, low-bandwidth way of
adding the extra information required by HDR, but it’s also
limited compared to other approaches as we’ll see with Dolby
Vision.

Dolby Vision
Before there was HDR10, there was Dolby Vision. The
relationship is surprisingly similar to the old Betamax and VHS
videotape standards of the late 70s and 80s. Sony’s Betamax
was undeniably superior in many ways to VHS, but because of
Sony’s insistence on high licensing fees, it eventually lost out to
the less capable but far more affordable VHS.

Dolby Vision is a proprietary HDR format developed and

licensed by Dolby Labs. In terms of sheer technological might,
Dolby Vision has a clear advantage in terms of future-proofing,
but its benefits can also be appreciated with current TVs. Dolby
Vision supports 12-bit color which expands the number of
available colors to 68 billion. It also features higher theoretical
brightness: Up to 10,000 nits. That means Dolby Vision material
can take advantage of the very brightest displays we are
capable of making right now and for the immediate future.

Of course, no HDR content whether Dolby Vision or not comes

even close to exploring the format’s maximum limits on color or
brightness, but that just means there’s lots of room to grow with
Dolby Vision.

Right now, with existing TV technology, there’s one area of

Dolby Vision that everyone can appreciate. It uses dynamic
metadata, which means that every scene and every frame of
video can be adjusted with color and contrast info. It’s a huge
amount of additional information, but the result is content that
looks far better than HDR10 and comes closer to what a
filmmaker created when they produced their movie or show.

Finally, the Dolby Vision format contains information about the

equipment that was used to create the master recording. Using
this info, your TV can then recalibrate some of its display
settings to offset the differences between the mastering
equipment and your home TV.

Because of the licensing fees associated with Dolby Vision, not

all HDR TVs support this format. Only those that specifically
carry the Dolby Vision logo are compatible. Likewise, not all
HDR content is available in Dolby Vision. To see true Dolby
Vision HDR, you need both a Dolby Vision source (like UHD 4K
Blu-ray, or Dolby Vision streaming video) and a device that can
show it. Keep in mind, if you like to watch streaming media
through a set-top box, not all of them support Dolby Vision.
Roku’s streaming devices are a notable example. They only
support HDR10.

On the content side of the equation, you will find wide and
growing support for Dolby Vision on 4K UHD Blu-rays,
streaming media services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Apple
TV+, and Disney+, and on many TVs and devices from brands
like LG, Vizio, TCL, Sony, and Apple.

HDR10+
Dolby Vision is superior to HDR10, but the dilemma of licensing
fees prompted a group of companies led by Samsung to
develop an open-source HDR format that shared many of the
advantages of Dolby Vision but without the fees. HDR10+ is that
format. Like Dolby Vision, it supports dynamic metadata for
more accurate colors and contrast in every scene. It expands on
the possible brightness of HDR10, by allowing up to 4,000 nits.
However, it keeps HDR10’s 10-bit color.

The hope is that HDR10+ offers enough of an improvement over

HDR10 that content creators, streaming media companies, and
manufacturers will get on board with the format and give it the
critical mass it needs to compete with Dolby Vision. It’s
happening, but slowly. Only Samsung, Panasonic and Philips
have created HDR10+ compatible TVs. Amazon’s 4K Fire TV
Streaming Stick is one of the very few streaming devices to
support the format. HDR10+ is starting to be used on 4K UHD
Blu-rays, but only about 100 movies had used it so far. It’s even
less common on streaming video services. Amazon Prime
Video uses the format (in addition to Dolby Vision and HDR10)
as does Google Play. Rakuten is reportedly bringing HDR10+
streaming to Samsung smart TVs in the future, but that’s about
it.

Other contenders

Dolby Vision and HDR10 (and to a lesser extent, HDR10+) are

currently seen as the two biggest players in HDR, but there are
two other HDR formats we should mention. Hybrid Log-Gamma
(HLG) is a format born from a partnership between the BBC and
Japanese broadcaster NHK, developed with an emphasis on
live broadcasting, though it can also be used for prerecorded
content.
Unlike HDR10, HDR10+, and Dolby Vision, HLG doesn’t use
metadata, which could work to its advantage in some ways,
depending on how TV manufacturers implement it. For a more
thorough look into the topic, read our complete guide to HLG,
which discusses both what it offers right now and what it could
offer in the future.

Technicolor was an early player in HDR, and at CES 2016, the

company announced a partnership with Philips to create a new
format. Like HLG, Advanced HDR by Technicolor aims to be
backward compatible with SDR displays, which the companies
said in a press release “will simplify HDR deployments for
distributors, who will be able to send one signal to all of their
customers, regardless of which TV they have.” At CES 2018,
Philips announced that its 2019 TVs would support Technicolor
Advanced HDR and the ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard.

