High Dynamic Range (HDR)

You must have heard this term being used in multiple instances when it comes to various Display devices or even your smartphone Display. Let’s discuss the overview of High-Dynamic-Range.

High Dynamic Range(HDR) :

HDR stands for High Dynamic Range. It is nothing but increasing the depth of the color produced in an Image or even a video. With HDR it is possible to see darker shades of a color present which is not possible in SDR(Standard-Dynamic-Range). The HDR format is what produces darker black and whiter whites

Working of HDR :

• If you think of the old television technology like the CRT or LCD(still relevant today) the color range is limited to an 8-bit color range. When we talk about 8-bit color, we are essentially saying that the TV can represent colors from 00000000 to 11111111, a variation of 256 colors per value. TV’s set having the Red Green Blue(RGB) color combination, and the TV can reproduce 256x256x256 colors. For example, VGA supports the 8-bit format, usually found in CRT monitors. 
• Since the HDR consists of a 10-bit color range, we are essentially saying that the TV can produce colors from 0000000000 to 1111111111 in each of the red, blue, and blue colors, a variation of 1024 colors per value. So essentially the TV with HDR capability can produce 1024x1024x1024 colors or more than 1Billion colors in total. Display versions such as Display Port 1.4 and HDMI 2.0 are capable of supporting 10Bit HDR.
• The bare minimum for a Television to be HDR capable is that it should be at the least FHD(FULL HD). Even 4k Television support HDR format but it does not mean that just because a television supports HDR everything you view on the television will be HDR quality. Live telecast does not support HDR streaming. Although streaming services like the Netflix does support HDR content but will cost you a premium to view. 

12-bit color format or HDR10+ :

• 10-bit format is pretty much industry standard right now most television manufacturers go for, hence there are no TV’s with with12 bit color format. Here the dynamic color range is more than 68 billion, which is much more than just a billion produced by 10 bit format. 
• It is easy to assume that this 12 bit color format is called HDR10+ but it is not. HDR10+ or SUHD or HDR1000 is just a variation of HDR 10 bit technology proprietary to the company Samsung which produces electronic consumer goods such as TV, Fridges and so on. 
• Here the use of anti-glare technology is made use in HDR TV’s produced by the company to distinguish it from other manufacturers who produce 10 bit HDR displays or TV’s.  So the consumer’s discretion is advised while believing the marketing strategies used by the companies to sell their products. 

Dolby Vision or true 12-bit color format :

Dolby Vision came even before HDR was even introduced. But it was not as popular as HDR went on to become. The reason being the standard is owned by the American company Dolby Laboratories. Since the rights to the 12-bit color format are owned by the company the use of this technology in TV’s is unlikely since it is required for the manufacturer of Televisions to pay Dolby for the 12-bit format technology, which is one of the reasons why it’s a no-no for companies which manufacture TV’s to approach them for the technology. The other reason being the lack of content that supports the 12-bit color format.

Other variations of HDR :

Hybrid Log-Gamma(HLG) –

We have already seen a couple of variations when it comes to HDR technology, but there are couple more which are just as popular. One of them is the HLG or Hybrid Log-Gamma standard which is backwards compatible with HDR. This format was jointly created by Britain’s BBC and Japan’s NHK. Here the broadcaster can transmit both SDR and HDR in tandem so that HDR content is broadcasted but also SDR is broadcasted so that SDR compatible TV’s also receive the content being broadcasted.  

Advanced HDR –

This variation of HDR was created by Technicolor, a Multinational media and entertainment corporation. Probably the youngest of all the formats mentioned above. Just like the HLG it is meant for broadcasting live events. Also found in upscale of SDR to HDR. Not much information is provided on this technology since it is relatively new. 

Format choice :

• There is no specific advantage that any of these formats have on each other. You can buy an HDR-capable Television to view Dolby’s vision mastered videos and even watch the live telecast done by advanced HDR broadcasters. 
• They are not incompatible with each other unlike HD-DVD and Blu-ray standards. 
• Each of the above formats try to achieve their own level of detail to the same content but are largely cross-compatible. So the consumer should decide whether he wants to watch SDR content or the newer HDR content. 
• The only difference remains in the availability and cost of the formats mentioned above.