HDR10+ is an advanced HDR format that adds dynamic metadata — scene-by-scene brightness and color instructions — to the base HDR10 standard, optimizing how each scene displays. It is a royalty-free rival to Dolby Vision.
HDR10+ is a high dynamic range video format that improves on the base HDR10 standard by adding dynamic metadata. Where HDR10 uses a single set of brightness/color instructions for an entire movie (static metadata), HDR10+ adjusts these instructions scene-by-scene (or even frame-by-frame), so each scene is tone-mapped optimally for your specific display. It's a royalty-free format developed by Samsung and others as a competitor to Dolby Vision.
**How HDR10+ works technically:** HDR content is mastered at a reference brightness (e.g., 1,000 or 4,000 nits), but most TVs can't reach those peaks. Tone mapping adjusts the content to the display's actual capabilities. With static HDR10 metadata, this mapping is fixed for the whole film — a compromise that can crush detail in very bright or very dark scenes. HDR10+ dynamic metadata tells the TV the optimal mapping for each scene, preserving detail in both a dark cave and a bright sky. Dolby Vision does the same thing but is a proprietary, licensed format.
**Why it matters to buyers:** Dynamic metadata (HDR10+ or Dolby Vision) produces visibly better HDR than static HDR10 on displays that can't hit the mastering brightness — which is most TVs. The catch is format support: content and TVs must both support the format. Samsung TVs back HDR10+ (not Dolby Vision); LG, Sony, and most others back Dolby Vision (and often HDR10+ too). Amazon Prime Video uses HDR10+; Netflix and Disney+ lean Dolby Vision.
**What to look for:** - HDR10+ and Dolby Vision both use dynamic metadata (better than plain HDR10) - Samsung TVs support HDR10+ but NOT Dolby Vision — a real consideration - LG/Sony/TCL/Hisense support Dolby Vision (and usually HDR10+ as well) - Content availability: Dolby Vision is more widespread than HDR10+ - All HDR TVs support base HDR10 as a fallback
Real-world 2026: Dolby Vision has wider content and TV support, so for most buyers it's the more useful dynamic format. HDR10+ matters most if you own a Samsung TV (which lacks Dolby Vision) or watch HDR10+ content on Prime Video. Either dynamic format beats static HDR10.