HDR - do people here use it, or is it a gimmick?

[Ben_UK]

Hey,

What is the general consensus on HDR, is it a worthy feature for those seeking image quality in line with a film directors “original vision”, or is it a worthless gimmick which people just turn off?

I’ve only just acquired a HDR telly so wasn’t sure of the general feeling towards it. My initial view is that it just seems to give me clipped highlights and crushed blacks, however I’ve done extensive tweaking to minimise this, though if your gonna do that why not just turn the blinking thing off, I guess?

[samlop10]

Originally Posted by Ben_UK

Hey,

What is the general consensus on HDR, is it a worthy feature for those seeking image quality in line with a film directors “original vision”, or is it a worthless gimmick which people just turn off?

I’ve only just acquired a HDR telly so wasn’t sure of the general feeling towards it. My initial view is that it just seems to give me clipped highlights and crushed blacks, however I’ve done extensive tweaking to minimise this, though if your gonna do that why not just turn the blinking thing off, I guess?

Some TVs (especially newer ones) have better tone mapping than others, and the better the tone mapping is, the less clipped highlights and less crushed blacks that you will get with HDR10 content. Tone mapping is one of the most important elements of an HDR display as it basically adapts the picture to the display’s capabilities. So if something was mastered in 4000nits but the TV can only go up to 1000nits, then good tone mapping would adapt elements in the picture so that everything over 1000nits isn’t clipped, but instead the different gradations over 1000 nits are adapted and preserved so detail isn’t lost, at a lower brightness, yes, but you still get brighter highlights without clipping them. Same with blacks. If a display cannot go completely black and the picture content has different gradations of black that are darker than what the TV can display, then good tone mapping raises them so that shadow detail is preserved and not crushed due to the limitations of the TV. Overall, tone mapping is an algorithm in HDR10 displays which is proprietary to each company, and the better the algorithm, the more detail is preserved in darker areas and brighter highlights.

For example, my current OLED can go completely black and it’s great at displaying different gradations in black levels, but it can only go up to around the high 700nits. Thus, the tone mapping works harder to preserve the gradations in brighter content (most, if not all, current HDR content is mastered at either 1000 or 4000 nits), but thankfully its tone mapping is pretty excellent and it hardly, if ever, noticeably clips detail in bright highlights.

That is why some people highly seek HDR in Dolby Vision, as it is currently the best flavor of HDR, which, thanks to dynamic metadata in Dolby Vision content (an algorithm that can change as fast as on a frame by frame basis in content, as opposed to HDR10 which only has static metadata and thus needs the display itself to adapt the content), it pretty much perfectly adapts gradations according to each model’s capabilities. HDR10+ is supposed to do the same but that has not been implemented yet on UHD discs, only on streaming so far. Note that you would need a Dolby Vision capable display to use it, same with HDR10+.

So overall, yes it is a very worthy feature which very much allows directors, and other creators, to preserve their content and work within a medium that can produce content the way they want it to look, having less limitations so they can be more creative and have a way to properly reproduce it. These include mainly HDR but also a Wider Color Gamut for better overall colors. Calibration is worth it on all displays to avoid clipping, but it can only do so much with bad tone mapping before it brings too many compromises. With good tone mapping, proper calibration should not compromise the content in any way, but rather amplify it and make it look better.

I’m not sure which model of TV you have but if it has bad tone mapping it might be worth it to return it and try to get a different one. If you provide your budget and desired size me and other people on the website have good suggestions for you. I’ve done quite a bit of research, especially recently when I picked my TV, and picking one for my parents, so I think I’m fairly well informed on the current models.

[disrember]

I value it more on 4k Bluray then I do when I watch HDR on netflix

[Aidenag]

No gimmick. if uhd features were measured, id say hdr is 60% of it, 4k resolution 40%. Expanded color depth makes huge difference.

[mysticwaterfall]

HDR is what makes UHD worth it most of the time.

[Sky_Captain]

Originally Posted by Ben_UK

I’ve done extensive tweaking to minimise this, though if your gonna do that why not just turn the blinking thing off, I guess?

Oh dear.

[tjritter79]

Originally Posted by mysticwaterfall

HDR is what makes UHD worth it most of the time.

Amen! YES! The difference in PQ from blu-ray to 4K to 4k w/HDR is MORE noticeable with the advent of HDR. In fact, i feel without HDR the home market of 4K would not have half its current market share. Many people to the naked eye, cannot differentiate between a 1080 picture to a 4K picture (and yes, it depends how large your TV is), the larger the TV the more defined the differences are.

[GeneD5]

If it weren't for HDR, I probably wouldn't care about 4k. It IS the benefit...much more by any measure than resolution.

[Fred Bang]

I don't know about movies, but for gaming HDR is 100% a must. Just the way you feel the light makes the games way more immersive.

[PaulGo]

Originally Posted by Fred Bang

I don't know about movies, but for gaming HDR is 100% a must. Just the way you feel the light makes the games way more immersive.

Several years ago people said the same thing about 3D gaming. (I really liked 3D gaming).

[slimdude]

The quality of the UHDTV (itself) makes an overall difference because, some TVs look better than others.

[imsounoriginal]

What's with all these dumbass 4K threads?

[Sky_Captain]

You know rightly why: Christmas.

[Ben_UK]

Originally Posted by Sky_Captain

Oh dear.

So crushed blacks and blown highlights are now desirable in home video presentation?

[Geoff D]

HDR IS the difference for me. The resolution uptick is nice but HDR is what I'm here for.

[legends of beyond]

Originally Posted by Ben_UK

So crushed blacks and blown highlights are now desirable in home video presentation?

No, it just typically means you should return your TV and get a better one. Vizio M series is a good choice if you don't want to spend too much, and if it's available in the U.K. (Yankee speaking) than the TCL P series is an even better (and cheaper) option.