There are a plethora of HDR capable displays currently available from a wide range of manufacturers.  Likewise, the market for these displays and the technology that powers them is continuously evolving. These displays range from consumer televisions, all the way to professional, reference-level devices. With the rise in accessibility of HDR enabled displays for viewers consuming content, it’s now become more important than ever to monitor in HDR whenever possible throughout the production pipeline.

 

Recommended Specifications

Dolby does not recommend or certify particular professional displays nor publish a list of preferred HDR displays in general. If you require specific guidance before selecting a particular display, you should consult the client or studios you will be creating content for as well as any equipment supplier you typically work with. There are organizations and resources that define specifications for HDR displays, for example, the EBU has published their User Requirements for Video Monitors in Television Production (Tech 3320) which specifies different grades of HDR displays. Likewise, Dolby has recently published a new document that overview's Dolby's recommended specifications and testing criteria for HDR displays used for Dolby Vision content creation: Dolby Vision HDR Display Evaluation Guideline.
 

For creating Dolby Vision content, Dolby classifies HDR displays into two distinct tiers:

 

Tier 1: Reference-level HDR display well suited for any professional color grading or mastering scenario, quality control, as well as all applications outlined below for Tier 2 displays.

 

Tier 2: Mid-end or 'prosumer' level HDR display that can be utilized for applications outside of final color grading and mastering such as pre-grading, editing, VFX, review and approval, or educational purposes.

 

The recommended specifications seen below are highly encouraged by Dolby but ultimately, this is up to the discretion of the facility based on their client's needs. Dolby always recommends using the highest quality (reference grade) display available when creating Dolby Vision content for film or television.

 

	Tier 1	Tier 2
Peak Luminance	≥ 1,000 Nits	≥ 600 Nits
Black Level	≤ 0.001 Nits	≤ 0.005 Nits
Intra-Frame Contrast Ratio	≥ 1,000,000:1	≥ 200,000:1
Color Gamut	P3, BT.2020, BT.709
White Point	D65 (0.3127, 0.3290)
EOTF	SMPTE 2084 (PQ), BT.1886 or Gamma 2.4
Grayscale △EITP	Average ≤ 2.0	Average ≤ 3.0
Color Checker △EITP	Average ≤ 2.0	Average ≤ 3.0
Supported Signal Bit Depth	12 Bit	10 Bit
Chroma Sub-Sampling	RGB 4:4:4

 

 

There is an important distinction to note that a display used to create Dolby Vision content does not have to be a Dolby Vision display. Displays supporting Dolby Vision functionality refer to devices that have the ability to properly playback Dolby Vision encoded content (via display tone mapping functionality). This is the case when you see a Dolby Vision logo on a particular display or Television’s box / marketing materials. Users should be aware of this distinction and make sure that when grading, the display is serving as a true reference device (in that any display / tone mapping features are disabled).

 

For more information on Dolby's recommendations on HDR display specifications and testing criteria, refer to our newly published guideline: Dolby Vision HDR Display Evaluation Guideline.

 

Factors to Consider When Choosing a Display

What's the Application?

What application the display will be used in will have a significant impact on the choice of display. Related closely with the application will be the budget. For grading and mastering purposes, where ensuring accurate, reference-level HDR imagery is a key requirement, the cost of the display will likely be a large component of the overall system cost. However, if the display will be used for editing, VFX, or dailies, where less rigorous image quality performance can be accepted, the balance of cost will likely be evaluated differently.

 

Peak Luminance

Peak luminance (or brightness) is one of the first specifications to consider when choosing a display as it is one of the main components that define HDR imagery. Manufacturers’ specifications for peak luminance are often vague and do not differentiate between measurements taken via fullscreen or specific patch size. Ideally, manufacturers would disclose peak luminance performance for both of these test conditions (see below example).

If the manufacturer does not provide these specifications directly, it is valuable to perform measurements yourself to understand whether or not a particular display will apply dimming / power management with high average pixel level (APL) content - such as bright outdoor scenes.

 

Peak luminance can vary widely across different HDR displays. Typical consumer HDR displays can range anywhere from 500-1200 nits. EBU Tech 3320 defines a peak luminance of at least 1,000 nits for Grade 1 displays and 600 nits for Grade 2 displays. Displays typically found in professional HDR post-production color grading and mastering applications are generally capable and calibrated to a 1,000 nit peak luminance. Comparatively, EBU Tech 3320 specifies that Grade 1 SDR displays should have a peak luminance of 100 nits.

 

Black Level and Contrast Ratio

Black level defines the darkest value that can be produced by the display. While being able to create brighter highlights is often seen as the most important benefit of HDR, many overlook the ability to see or have more access to details in the dark areas or shadows of the image. Assessing a display’s black level as well as its performance when stepping out of pure black (EOTF / grayscale tracking) is very important to consider. Many modern HDR displays have very good black level performance but this does vary considerably based on backlight technology. OLED displays for example exhibit the best black performance as each individual pixel within the backlight is self emissive and can physically turn on and off (achieving ‘pure’ black levels of 0 light). Professional LCD-based displays black level is dependent on whether or not the display features local dimming and how the specific algorithm is implemented.  

 

Black level along with peak luminance determine the display's overall contrast ratio which can be calculated simply with (Peak Luminance / Black Level). For example, a display with a 1,000 nit peak brightness and 0.001 nit black level would have a contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1. An important distinction between displays’ contrast ratio is the difference between intra-frame and inter-frame contrast ratio. Intra-frame contrast ratio describes a display’s contrast ratio measured within a single frame. Most commonly, this is calculated with some sort of checker pattern that displays both the peak luminance and black level of the display within a single frame. Inter-frame contrast ratio describes the display’s contrast ratio measured with two different frames, most commonly a full screen black patch and full screen white. 

