4K Blu-ray has a big advantage over regular Blu-ray in the form of high dynamic range, or HDR. HDR helps those dark blacks stay dark instead of a cloudy gray, and it’ll help those bright colors pop off your screen. Of course, a lot of this comes down to how good your TV is, and good HDR depends largely on how bright your TV can get. This is why higher-end TVs tend to do a better job showcasing HDR than cheaper ones, and it’s why some HDR isn’t worth it at all.

If you do have a good TV with HDR, then you can fully reap the benefits that the format offers. The only thing you need to be aware of is what specific HDR format that your TV has. All of them come equipped with HDR10, but there are branching paths from there. Most TVs you’ll see have Dolby Vision, but there are some that have HDR10+. Both are great implementations of HDR, but it’s clear that Dolby Vision is by far the more popular of the two.

HDR10+ doesn’t matter if you don’t have a TV for it

Try to avoid this one

There aren’t a lot of movies that have just an HDR10+ scan without Dolby Vision, but they’re out there. The big one I can think of is the Alien 40th anniversary 4K Blu-ray. This movie still looks absolutely fantastic without Dolby Vision, so I don’t think it’s anything you have to worry about if you don’t have a TV with HDR10+. However, you need to be aware that HDR10+ isn’t a very common format, and you won’t find many movies with it. The big player in HDR10+ is Samsung, and it comes at the expense of Dolby Vision. Samsung doesn’t pay for the license, so their TVs just have HDR10+.

Samsung makes some very solid OLED TVs these days, and you can often find a good deal on them. That means a lot of people are gravitating toward them without thinking about the lack of Dolby Vision. I want to be clear that you don’t need Dolby Vision to enjoy a movie, and there are many that I enjoy with just the regular HDR10 scan. I still watch a lot of Blu-rays that don’t have HDR at all. I have a Sony Bravia, so HDR10+ isn’t in the cards for me at all, but that’s perfectly okay. There are just a handful of discs that only support HDR10+, so I’m willing to put up with it.

On the other hand, there are several that have both HDR10+ and Dolby Vision included. Doctor Sleep, 1917, and Jaws all come to mind as discs with both. This is the sweet spot as it allows people with all types of TVs to get the best experience possible. Unfortunately, you’re basically stuck with what the manufacturer provides, but there was no way I was skipping the Alien 4K just because it didn’t have Dolby Vision.

Worry less and watch more

It’s more enjoyable that way

While HDR formats are important, I don’t think they should get in the way of your viewing experience. I like to take advantage of new technology as much as the next person, but I ultimately got into the business of collecting physical media to watch things. I consider Dolby Vision and Atmos to be icing on the cake and not the cake itself. It’s fine if it’s included, but more often than not, I’m happy with the regular HDR implementation. Since I have a player that makes me manually toggle on Dolby Vision, there are plenty of times when I thought I was watching something with Dolby Vision only to find out I didn’t turn it on.

What’s interesting is that the times I forget to turn on Dolby Vision don’t hurt my enjoyment. I still like the movie just as much as I would have if it was on, so I don’t really worry about what HDR formats are included anymore. If they’re there, then great, my movie will look better.

I guess, with some exceptions, what I remember the most after a movie isn’t the visuals, but it’s the plot instead. Sure, things like Dune and Mad Max: Fury Road look excellent, but that’s not what sticks with me. I do think HDR is a big selling point of 4K Blu-ray, but it’s not the main one to worry about. I wouldn’t base what TV I buy around whether it has Dolby Vision or not. If I can get a top-of-the-line OLED TV that doesn’t include Dolby Vision, I’m not going to pass that up. This is a hobby for watching things, so that’s what I’m going to do first and foremost. I don’t have any way to watch something with the HDR10+ format, but I’m not going to lose any sleep over that. HDR10 is just fine for movies that only offer that format.