HDR Video: Formats, Compatibility, and Tone Mapping
HDR video offers wider color range and higher contrast than SDR. Understanding HDR formats and tone mapping ensures your content displays correctly across devices.
Key Takeaways
- Standard Dynamic Range (SDR) uses 8-bit color (16.7 million colors) and a limited brightness range.
- Open standard, widely supported.
- When HDR content plays on an SDR display, tone mapping compresses the wider dynamic range into the display's capabilities.
- YouTube supports HDR10 and HLG.
- Master in HDR10 for maximum compatibility
分辨率参考
常见屏幕分辨率参考
What HDR Adds
Standard Dynamic Range (SDR) uses 8-bit color (16.7 million colors) and a limited brightness range. HDR expands to 10-bit (1 billion colors) or 12-bit color with peak brightness up to 10,000 nits versus SDR's ~100 nits.
HDR Standards
HDR10
Open standard, widely supported. Uses static metadata — one brightness setting for the entire video. Supported by virtually all HDR displays.
HDR10+
Samsung's extension with dynamic metadata — brightness optimization per scene or per frame. Supported by Samsung TVs and Amazon Prime Video.
Dolby Vision
Premium format with 12-bit color and dynamic metadata. Requires licensing but offers the best quality. Supported by Apple, Netflix, Disney+, and premium TVs.
HLG (Hybrid Log-Gamma)
Broadcast-focused standard compatible with both HDR and SDR displays without metadata. Used by BBC, NHK, and YouTube.
Tone Mapping
When HDR content plays on an SDR display, tone mapping compresses the wider dynamic range into the display's capabilities. Poor tone mapping causes washed-out or oversaturated images.
Web Delivery
YouTube supports HDR10 and HLG. Upload in VP9 or AV1 with HDR metadata. Safari supports Dolby Vision in HLS streams. Chrome supports HDR10 via WebM/AV1.
Practical Advice
- Master in HDR10 for maximum compatibility
- Always provide an SDR fallback
- Use HLG for content that must work on both HDR and SDR
- Test on actual HDR displays — monitors and SDR previews cannot accurately represent HDR content