One intriguing aspect of Advanced HDR is that it promises to

take SDR content and “upscale” it to HDR, presumably in the
same way that non-4K content can be upscaled by 4K TVs. So
far, we have yet to see any content appear in this format.

So what do we watch?

Even if your TV has the latest and greatest HDR support, color
reproduction, and 4K UHD tech, much of what you watch won’t
be able to take advantage of all that awesomeness. HDR
content is currently even more limited than 4K, but Hollywood (of
course) is working to remedy this. Below are the easiest ways to
get your HDR fix.

Ultra HD Blu-ray

Offering the highest-quality delivery method for a top-tier HDR

experience at home, UHD Blu-ray allows for 4K UHD resolution,
HDR and color expansion, alongside revolutionary surround
sound codecs like Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. The HDMI 2.0a
format update was largely based around clearing the way for
HDR devices, including new Blu-ray players and other set-top
devices.

Ultra HD Blu-ray releases with HDR have become the new

standard, and HDR10 is currently the leader there, though Dolby
Vision is working hard to catch up. Which discs do HDR best?
Check out our picks for the best 4K UHD Blu-ray releases.

Netflix

It probably comes as no surprise that Netflix was one of the first

companies to announce HDR support. Its first HDR title, Marco
Polo, was joined by a number of other Netflix originals such as
Altered Carbon, and the third season of Stranger Things. HDR
titles from Netflix are currently available in HDR10 and/or Dolby
Vision.

Amazon Prime Video

Amazon also announced HDR support fairly early on. A number

of HDR films are available via Amazon Prime Video, along with
many of its original series, including Jack Ryan (in Dolby
Vision), Man in the High Castle, Transparent, Mozart in the
Jungle, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. It’s likely that most if
not all of Amazon’s future original programming will also be
available in HDR.

Amazon supports all three major flavors of HDR: HDR10, Dolby

Vision, and HDR10+ — making it the only streaming service to
do so.
Disney+

From its first day of streaming, Disney+ has been heavily

dedicated to HDR content. It’s the only place you can watch all
of the Star Wars movies in both 4K and HDR. Many of its
headlining movies and shows like the Marvel Cinematic
Universe and the original The Mandalorian are presented in
Dolby Vision and HDR10 so no matter which formats your HDR
TV supports, you’ll get the best possible picture quality.

Curiously, there has been some criticism leveled at Disney for its
handling of The Mandalorian’s Dolby Vision treatment, with
experts saying it’s not bright enough. However this might be a
choice on the part of the show’s creators — HDR formats may
provide for brighter and more colorful images, but that doesn’t
mean storytellers will necessarily take advantage of them.

iTunes

Alongside the 2017 launch of the Apple TV 4K, the iTunes Store
was updated to offer movies and TV shows in HDR. Both
HDR10 and Dolby Vision titles are available, with a handy icon
flagging which movies use which format.

One perk for those entrenched in the Apple ecosystem is that

eligible iTunes titles you already own are automatically updated
to the HDR version, so you don’t have to buy a movie or TV
show twice. If you’re an Apple fan who just bought a new 4K
HDR TV and an Apple TV 4K, this could be a great way to show
them off without spending more money.

Apple TV+

Speaking of buying a new Apple TV 4K, if you did buy one (or
pretty much any other Apple device), you have 90 days from the
date of purchase to get in on your free year of Apple TV+, which
supports Dolby Vision on its good (but limited) original content.

Google Play Movies & TV

Google Play also added HDR movies and TV shows in 2017.

Unlike Apple’s offering, Dolby Vision was absent at launch,
despite Google’s own Chromecast Ultra supporting the
technology. Google promised Dolby Vision was coming, but so
far, only HDR10 and HDR10+ titles are available. At the
moment, watching HDR content from Google Play is supported
natively on Chromecast Ultra, Samsung, and LG smart TVs,
and some Sony Android TVs. It works with some set-top boxes
too, like Nvidia’s Shield TV if you cast the HDR content from an
Android or iOS device.

Google initially partnered with companies like Sony Pictures and

Warner Brothers for its offerings, with more films and TV shows
to follow. Unfortunately, Google’s interface isn’t quite as upfront
as Apple’s in terms of flagging HDR TV shows and movies, so
you’ll need to do a little searching.

Vudu

One of the earliest providers of 4K programming, Vudu was also

quick to offer HDR support. The service has one of the largest
libraries of 4K movies and TV shows available for rental or
purchase, many with HDR as well as Dolby Atmos surround
sound.

For some time, Vudu’s HDR offerings were only available in

Dolby Vision. In November 2017, the company announced
complete support for HDR10, making its library of HDR titles
available on a far greater range of devices.
FandangoNow

Like Vudu, FandangoNow offers both movies and TV shows for

rent or purchase in 4K, with some also available in HDR. Also
like Vudu, FandangoNow’s library of HDR movies and TV shows
is made available in HDR10. FandangoNow is also handy for
HDR TV owners, as it lists all the films that are available in HDR
on a dedicated section of its website.

