There are a few HDR formats available on 4K Blu-ray, and it’s important to know the difference between them. The default option you’ll see on the vast majority of discs is HDR10. If you have a 4K TV, you have HDR10, so there’s not much you have to do here. Every 4K player, including your PS5 and Xbox, supports the format, so there are no settings that you have to mess with.
Dolby Vision is a step up from HDR10, but it’s not available to just everybody with a TV. I mean, it is if you have a proper 4K TV and 4K Blu-ray player, but not everybody does. It’s sort of treated like a high-end HDR format, but that’s for good reason. There’s not a scenario out there where I’d prefer HDR10 over Dolby Vision if I have the choice, so it’s worth grabbing the right equipment so you can experience it.
Dolby Vision picture technology
Trivia challenge
Think you know your HDR formats and dynamic metadata? Put your Dolby Vision knowledge to the ultimate test.
HDRDisplay TechStreamingHistoryStandards
What is the maximum peak brightness specification that Dolby Vision supports?
Correct! Dolby Vision is specified to support peak brightness up to 10,000 nits, far beyond what current consumer displays can achieve. This headroom future-proofs the format as display technology continues to advance.
Not quite. Dolby Vision’s specification tops out at 10,000 nits, which is a deliberately ambitious ceiling. While no consumer TV today reaches that figure, the spec ensures the format won’t become outdated as display brightness improves.
What type of metadata does Dolby Vision use that sets it apart from standard HDR10?
Correct! Dolby Vision uses dynamic metadata, which can adjust HDR parameters on a scene-by-scene or even frame-by-frame basis. This allows the display to optimise brightness, contrast, and colour far more precisely than HDR10’s static approach.
Not quite. The key differentiator for Dolby Vision is its use of dynamic metadata. Unlike HDR10, which applies a single set of values to an entire film, dynamic metadata lets Dolby Vision fine-tune the image moment by moment for a more consistent and accurate picture.
In approximately what year did Dolby Laboratories first introduce Dolby Vision as a commercial HDR format?
Correct! Dolby Vision was commercially launched in 2014, initially rolled out in cinemas before making its way into consumer televisions and streaming services. It was one of the earliest premium HDR formats to reach the market.
Not quite. Dolby Vision debuted commercially in 2014, giving it a strong head start in the HDR race. It began in professional cinema environments before Dolby pushed it into the living room through TV partnerships and streaming platforms.
What is the maximum colour bit depth that Dolby Vision supports per channel?
Correct! Dolby Vision supports up to 12-bit colour depth per channel, enabling billions of possible colour values. This significantly reduces banding and allows for smoother gradients compared to the 10-bit limit of standard HDR10.
Not quite. Dolby Vision goes up to 12-bit colour per channel, which is a meaningful step beyond HDR10’s 10-bit ceiling. More bits means more gradations between colours, resulting in smoother skies, skin tones, and shadow detail in compatible content.
Which streaming platform was among the first to offer Dolby Vision content to consumers?
Correct! Netflix was a pioneering streaming partner for Dolby Vision, helping bring the format to living rooms worldwide from the mid-2010s. The platform invested heavily in producing and delivering Dolby Vision content alongside compatible device support.
Not quite. Netflix was one of the very first streaming services to adopt Dolby Vision, partnering with Dolby in the early days of the format’s consumer rollout. This relationship helped establish Dolby Vision as the premium HDR standard for streaming.
What is the minimum black level that Dolby Vision’s specification supports?
Correct! Dolby Vision specifies black levels down to 0.0001 nits, which is extraordinarily close to absolute black. This enormous contrast range between the darkest and brightest values is a core reason why Dolby Vision images can look so strikingly lifelike.
Not quite. The answer is 0.0001 nits, which represents an incredibly deep black level in Dolby Vision’s specification. Combined with the 10,000-nit peak brightness ceiling, this gives the format a staggering contrast ratio that challenges the limits of current display hardware.
Which Apple device lineup was among the first to both record and display Dolby Vision video?
