If you buy a 4K Ultra HD television today or if you have done so in the last two years, then your model certainly incorporates HDR technology. But what is it, and how do you best use it?
HDR , or High Dynamic Range , contrasts with SDR ( Standard Dynamic Range ) which has been around since the beginnings of color television. The objective of this technology is rather simple: it proposes to extend the dynamic range of brightness of the image which is broadcast on the screen of the Ultra HD television. The image will therefore go up much higher in luminance by displaying brighter whites , but also go down much lower, thus offering much deeper blacks . Concretely, where the SDR pushes the brightness between 100-300 cd/m² (candela per square meter), the HDR pushes it up to 1000 cd/m² . And that changes everything !
HDR = More realism
Thus, HDR therefore offers a brighter image and more natural , more realistic colors, which stick faithfully to reality.
Watching a movie with the HDR function activated is a bit like looking through a window: the human eye perceives the same range of colors there, but also an enhanced dynamism of the image.
The fact that this technology goes hand in hand with Ultra High Definition is no coincidence: Ultra HD , also called 4K , offers an image definition of 3840 x 2160 pixels , which induces a very high pixel density. high which makes it difficult for the human eye to discern them. This is a good thing, since it once again reinforces the realism of the image , and therefore the immersion when you watch a film, a series, a documentary or even when you play a video game.
Nevertheless, even if the contribution of HDR is important when looking for the best image quality, you should not expect to be taken aback by a video broadcast with HDR activated. The contribution of this technology can, in fact, prove to be very subtle, and an untrained or untrained eye may have difficulty in perceiving the difference at first. If your television allows it, do not hesitate to activate and deactivate the HDR function to better perceive the differences between the two situations.
By example
To realize the contribution of HDR in an obvious way, it is best to be in the presence of a very contrasting image in which very light parts and very dark parts rub shoulders . The example generally taken to illustrate is that of the window which opens onto a luminous sky in a dark room.
Without HDR , either what you see through the window will lack luminosity, or, and this is most common, the interior of the room will disappear in the dark. With HDR , the sky seen through the window will be bright but detailed, with the clouds visible for example, and the interior of the room will certainly be dark but we can easily discern the furniture and the details of the walls.
What are the optimal conditions for enjoying HDR?
Having an HDR feature on your TV does not mean that all the content you watch on it will use this technology. Indeed, for it to be active, there are certain prerequisites.
First of all, the source must have been designed to use HDR : the 8 p.m. television news is not filmed in High Dynamic Range, for example! On the other hand, all Ultra HD Blu-rays sold in stores are fully HDR compatible: if you have a UHD Blu-ray player or an Xbox One X or Xbox One S console, you can enjoy HDR when watching your movies.
On Netflix as on Amazon Prime Video , there are many films and series offered in both Ultra HD and HDR. When this is the case, logos indicate it. At Netflix, we can mention all the Marvel series (Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, Luke Cage), The OA, Glow or even Santa Clarita Diet. At Amazon, The Man in the High Castle, Red Oaks, Bosh and Mozart in the Jungle are among the series offered in HDR.
HDR sources that do not require specific players include YouTube . Accessible from most connected televisions, the platform has offered, since 2016, content creators the possibility of publishing videos filmed in HDR. However, do not expect very elaborate programs: most of the time, these are landscapes (well) filmed with high-level equipment. However, this allows you to have a concrete overview of the rendering in HDR.
Finally, we can also mention video games , many of which are now HDR compatible. To take advantage of this on the Sony games side, you need a PS4 Pro, which supports HDR natively for compatible games. The standard PS4 also manages HDR, but in software, and it’s a little less efficient. On the Microsoft side, the Xbox One S and One X manage HDR. But in any case, it also depends on the games: you can make sure of the presence of HDR compatibility by checking if the logo is present on the box, before buying.
HDR10, far from being the only standard
Let’s end on an important point to highlight: the multiplicity of HDR “formats” . The most widespread is HDR10 : it is on this that the vast majority of manufacturers of televisions, and other HDR-compatible devices, have agreed. It’s a ‘static’ format, which means that the HDR settings remain the same throughout the viewing of the selected content.
But it may happen that in addition to the HDR10 logo, your TV displays another one. We find, for example, HDR10+ , the “dynamic” equivalent of HDR10, which will calculate the rendering in real time to seek to offer an even more advanced display.
HDR Dolby Vision , for its part, prides itself on offering an even finer and more precise image, thanks to a particularly thorough manual calibration.
Should we, with this in mind, opt for a television that displays technologies that are not limited to simple HDR10? Our answer is simple: it is not necessary! HDR10 is now a well-established standard, and it is supported by all major manufacturers and online content providers. Having a TV equipped with an additional HDR format can be a plus, but it is not a real criterion to look for when buying.
To sum up, HDR is a technology that is now inseparable from Ultra HD , and which redefines the quality of the image through premium content. If its performance does not necessarily jump out at first glance, it is especially when you are deprived of it, on older screens, that you realize the obvious contribution it represents on televisions. recent. To try it is to adopt it ! And good news: HDR is set to last!