X
What is Dolby Vision HDR and How does it Work?

What is Dolby Vision HDR and How does it Work?

By Alexander Maxham
April 01, 2024

You’ve undoubtedly heard a lot about Dolby Vision in the past few years. We’ve seen more TVs and even monitors adding support, as well as smartphones and tablets. But what exactly is Dolby Vision? And is it something you have to have on your next major purchase (that has a display)?

Here, we’re going to tell you everything you need to know about Dolby Vision HDR.

What is Dolby Vision?

Dolby Vision and HDR10 both enhance your TV’s picture quality, but Dolby Vision takes it a step further. Imagine a director giving specific instructions for each scene in a movie. That’s what Dolby Vision does with dynamic metadata. It tells your TV exactly how bright, colorful, and contrasty each scene should be, ensuring the most accurate and impactful viewing experience.

HDR10, on the other hand, provides only general instructions for the entire movie. It’s like getting basic guidelines without the fine-tuned details.

This means Dolby Vision offers:

  • Superior accuracy: Faithfully reproduces the creator’s vision with scene-by-scene optimization.
  • Enhanced detail: Reveals subtle nuances in both bright and dark areas of the picture.
  • More vibrant colors: Delivers a wider range of colors for a more lifelike image.

Think of it like this: HDR10 gives you a good picture, but Dolby Vision gives you the best possible picture your TV can deliver.

Does it deliver better pictures?

In short, yes. It does.

Some tests have shown, compared to HDR10, that Dolby Vision has more tone definition in bright areas. Also, more balanced, nuanced, and natural colors are right across the spectrum. There’s better contrast range management and a greater sense of detail. That’s probably because of the color and light management improvements.

Of course, it really depends on what you’re watching and how you’re watching. Some tests have shown that physical media on 4K Blu-ray discs are flat with Dolby Vision and look better using just HDR10.

But if you are streaming content from Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and others, you’ll likely have a much better experience with Dolby Vision.

How can you watch Dolby Vision content?

If you’re just streaming content from different streaming services, then all you need is a TV that supports Dolby Vision and a streaming device that also supports it. A good number of TVs do now have Dolby Vision support included. These include:

And here are the streaming devices with Dolby Vision:

There are also 4K Blu-ray players and A/V receivers that support Dolby Vision. So, finding something that supports Dolby Vision to add to your setup is not hard. But which streaming services have Dolby Vision?

Currently, some titles on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, HBO MAX, Disney+, and Apple TV+ are shot in Dolby Vision. That will expand in the coming years as Dolby Vision becomes even more popular.

Which brands do not support Dolby Vision?

Surprisingly, Samsung is one of the only brands that does not support Dolby Vision on its TVs. It’s even more surprising because most of its recent flagship smartphones support it. However, the reason for this is that Samsung is actually backing a royalty-free version of a dynamic metadata HDR system called HDR10+.

You’ll notice that products with Dolby Vision and even Dolby Atmos included are more expensive. That is because of the royalty that brands have to pay to Dolby for this system and to use the name Dolby Vision on its product. It’s unclear how much companies are paying Dolby for royalties, and it likely depends on the size of the company, too.

What content is available in Dolby Vision?

So, what kind of content is available in Dolby Vision? There are actually quite a few movies and TV shows available in Dolby Vision. Two different kinds of movies are available in Dolby Vision. First, those that were shot originally in Dolby Vision, and second, those that were upgraded and remastered to Dolby Vision later on. You’ll find some very old Disney movies in Dolby Vision that were made before Dolby Vision was a thing.

Here are some titles that are available in Dolby Vision:

  • The Batman (2022)
  • Ted Lasso
  • Turning Red
  • The Addams Family
  • 2001: A Space Odyssey
  • The Girl From Rio
  • My Bloody Valentine
  • Dr. Brain
  • Cowboy Bebop
  • Foundation
  • Swan Song
  • Tick, Tick, Boom!
  • The Harder They Fall
  • Long Way Up
  • And more…

Apple has actually gone all in with Dolby Vision for TV+. This is surprising, considering Apple usually likes to make their own standard. But everything available on Apple TV+ supports Dolby Vision, which is excellent. Also, remember that the iPhone 12 and later also shoot HDR videos in Dolby Vision.

Which smartphones and tablets support it?

We’re slowly starting to see more and more smartphones and tablets coming out with support for Dolby Vision as well as Dolby Atmos. Of course, it’s a bit more important on tablets. But here’s the list of smartphones and tablets with Dolby Vision support right now.

Smartphones

As you see, very few smartphones support Dolby Vision, especially on the Android side. The only manufacturer that really supported it on every flagship ended up leaving the market. And that was LG.

Tablets

The future of Dolby Vision

So, what’s next for Dolby Vision HDR? Well, Dolby itself wants to get this version of HDR in front of more eyes. We’re seeing more and more Dolby Cinemas opening up here in the US, and the majority of them are with AMC. It also provides a really incredible experience with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos on the big screen.

The current HDR landscape is super confusing right now, and that likely won’t change. There’s HDR10, HDR10+, HLG, Dolby Vision, just to name a few. And we are probably going to see a bit more coming, especially with the IMAX Enhanced standard on its way.

What are Dolby theaters?

It’s not just TVs that have support for Dolby Vision HDR either. There are also Dolby theaters. AMC has a number of Dolby Cinemas throughout the US. And there is a dedicated theater in Los Angeles as well. The Dolby Cinema uses Atmos. As well as Vision. Giving you a great visual experience and a great audio experience.

If you haven’t tried watching a movie in a Dolby Theater yet, you should definitely try it. Once you do, you won’t want to go back to watching movies in a regular theater. If you are a member of the AMC A-List, you can actually watch movies in the Dolby Cinema as part of your subscription. This is great news, seeing as Dolby Cinema movies are generally a few bucks more. In my experience, they have been around $15-$18 depending on location. But with A-List, you can watch three movies per week for only $19.95 per month. So, watch two movies, and it pays for itself, which is really cool.

Dolby Cinemas and theaters are likely to become much more popular in the future, too.

What is Dolby Vision IQ?

So what’s next? Well, there’s Dolby Vision IQ, which was announced at CES 2020. This is essentially a development of Vision, which is designed to optimize how content looks according to the brightness of the room your TV is in.

This means that Vision content, regardless of its overall brightness, should be easier to watch, unlike the last few episodes of Game of Thrones, which were very dark. And it really only looked okay on an OLED TV.

Additionally, if you switch from a bright live sport to a darker TV show, the TV will be able to adjust accordingly, giving you the best picture possible.