In the world Of new TVs, the goal posts always move. As soon as you feel safe jumped on a new set, another reason comes to endure. First there was 3D. Then 4k. Let’s not forget OLED and Quantum Dots, then cheaper 4K and cheaper OLED. This year is no exception, with another new technology that offers another reason to keep your horses. It’s called HDR video, which is short for “High Dynamic Range.”
HDR is not about extra pixels. Each set capable of handling HDR video can already show 4K video. Instead, HDR makes pictures with widely different lights and darks look better on your screen. It’s great! You want it totally. But like most new technologies, barriers to early adoptors are teeming. From high prices to a lack of video sources, there are many things to consider before buying for HDR.
What is HDR video?
If “HDR” acronym sounds well known, it’s because you’ve seen it as a setting in your smartphone camera. The results are not large, which means you probably think HDR sucks. For still photography, HDR is a convenient (if overused) solution to a common problem: it brings details in light and Dark areas of a scene, usually by capturing more images by different exposures and merge them. The problem is that such photos often look aerbrushed and false.
HDR video is different. It looks very realistic with gradations and nuances closer to what is seen in real life. It may be bright enough to simulate light that reflects chrome and dark enough to look like an oil slick. In both cases, you still see fine details and subtle shades. HDR does not fall the contrast to stupid filters and strange Halo effects. Instead, it uses new panel technologies with a wider color palette in interaction with specially coded video.
For that reason, you need a specific TV -TV to watch HDR video correctly and you also need a specific type of video source. In the best case, you will look deeper and more accurate colors and light effects will occur more lifelike.
How is HDR TV’s basic different?
HDR is not tied to a particular type of display technology, but almost all HDR sets so far share a few drags. Vizio, Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, LG, TCL and Hisense have all HDR-capable TVs, which are essentially super-driven LCD 4K TV. These sets can get really Light — Light enough to look at a sun or explosion on the screen can make you cut. These panels’ backlighting systems are up to more than 1,000 nits — By comparison, most LCD HDTVs set about 300 or 400 nits. Why so light? With such a high pointed brightness, the contrast between light and dark (or light and lighter) areas of the stage is more pronounced.
Most HDR -TV appliances are also not OLED sets. They use LCD panels as they can become much brighter than OLEDs. Because OLEDs do not have backlighting systems (each pixel turns on and off individually on an OLED), they can become much darker and therefore produce deeper black. Earlier this month, LG and Panasonic announced both new 4K OLED TVs to show HDR video.
What about colors? Are they better on HDR -TVs?
Yes! There are waaay several colors on these advanced 4K TVs.
This is because both content and TVs move far beyond the color space and the bit depth of traditional HDTVs. To show colors, HDTVS sticks to a 25-year specification called REC. 709. It is an 8-bit color arrangement recommended by a TV trading group. It’s as old as Windows 3.0 and Season one of The Simpsons. It is archaic and it has been supported throughout the HDTV era. Now we have a new spec: 4K TV and content will aim for 10- to 12-bit rec. 2020 color space, which represents more than 60 times as many different color combinations as Rec. 709. More than a billion of them, actually. Rec. The 2020 Color Gamut is even wider than the DCI-P3 color site defined for professional digital projectors (which is also much wider than Rec. 709).
From filming to mastery to distribution to viewing, we are talking about an end-to-end pipeline that produces a much better picture. Content can be mastered to take advantage of a wider color space, extra metadata is led to an HDR-capable TV to define what it looks like, and color-tuning technologies as quantum points can help it show exactly. The combination of 4K resolution, extreme brightness, improved contrast and multiple colors will be what makes HDR video look spectacular — Although “HDR” itself is only part of the sauce.
Man, how do I make sure my new TV does all that?
There is a badge now! UHD Alliance, a group of TV producers, content providers and distribution companies, begins issuing an “Ultra HD Premium” stamp for the stamp of approval for certain TVs. These badges will be reserved for “five-tool players” in the TV world, providing a combination of tack-sharp resolution, high dynamic range and very wide color selection.
To qualify, a TV must have a screen resolution of at least 3840×2160 (it’s 4K), supporting 10-bit color, be able to handle sources using REC. 2020 color space and be able to show at least 90 percent of the DCI-P3 color space. In terms of dynamic range, Ultra HD Premium Badge contains both LCD and OLED screens. For an LCD, a qualifying TV must have a pointed brightness level higher than 1,000 nits and a black level less than 0.05 nits. In order for an OLED to qualify, it must have a maximum brightness of at least 540 nits (remember OLEDs cannot be superly) and a black level less than 0.0005 nits (remember oleds can be super dark) .