HDR Formats Explained — Dolby Vision vs HDR10 vs HDR10+ vs HLG
The TL;DR
HDR10 is the universal floor — every HDR TV supports it. Dolby Vision is the higher-quality format Apple, Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV+, and Max use. HDR10+ is Samsung and Amazon's competing format — same idea, less catalog. HLG is the broadcast format you'll see when ATSC 3.0 4K hits your area.
What HDR actually does
HDR (High Dynamic Range) is a wider range of brightness in the source video. A standard SDR signal tops out around 100 nits — bright enough to see indoors. An HDR signal can carry information up to 10,000 nits (in the spec) and tells your TV "this sun glint should be 2,000 nits; this shadow should be 0.1 nits." Your TV then maps that range to what its panel can actually output.
The four formats differ in HOW they tell the TV to do that mapping.
The four formats
HDR10 — the universal floor
HDR10 sends ONE set of brightness instructions for the entire movie (static metadata). The TV interprets it once and applies the mapping uniformly. Every HDR TV and every streaming service supports HDR10 — it's the baseline. The compromise: a single instruction set for a 2-hour movie can't optimize a bright sunny scene and a dark cave scene the same way.
Dolby Vision — the premium format
Dolby Vision sends FRAME-BY-FRAME brightness instructions (dynamic metadata). Up to 12-bit color. The TV gets a custom instruction set for every scene — the cave scene tells the panel "go as dark as you can"; the sun scene tells it "push peak brightness." Apple TV, Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV+, Max, and Apple iTunes content is almost all Dolby Vision. The catalog is massive.
Supported by: LG, Sony, TCL, Hisense, Vizio, Panasonic. NOT supported by Samsung TVs — Samsung is the only major brand that refuses Dolby Vision in favor of HDR10+.
HDR10+ — Samsung & Amazon's answer
Same idea as Dolby Vision (dynamic metadata, scene-by-scene). Royalty-free, so Samsung and Amazon both backed it. The catalog is smaller — Amazon Prime Video uses it heavily, some 4K Blu-rays carry it, Apple TV+ and Disney+ do NOT. If you own a Samsung TV, HDR10+ is the dynamic-metadata format you actually get.
HLG — Hybrid Log-Gamma (broadcast)
The format designed for broadcast TV — it carries HDR information in a way that's backward-compatible with SDR sets. When your local NBC station eventually broadcasts in 4K HDR over ATSC 3.0 (NextGen TV), it'll be HLG. Sports broadcasts on ESPN's 4K feeds (when they happen) use HLG. Every HDR TV supports it.
Side-by-side
| Format | Metadata | Where you see it | Supported TVs |
|---|---|---|---|
| HDR10 | Static (one set per title) | Every HDR-capable app + 4K Blu-ray | All HDR TVs |
| Dolby Vision | Dynamic (per-frame) | Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV+, Max, Apple iTunes | LG, Sony, TCL, Hisense, Vizio, Panasonic (NOT Samsung) |
| HDR10+ | Dynamic (per-frame) | Amazon Prime Video, some 4K Blu-rays | Samsung, Hisense, Vizio (NOT LG, Sony out-of-box) |
| HLG | Static, broadcast-friendly | 4K broadcast / sports (ATSC 3.0) | All HDR TVs |
The decision rule
If you watch a lot of Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV+, or Max — Dolby Vision is the format you want. Means buy LG, Sony, TCL, Hisense, Vizio, or Panasonic.
If you're a Samsung loyalist — you're trading Dolby Vision content (which will fall back to HDR10) for Samsung's panel + One Connect cable management + the new Micro RGB. Most people don't notice the Dolby Vision → HDR10 fallback. Some do.
If you'd buy either way — buy the TV with the better panel. Dolby Vision is a nice-to-have, not a deciding factor for most households.