Correct! The iPhone 12 lineup, launched in 2020, was a landmark moment as it could both capture and play back Dolby Vision HDR video. This made high-quality HDR filmmaking accessible to everyday users for the first time.
Not quite. It was the iPhone 12 series in 2020 that brought Dolby Vision recording to smartphones. Apple’s integration was groundbreaking because users could shoot, edit in apps like iMovie, and share true Dolby Vision footage directly from their pocket.
What is the name of the royalty-free HDR format that is most commonly considered Dolby Vision’s main open-standard competitor?
Correct! HDR10+ is the most direct competitor to Dolby Vision, developed by Samsung and Amazon as a royalty-free alternative that also uses dynamic metadata. It aims to deliver a similar scene-by-scene optimisation without the licensing fees associated with Dolby Vision.
Not quite. While HDR10 and HLG are widely used formats, HDR10+ is the closest rival to Dolby Vision because it also uses dynamic metadata. Backed by Samsung and Amazon, HDR10+ was created specifically to offer a fee-free alternative with comparable picture intelligence to Dolby Vision.
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Dolby Vision is worth using if you have a good TV
Not every TV fits the bill
A few years ago, it seemed like budget TVs didn’t have access to Dolby Vision. In today’s world, you can find Dolby Vision on cheap TVs all the time. I recently reviewed a Philips Ambilight TV that came with it, and this particular model can be found for under $500, and even cheaper depending on the size. What you might not know is that a TV like this doesn’t have the brightness levels necessary for Dolby Vision to really pop off the screen, and it feels like a waste.
Dolby Vision shines when you have a TV that has high peak brightness and good contrast. This is typically reserved for the mid-range TVs and up. Mini-LEDs are a perfect example of what to look for. Dolby Vision is also nice to have on an OLED TV, but they already reach perfect black levels with or without the format. If you don’t have a TV with good brightness levels, I guess I wouldn’t say it’s worth not using it at all, but it’s never going to be as good as it can be. I wouldn’t spend a lot of time tinkering with settings, because you’re just going to end up disappointed in the end.
Don’t force it if you don’t have it
Not the right thing to do
I have a 4K Blu-ray player that doesn’t automatically switch to Dolby Vision content when appropriate. Instead, I have to toggle it on and off, and you might wonder why I don’t always leave it on. When I leave it on, it forces Dolby Vision onto everything, even things that aren’t meant to have it in the first place. You might be able to get away with this a lot of the time, but when HDR is being forced onto SDR content, like a Blu-ray, it results in a weird-looking image.
I’d much rather watch things the way they were intended, and that means leaving Dolby Vision off when it’s meant to be off. If you have a player that automatically changes it for you, there’s nothing to worry about. If you’re like me, then you have to check that setting on your Blu-ray player each time you watch something.
You have to pick the right Dolby Vision setting on your TV
Bright or Dark, the choice is yours
Many TVs have a choice between Dolby Vision Bright and Dolby Vision Dark. Both of them give you Dolby Vision, but you might not realize that they go about it in different ways. In terms of color accuracy, I find Dark to be the better of the two, but that’s not always the best option for your personal experience. If you watch a lot of TV during the day and have to fight off a glare, Bright does a better job of that.
If you do most of your watching at night, or you can easily control the brightness in your room, then Dolby Vision Dark probably makes a little more sense for you. A lot of this just comes down to personal preference, but in a perfect situation, I’d go with the Dark option.
Your TV settings are probably hurting it
Lots of things to turn off
Smart TVs are packed with settings you can tinker with, and if you’re looking for the best image quality, you have to dig into them all. Things like HDR tone mapping, motion smoothing, dynamic brightness, etc. all mess with the picture in ways you don’t want them to. You especially don’t want things changing in real time depending on your lighting if you’re looking for the best picture quality possible.
When you tweak your settings for Dolby Vision, make sure you look at the advanced settings where features like this are typically hidden. Personally, I’d turn them all off along with any sharpness settings. I want as close of a experience as possible to the original intention, so I’m not a fan of any of this. Again, it’s another situation of personal preference, but I like to let Dolby Vision do the talking, and ever-shifting colors get in the way of that.
