WHAT IS HDR?
The world of home electronics is an ever-changing environment, having seen this world go from Plasma to LED to OLED in the last 10 years now we have new formats to consider. High-dynamic-range (HDR) is a technology improving the signal that displays receive. It is contrasted with the retroactively-named standard dynamic range. HDR changes the way the luminance and colors of videos and images are represented in the signal. It allows representing brighter and more detailed highlights, darker and more detailed shadows, and a wider array of more intense colors. Imagine watching a Kentucky Wildcats Football game and being able to see true depth and realism, almost like you are sitting in the stands. HDR can give you this unique experience.
HDR is available in 3 different types.
HDR 10
HDR 10 is an HDR format compatible with all TV/Projectors that support HDR as it’s the minimum specification required. It provides the baseline requirements for HDR content and it supports a bit depth of 10 bits video stream and 1.07 billion colors.
HDR 10+
HDR10+ expands on the already existing HDR10 format and included dynamic metadata which is specific to each frame in a video whereas static metadata gives information about the whole video. HDR10+ is the main competitor to Dolby Vision. By including dynamic metadata, it supports a bit depth of 10 bits video stream and 1.07 billion colors and can be used to better control the brightness of the screen and allow up to 10000 nits of brightness.
Dolby Vision
Dolby Vision offers 12bit color, but most displays only allow up to 10bit of color nowadays. When more 8K TVs are widely available, we should see an increase of 12bit displays. Also, Dolby Vision supports a peak brightness of 10000 nits just like HDR10+ from a technical point of view. Thanks to the 12bit depth of color, Dolby Vision supports up to 68billion colors, when 12bit displays are available, 12bit scenes will look superior to scenes using a 10bit color depth.
Overall any HDR capable TV or Projector will offer a superior picture quality to a traditional TV. Dolby Vision is setup for future growth being the only offering to allow 12bit color depth which will be more widely available as 8k TV’s and Projectors are manufactured.
TV/Projector that offer HDR:
HDR 10
- TV – LG Electronics 65″ 4K Nano UHD TM120 ThinQ AI LED TV W/ Quad Core Intelligent Processor
- Projector – Sony VPL-HW65ES – SXRD projector – 3D
HDR 10+
- TV – Samsung Pro 65″ Slim 4K UHD Signage with Dynamic Crystal Color
- Projector – SONY VPL-VW5000ES – SXRD PROJECTOR – 3D
Dolby Vision
- TV- LG Electronics 65″ Slim QNED Mini LED 8K UHD 120Hz ThinQ AI TV W/ A9 Gen 4 Intelligent Processor
- Projector – JVC Procision 8K e-shift X, Blu-Escent Laser, 100,000:1 Native Contrast D-ILA Front Projector (3000 Lumens)