YouTube

It doesn’t share much in common with the above services, but

YouTube does stream in HDR. YouTube supports streaming in
HDR10 and HDR10+, but you may not find much in the way of
HDR10+ content right now. Google hasn’t said much about
whether YouTube will ever support Dolby Vision.

In terms of content, there are a whole lot of videos showing off

the power of HDR — there’s even a dedicated HDR channel.
This is great for showing off your TV, and down the road, we’re
sure there will be more content making use of it. For now, it’s
mainly a fun novelty.

What about gaming?

While most guides focus on passive viewing experiences

for HDR, game consoles are an important part of the
discussion. With the PlayStation 4 Pro, Xbox One S, and Xbox
One X, Sony and Microsoft have thrown their hats into the HDR
ring, but it can be much more complicated to access all that
sparkly goodness than you might expect.

Xbox One S and Xbox One X

We’re kicking off with Microsoft’s update to the Xbox One

because it’s a much simpler story overall. While the first-
generation Xbox One didn’t feature support for either 4K or
HDR, the revamped version features both. In addition to 4K
support (complete with HDMI 2.0a and HDCP 2.2), HDR10 is
supported for both games and general entertainment purposes,
while Dolby Vision works only with movies and TV content.

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Xbox streaming in HDR works with Netflix, Amazon Prime

Video, Vudu, Plex, and myTube. but Microsoft has taken things
a step further by including an Ultra HD Blu-ray drive built-in,
meaning you get twice the bang for the buck — especially
considering the Xbox One S is priced competitively with many
UHD Blu-ray players.

The Xbox One S does not support native 4K Ultra HD content

for gaming. Instead, video is upscaled to 4K. The Xbox One X
does support native 4K, while HDR is supported on either
console for a number of games, including Battlefield 1, Gears of
War 4, and Forza Horizon 3.

PlayStation 4 Pro

Unlike Microsoft’s first effort, Sony did add HDR to the original
PS4, but without 4K Ultra HD support. That means it won’t be
very helpful as a streaming device for HDR, especially since
apps like Netflix and Amazon currently only support HDR
alongside 4K. The HDR support on board here will only be
useful for a select number of games that include HDR, though
more are expected to roll out soon.

The PlayStation 4 Pro features HDMI 2.0a and HDCP 2.2, which
allows the PS4 Pro to offer both 4K and HDR10, but it doesn’t
offer Dolby Vision. Playstation apps for Amazon and Netflix
support 4K and HDR.

Unlike the Xbox One S and Xbox One X — and this is key for
home theater enthusiasts — Sony didn’t include a UHD Blu-ray
drive in the PS4 Pro (even though Sony invented Blu-ray).
That’s quite surprising considering how much the built-in DVD
drive aided sales of the PlayStation 2, while the PlayStation 3
helped Sony’s Blu-ray format win the high-definition hardware
war over HD-DVD.
Native 4K gaming is possible on the PS4 Pro, though it’s a
complicated situation, as some games are native while others
are upscaled. HDR gaming is supported for a variety of titles,
including Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, The Last of Us:
Remastered, Thumper, and many more.

Then there’s the VR complication. Sony has also

focused heavily on virtual reality with its PSVR hardware, but
this presents a problem for those who would like to game in
HDR, as the two are currently mutually exclusive. “If you’re
playing a normal, non-VR game on your PS4 Pro, PS VR’s
Processor Unit will output a 4K signal to a 4K TV,” Sony’s blog
post reads. “The Processor Unit does not support HDR pass-
through,” the post continues, meaning you’ll have to go directly
into the TV from the PS4 Pro to view HDR content.

In other words, you can’t get HDR on your TV with the PSVR
connected. This is less than ideal, but both consoles are dealing
with their fair share of issues related to 4K and HDR. As time
goes on, bugs will likely be worked out, though it remains to be
seen if anything to fix the issue with PSVR is even possible.

Worth the hassle

So there you have it. High dynamic range is a lot more complex
than just three little words. But it’s also a very exciting
technology that will pull us even deeper into the spectacular
movies and TV series we love to watch, creating more brilliantly
realistic images than ever. If you’re wondering if the next TV you
buy should be HDR compatible, our answer is yes, though we
caution to make sure the TV also offers peak brightness at
levels that will be able to make HDR pop.

HDR is the most meaningful upgrade to the home video viewing

experience since the jump to high definition, and it’s definitely at
the core of television’s future.

If you’re wondering how to get the best HDR TV your money can
buy, be sure to have a look at our TV buying guide and our list
of the best TVs on the market.

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