If you’ve ever been in the market for a new TV set, you’ve probably come across terms like HDR, HDR10, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision. But what do these acronyms stand for, and what’s the difference between them? In this article, we’ll go into details about these technologies to help you make an informed choice!
What is HDR?
The term HDR, or High Dynamic Range, refers to a display technology that offers a wider range of brightness and color than traditional display technology. This technology enables brighter images, deeper blacks and greater color palette to be displayed, delivering a more realistic and immersive visual experience.
Example: Imagine watching a beach sunset. With HDR, you can clearly see the warm gradient of the sky, the golden reflections on the water, and the details in the shadows, all at once, without any part of the image looking washed out or too dark.
HDR10: The Industry Standard
HDR10 is the first stage of HDR standards available on the market. This term means that videos have been encoded on 10 bits to define more precise and varied brightness and color levels. Although widely adopted, HDR10 presents certain limitations in terms of flexibility and precision, as the processing does not change according to the needs of the video. In other words, a very bright scene will have the same treatment as a night scene, for example.
Limitation: In movies with drastic lighting changes (e.g., shifting from a sunny scene to a dark cave), HDR10 can’t adapt scene-by-scene. This may result in either overly dark scenes or blown-out highlights.
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HDR10+: Smarter, Scene-by-Scene Adjustments
HDR10+ is an evolution of the HDR10 standard, developed by Samsung and adopted by other manufacturers. Unlike HDR10, HDR10+ uses dynamic processing to adjust brightness and color levels on a scene-by-scene or even frame-by-frame basis. This approach offers greater precision and a richer, more detailed visual experience.
Benefit: In a suspense movie with lots of night scenes, HDR10+ helps preserve detail in dark areas while maintaining realistic brightness in light sources, like car headlights or city lights.
Dolby vision
Dolby Vision is another HDR technology that also uses dynamic processing. Developed by Dolby Laboratories, this technology delivers exceptional image quality, with more vivid colors, sharper details, and enhanced contrast. What’s more, Dolby Vision is compatible with a wider range of TV sets and content, making it a popular choice among movie buffs and home theater enthusiasts.
Netflix Now Supports HDR10+: A Major Update
In March 2025, Netflix officially announced support for HDR10+ across its streaming catalog, alongside HDR10 and Dolby Vision. This is big news, especially for users of compatible TVs and other HDR10+-capable devices.
What this means for you:
- Improved image quality: HDR10+ allows more precise brightness and color tuning, providing a better visual experience for supported titles.
- Wider accessibility: Previously, users were limited to HDR10. With this update, they can now enjoy dynamically optimized HDR content.
- Technical requirements: To stream HDR10+ content on Netflix, you need a Premium subscription, a device compatible with HDR10+, and support for the AV1 codec. You can learn more about this here.
At STRONG, our Android TV boxes from the LEAP series; including the LEAP-S3PRO and LEAP-S3+V2; already support HDR10+. That means you can enjoy all the benefits of HDR10+ content on Netflix (and other platforms), without needing to invest in a compatible TV.
Why choose a LEAP box?
- HDR10+ support: Enhanced picture quality for streaming and local content.
- Direct access to Netflix, YouTube, Prime Video, and more.
- Ongoing software updates: We make sure your experience keeps improving over time.
HDR technologies like HDR10, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision offer significant upgrades in image quality. While HDR10 remains the baseline, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision push things further with dynamic adjustments and greater color fidelity.
With Netflix now supporting HDR10+ and STRONG’s LEAP boxes already fully compatible, it's the perfect time to upgrade your viewing experience—without changing your whole setup.
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