High dynamic range (HDR) video is quite possibly the best thing to happen to video, ever. In my humble opinion, better than higher resolution. There, I said it.
Why so? Because it can push video content to levels of realism and vibrancy far beyond what we are used to seeing. That said, three things are necessary:
- A standard all producers of content and manufacturers of transmission and display equipment can agree on
- Production methods that result in higher quality content
- Displays that can show all the extra information that comes with HDR
Let’s start with what we have in home and office: our current standards of dynamic range
Standard Dynamic Range
The term contrast refers to the difference between dark and bright in content. Dynamic range is the extremes in that difference, which results in the amount of detail possible between those extremes.
HDR broadens that contrast. To return to broadcast television and Blu-ray discs, they adhere to standards that come from the playback and display tech available when those standards were developed.
Jump forward to the present. Today we have organic LED (OLED) panels, LCD panels with local dimming and high performance laser projectors on the market, and the display side is now beginning to fill in, albeit at a cost. Same goes for playback, with Ultra HD Blu-rays handling the significantly higher data rates, including object-based surround.
AND streaming.
Film and TV producers are rebuilding screening rooms to accommodate the need to supply content.
Now all we need is for everyone to agree on the format they will follow.
Easy, right? Not so fast.
What Is HDR?
Let’s go back to the nuts and bolts of HDR.
What makes HDR content on HDR-compatible TVs so good looking is the ability for those displays to show content that can be both brighter and darker than current methods. That means deeper and more vivid colors (imagine reds, greens, and blues, with more shades in between than you have ever seen on a video screen). It also means lots of details in those dark and bright areas.
Types of HDR
HDR isn’t universal format. HDR10 is the standard pushed by the UHD Alliance. Dolby Vision is Dolby’s own HDR format.
Each format offers a great HDR experience. But we have been here before. Blu-ray and HD-DVD…who won that one? Right now HDR10 and Dolby Vision are both popular among different services and studios.