HDR (high dynamic range) expands the range of brightness and color a picture can represent, producing more lifelike highlights, shadow detail, and saturated color than standard dynamic range (SDR). Formats include HDR10, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, and HLG, each with different metadata and licensing.
For an OTT platform, HDR is a premium tier that adds real pipeline complexity: it requires HDR-capable encoding (usually HEVC or AV1), correct metadata carriage through packaging and the player, end-to-end color management, and device/display capability detection so SDR fallbacks are served where HDR is not supported. Studios often pair HDR mandates with stricter DRM.
