In this article, we cover all the low-down on those three magic letters.
This difference, a.k.a.
thedynamic range, is how many times higher the maximum value is compared to the minimum.
Static images, movies, and rendered graphics all look far better when presented on a high-quality HDR display.
The more bits that are used, the greater the number of different colors that can be created.
Multiply these together, 256 x 256 x 256, and you get 16,777,216 possible combinations of RGB.
Hence, why this is the industry norm.
For the moment, let’s focus on a single color channel.
Notice how much smoother 8 bits is compared to the others?
However, once you start blending colors together, 8 bits isn’t quite enough.
That’s four times more color changes than at 8 bits.
Using a larger color depth becomes even more important when using a color space with a very wide gamut.
LCD) or tiny diodes that emit light (LEDs).
Break one of these apart andtake a close lookat the screen, and you might see something like this.
Here you could clearly make out the individual RGB color channels that comprise each pixel (picture element).
This quantity is calledluminanceand is measured in nits or candela per square meter.
maximum values for each RGB channel).
However, theminimumvalue is somewhat harder to pin down.
Screens that emit light, rather than transmit it through crystals, fare much better in this aspect.
When the LEDs are off, the minimum luminance is so low that you might’t really measure it.
HDR formats and certification
Let’s take a mid-priced computer monitor theAsus TUF Gaming VG279QM.
Additionally, the specification also requires the color depth to be a minimum of 10 bits to avoid banding.
There are multiple other HDR video formats (e.g.
The majority, though, use the same color space and depth.
Where HDR10 and the others are all aboutcontent, this one covers the hardware displaying it.
The world of HDR formats and certification is rather messy.
Most recent 4K players will support it, but older ones probably won’t.
The use of high-precision numbers also enables game developers to render their game with a high dynamic range.
However, the expansion was primarily designed as a demonstration of new features in the rendering engine.
Such HDR offerings are rather sparse, far more so than the range of games supporting ray tracing.
One way to get around this in Windows 11 is to use theAuto HDR feature.
But at least now you know exactly what HDR is!
