Achieves near-original image quality by mapping to each scene
Collaborating with companies to expand the HDR10 Plus ecosystem

“If the focus was previously on the quantitative expansion of the screen, we must now pay attention to the qualitative expansion of pixels. We must provide benefits to consumers by broadening the range that pixels can display. HDR (High Dynamic Range) 10 offers a high degree of freedom in the mapping that converts light into code, enabling it to deliver the optimal image quality of the content.”

Lim Kyung-won, Senior Vice President of the Development Team at Samsung Electronics’ VD Business Division, introduced HDR10 Plus at the HDR Media Day held on the 21st, stating, “We are collaborating with content providers and display manufacturers to expand the HDR10 Plus ecosystem. There will be an official announcement at a major global exhibition to be held soon.”

HDR is a UHD video technology that enhances the three-dimensionality of an image by making bright areas brighter and dark areas darker, creating a screen that is as similar as possible to what the human eye sees. For HDR video, the same HDR technology must be applied from the production stage to the display device. Currently, the most widely used technology is 'HDR10'.

Samsung Electronics introduced the next level of evolution, 'HDR10 Plus,' this year. While HDR10 fixed brightness, HDR10 Plus does not, allowing the brightness to be increased or decreased. This allows for a diverse range of content creation environments, making it possible to produce optimal image quality.

Another feature is the ability to apply HDR effects tailored to individual scenes within the content. Previously, brightness and detail were mapped using a single method depending on the scene, resulting in parts that were darker or brighter than the original, which often led to a lack of detail. By dividing the mapping into scenes, it is now possible to depict the content more closely to the original.

Samsung Electronics, Dolby, Technicolor, Philips, and others are competing over HDR technology standard specifications. In response, Samsung Electronics plans to expand the ecosystem by releasing HDR10 Plus technology, adopted as a standard by the UHD Alliance, as open source. While Dolby Vision is sold to content creators for a fee, Samsung Electronics has released its technology for free, allowing anyone to use it.

Samsung Electronics agreed to provide streaming services based on HDR10 Plus in cooperation with Amazon in April of this year and to provide videos with HDR10 Plus applied to users worldwide through the video streaming app 'Amazon Prime Video' within this year.

Executive Director Lim stated, “For HDR to work, hardware must keep pace with software. The color range of pixels in the display must also be expanded, and we have the technology to do so,” predicting that it will spread not only to TVs but also to monitors, tablets, and smartphones.