   

Common patterns used to measure and calculate intra-frame contrast (left) and inter-frame contrast (right)

While this is not necessarily relevant, it is an important item to consider (especially when viewing advertised display specifications). More often than not, manufacturers’ marketed contrast ratios are calculated with inter-frame measurements. 
 

Color Gamut Support

While improved dynamic range is one key advantage of creating and delivering content in Dolby Vision (and  HDR in general), the other key advantage is the ability to access a wider range of colors or wide color gamut (WCG). While many home entertainment and broadcast use cases are built around the Rec. 2020 standard, no current display device is able to natively display the entirety of this color gamut. The cinema-based DCI-P3 color gamut (which most high quality HDR displays are able to reproduce 100% of) is often used as a reference gamut for studio content delivery specifications. Dolby Vision supports both DCI-P3 and Rec. 2020 color gamuts, but because Rec. 2020 can not be accurately 100% reproduced by any display, many users opt into working with a DCI-P3 gamut inside of a Rec. 2020 container if their client’s delivery specifications require 2020. Ultimately, the gamut you choose to work in will be driven by your client’s needs but it is important to consider whether or not the HDR display you may be evaluating supports your needed HDR color gamut (or what percentage of the gamut is capable of being accurately reproduced).

 

Calibration

Whenever you’re using a display in any color critical  environment, color calibration is essential to ensure the display is adhering to industry specifications. Color and luminance variations are common across different display backlight types, manufacturers, and even between two panels of the same model. When evaluating a display for potential purchase, it’s important to consider both how accurately the display performs as well as what options are available to calibrate it. For more detailed information on display color calibration, refer to our dedicated articles Display Color Calibration and Display Calibration: Colorimeters vs. Spectroradiometers.

 

Connectivity

Another important factor to consider when evaluating various displays is the type of video interface connections that are supported. SDI is the most commonly used connection for high quality video - with many reference-grade displays supporting up to 4 12G-SDI connections for both input and output. For example, if you have a wide range of existing equipment that supports DI, then having one more SDI input that meets the required standard of your SDI sources may be a requirement (or at least  the verified capability to use SDI via an adapter to other connection types). Other connections that may be useful are HDMI and DisplayPort but it is important to note what version of these connections are present within the display and whether or not that version supports the image parameters you will be working with when creating or viewing content.

 

Front Panel Controls, User Interface, Physical Profile

If you need to change settings on your display on a regular basis, such as switching between inputs or user profiles, accessing display features, or bringing up onscreen information - having controls that are easy to access and navigate may enable a smoother operating experience. The controls and on screen display (OSD) vary greatly by manufacturer and it’s important to note that many menu items and image quality parameter naming conventions are not uniform across each manufacturer. Additionally, many HDR displays enable control via software (over WiFi / Ethernet) that does not necessarily require physical access to the panel - this may be beneficial for operating environments where the display is not easily accessible.

 

Ultimately, the physical characteristics of the display also play an important role. For operation in a static professional grading or mastering environment, size, weight and operating noise may not be a differentiating factor. For on-set monitoring or live-production environments however where space, weight, and noise levels are restricted, this may be a more important aspect to consider. Whenever possible, it is best to physically evaluate the display in the environment it will be used in. 

Display Backlight Technology

There are many types of backlight technologies that are present in modern HDR displays. The most fundamental difference between common implementations are emissive sources (where each pixel provides its own illumination such as OLED) or backlit (where the illumination source is separate from the physical display panel such as LCD). Each display type has its own pros and cons and one may work better for your specific application. For more detailed information on the difference between common display backlight technologies, refer to our dedicated article Display Technologies Overview.

 

Consumer Dolby Vision Signal Playback

As alluded to above, if you require your a display to playback Dolby Vision files (for example, you need to show your client Dolby Vision encoded content), you should look for a display or television that includes Dolby Vision playback functionality. As alluded to above, these displays will feature the Dolby Vision logo and will be targeted (at least for some use cases) to more consumer-focused applications. 

Another reason to ensure the display has Dolby Vision playback capabilities is if you’re looking to use HDMI tunneling out of your post production system in order to display images on a reference consumer display. HDMI tunneling provides the ability to output HDR video and Dolby Vision metadata directly from the color grading system to the display. This is supported by some color grading applications. To learn more about HDMI tunneling, refer to our dedicated article Best Practices: Preview a Grade on a Dolby Vision TV Using HDMI Tunneling.

Monitoring SDR and Single vs. Dual-Display Setups

When creating Dolby Vision content, viewing SDR tonemapped versions of your content is critical. This is commonly done by viewing your  HDR master on one display and the SDR tonemapped version on another display or by setting up your single display to do both. Dolby does not recommend using dual display setups for simultaneous SDR & HDR content review as no current standards for surround illumination exist for dual stimulus setups. Likewise, monitoring SDR & HDR side by side can lead to unwanted artifacts downstream or making sacrifices to your HDR master. Dolby recommends using a single Tier 1 display to create the HDR master, then swapping the same display into an appropriate SDR configuration to do any SDR trim passes or reviews.

 

Note: Dual display setups do not refer to a single reference display and a client display (most commonly a high end consumer TV), but rather two displays that are positioned side by side in the same field of view

Note: Dual display setups can be useful for SDR/HDR demonstrations and educational purposes

 

For more information on setting up your grading environment or examples of common display set ups, refer to our dedicated articles , Color Grading and Mastering Suite Setup, How to Set Up Your Bias Light for Dolby Vision Content Creation, and Dolby Vision Compatible Color Grading & Packaging Systems.

 

For more display-related information or questions that pertain to Dolby Vision, please refer to our Display FAQs.