In a relatively short time, HDR has evolved from being exclusive to high-end TVs to a must-have feature for any set. Short for High Dynamic Range, the tech intensifies highlights, brings out shadow details, and expands your TV's color palette. SDR (standard-range) content can still look fantastic, but the gap with HDR is too noticeable to ignore. Maybe moreso than the gap between 1080p and 4K.
There are several different HDR formats, and the situation is about to become even more complicated with the advent of Dolby Vision 2 and HDR10+ Advanced. In this guide, I'm going to introduce you to HDR10+ Advanced, and explain why it may be more significant for most viewers than Vision 2, despite the weight of the Dolby brand. If you've ever sobbed when looking at your streaming bills, you might understand why.
What is HDR10+ Advanced, and how does it work?
Fixing the gaps in HDR
The basic version of HDR10 is the most common HDR format on TVs for a couple of reasons. First, it's old, relatively speaking — it was launched in 2015, before many people were even familiar with 4K. Second, it's royalty-free. That's greatly appealing to TV makers and streaming services, given how many other licenses they need to serve up content.
The problem with HDR10 is that it relies on static metadata. It doesn't adapt to what's onscreen, so there's the risk that some scenes will appear too…