Every TV sold in the UK now claims to support HDR. But walk into a shop and you'll see four different HDR logos, none of which are properly explained. This guide cuts through the acronyms so you can make a genuinely informed choice.
HDR stands for High Dynamic Range. In simple terms, it expands the range between the darkest shadows and the brightest highlights a TV can display — compared to SDR (Standard Dynamic Range), which has been the broadcast standard since the 1940s.
A good HDR TV can show a candle flame in a dark room with the flame looking genuinely bright against the blackness, rather than both sitting in the same muddy mid-range. When it works well, it transforms the realism of an image. When it doesn't, you'd barely notice the difference.
The catch: HDR performance depends on two things working together — the TV's peak brightness capability and the HDR content itself. A TV that can only reach 350 nits of peak brightness will never show you the full benefit of a Dolby Vision master graded at 4,000 nits.
| Format | Metadata | Peak brightness | Who uses it |
|---|---|---|---|
| HDR10 | Static (one setting for whole film) | Up to 1,000 nits | Universal — all 4K TVs support it |
| HDR10+ | Dynamic (adjusts scene by scene) | Up to 4,000 nits | Samsung, Hisense, Amazon Prime, Disney+ |
| Dolby Vision | Dynamic (adjusts frame by frame) | Up to 10,000 nits | LG, Sony, Philips, Apple TV+, Netflix |
| HLG | None (broadcast standard) | Varies | BBC iPlayer, terrestrial broadcasts |
Both Dolby Vision and HDR10+ use dynamic metadata — meaning the HDR grading can change shot by shot, or even frame by frame (Dolby Vision). This is a genuine improvement over HDR10's static approach, which sets the brightness parameters once for the entire film.
Why it matters in practice: imagine a film that opens in bright daylight before cutting to a dimly lit interior. With static HDR10, the TV is told "this film peaks at 1,000 nits" for the whole runtime. With dynamic metadata, the bright outdoor scene can peak at 800 nits while the dark interior scene uses a much lower setting — meaning subtler details in shadows are preserved.
The format war: Samsung TVs don't support Dolby Vision; LG and Sony TVs don't support HDR10+. Both formats are widely available on streaming services — Netflix and Apple TV+ primarily use Dolby Vision, while Amazon Prime and Disney+ use both. For most buyers, this means an LG or Sony TV will serve you better for streaming.
Honestly — it depends entirely on the TV. A mediocre 400-nit panel with HDR support will look worse than a well-calibrated SDR TV, because HDR content is tone-mapped down to fit the TV's limited brightness range and often looks washed out in the process.
The minimum brightness threshold where HDR starts to genuinely impress is around 600–700 nits for an LED TV. Below that, you're getting a software imitation of HDR rather than the real thing. OLED TVs are a different story: despite their relatively modest peak brightness (typically 800–1,200 nits on consumer panels), their perfect blacks mean the contrast ratio is so high that HDR content looks exceptional regardless.
All 4K TVs support HDR10 — this is the baseline and should be treated as a minimum, not a selling point. The question is whether the TV can actually deliver on the HDR promise.
Check the format support:
Peak brightness ratings: manufacturers often quote "peak brightness" figures under ideal lab conditions with a tiny percentage of the screen lit. Real-world full-screen brightness is typically 20–40% lower. Look for independent reviews from outlets like Rtings.com, which measure real brightness figures.