HDR Formats Explained: Dolby Vision, HDR10, HDR10+ and HLG

High Dynamic Range technology has transformed television picture quality, offering brighter highlights, deeper blacks, and more vibrant colours than standard dynamic range content. However, the proliferation of different HDR formats can confuse buyers trying to understand which specifications matter for their viewing needs. This guide demystifies HDR formats, explains their differences, and identifies which formats are most relevant for Australian streaming services and content sources.

What Is HDR and Why Does It Matter?

High Dynamic Range expands the range of brightness and colour that a television can display. Standard Dynamic Range content, which dominated television for decades, captures and displays a limited range of luminance levels. This limitation means bright highlights like sunlight or explosions appear muted, while shadow detail in dark scenes can be crushed or invisible.

HDR addresses these limitations by capturing and preserving a much wider range of brightness values. When properly mastered and displayed, HDR content reveals detail in bright highlights without blowing them out, maintains visible detail in shadows, and presents colours with greater accuracy and saturation than SDR allows.

The visual impact of HDR can be substantial when viewing content on a capable television. Sunsets appear to glow with realistic intensity, explosions have genuine punch, and night scenes reveal subtle detail that SDR obscures. This enhanced realism draws viewers deeper into content and more accurately represents the filmmaker's creative intent.

HDR10: The Universal Standard

HDR10 serves as the baseline HDR format that all HDR televisions support. Developed as an open standard with no licensing fees, HDR10 has achieved universal adoption across televisions, streaming services, Blu-ray players, and gaming consoles.

Technically, HDR10 uses static metadata, meaning the HDR parameters are set once for the entire piece of content. The content creator establishes maximum brightness, minimum brightness, and colour gamut values that apply throughout the movie or show. The television then applies these settings consistently.

Static metadata works well for most content but has limitations. A scene set in bright daylight may have different optimal display settings than a subsequent scene set in darkness. With HDR10's static approach, the television must use compromise settings that work adequately across all scenes but may not be optimal for any specific moment.

For Australian viewers, HDR10 support is essential. Every major streaming service delivers HDR10 content, including Netflix, Stan, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, and Binge. 4K Blu-ray discs use HDR10 as their primary HDR format. PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X output games in HDR10.

Dolby Vision: Dynamic Excellence

Dolby Vision represents the premium tier of HDR technology, offering dynamic metadata that adjusts display parameters on a scene-by-scene or even frame-by-frame basis. This precision allows the television to optimise its display for each moment in the content, producing more consistently excellent results across varied material.

Unlike HDR10's open standard approach, Dolby Vision is a proprietary format requiring licensing from Dolby Laboratories. This licensing adds cost to both content production and television manufacturing, but the technology's superior capabilities have driven widespread adoption despite these barriers.

Dolby Vision supports significantly higher peak brightness specifications than HDR10, though few televisions actually reach these theoretical maximums. More importantly, the dynamic metadata enables better tone mapping that extracts the best possible picture from each scene regardless of the television's actual brightness capabilities.

Australian streaming service support for Dolby Vision is excellent. Netflix, Disney+, and Apple TV+ deliver extensive Dolby Vision libraries. Stan has added Dolby Vision support to its original productions. Premium 4K Blu-ray releases increasingly include Dolby Vision alongside HDR10.

Most premium 75 inch televisions from LG, Sony, TCL, and Hisense support Dolby Vision. Samsung notably does not support Dolby Vision, instead favouring HDR10+.

HDR10+: Samsung's Dynamic Alternative

HDR10+ offers dynamic metadata similar to Dolby Vision but without licensing fees. Developed by Samsung in partnership with Panasonic and 20th Century Fox, HDR10+ aims to provide Dolby Vision's benefits within an open ecosystem.

Technically, HDR10+ is very similar to Dolby Vision in its approach. Dynamic metadata adjusts display parameters throughout content, enabling scene-by-scene optimisation. The primary differences lie in specific implementation details and the royalty-free nature of the format.

Content availability for HDR10+ in Australia remains more limited than Dolby Vision. Amazon Prime Video offers HDR10+ content, and some 4K Blu-ray releases include HDR10+ alongside HDR10. However, major services like Netflix and Disney+ have not adopted HDR10+, limiting its practical value for most Australian viewers.

Samsung televisions support HDR10+ but not Dolby Vision. Most other manufacturers support both formats, providing maximum flexibility regardless of content source.

HLG: Broadcast HDR

Hybrid Log-Gamma was developed jointly by the BBC and NHK specifically for broadcast applications. Unlike other HDR formats that require metadata, HLG embeds HDR information directly in the video signal, making it backwards compatible with SDR displays.

This backwards compatibility makes HLG ideal for live broadcasts where viewers may have varying television capabilities. A single HLG broadcast appears in HDR on compatible televisions while remaining watchable in SDR on older sets. No separate feeds are required.

For Australian viewers, HLG matters primarily for broadcast content. Free-to-air broadcasts experimenting with HDR typically use HLG. YouTube supports HLG for creator uploads. Some streaming services use HLG for live sports content.

Virtually all modern 4K televisions support HLG, so Australian buyers need not specifically seek out this feature. It comes standard with any 75 inch TV under consideration.

Which HDR Formats Matter for Australian Buyers?

For most Australian television purchasers, the priority order for HDR format support is clear.

HDR10 support is non-negotiable. Every HDR television includes it, and it serves as the baseline format for all HDR content sources. You need not specifically check for HDR10 as it comes standard.

Dolby Vision support is highly desirable given the format's prevalence on major Australian streaming services. Netflix, Disney+, and Apple TV+ represent significant content libraries that benefit from Dolby Vision's dynamic metadata. LG, Sony, TCL, and Hisense televisions all support Dolby Vision.

HDR10+ support is a bonus but not essential. Unless Amazon Prime Video represents your primary streaming service, HDR10+ content availability remains limited. Most non-Samsung televisions include HDR10+ support anyway.

HLG support comes standard and requires no special consideration. It ensures compatibility with broadcast HDR as Australian networks expand their high dynamic range offerings.

HDR and Television Capability

Supporting HDR formats is only part of the equation. A television's actual brightness, contrast, and colour capabilities determine how effectively it displays HDR content.

Entry-level televisions that technically support HDR may lack the peak brightness to deliver impactful HDR highlights. Budget 75 inch TVs might reach only 400-600 nits, insufficient to reveal HDR's full potential. Premium Mini LED and OLED televisions reaching 1000-2000+ nits can actually deliver the bright, punchy highlights that HDR content demands.

Contrast ratio matters equally. OLED's perfect blacks maximise HDR's contrast potential. Mini LED's local dimming improves contrast substantially over basic LED backlighting. Without good contrast, HDR's expanded dynamic range cannot be fully expressed.

When purchasing a 75 inch television for HDR content, prioritise actual picture quality capabilities over format support checkboxes. A television that delivers excellent brightness and contrast with HDR10 support outperforms a dim television with every HDR format.

Conclusion

HDR technology enhances television viewing significantly when properly implemented, and understanding the format landscape helps Australian buyers make informed decisions. HDR10 provides universal compatibility, Dolby Vision offers premium dynamic metadata, HDR10+ serves Samsung users, and HLG handles broadcast applications.

For most Australian buyers, ensuring Dolby Vision support alongside standard HDR10 provides maximum compatibility with major streaming services. Beyond format support, prioritise televisions with genuine HDR capability through high peak brightness and excellent contrast performance.