What is HDR or high dynamic range?

HDR, or high dynamic range, encompasses a set of digital techniques that allow for a greater dynamic range in an image.

This results in images that are much more realistic and natural. Brightness is significantly stronger, contrast much more intense, and colors closer to reality.

How is this possible?

Let’s take the example of a photo. Often, when taking a picture, it is either too bright (overexposed) or too dark (underexposed). The principle of HDR is actually simple: it involves taking several photographs of the same scene with different exposures and combining the best parts of each.

HDR in our televisions

The method described above is now also available in video, thanks to cameras that capture images with a much wider dynamic range, particularly through much broader color encoding. The result then needs to be refined through video grading.

Since new UHD 4K panels can now display more nuances, increased brightness is required to highlight this greater dynamic range. Manufacturers take advantage of this to offer brighter images, aiming to more faithfully reproduce light sources such as the sun, lamps, or candles, while also making it possible to display details in the rest of the image.