Advertising, it’s Time to Catch Up to HDR

HDR monitors are a real big step forward towards achieving realism of the reproduced image.

The monitors, TV screens and projectors that we’ve always been used to are now outdated by this new technology, but unfortunately most people still don’t know it. 

HDR (high dynamic range) is often wrongly interpreted as a simple increase of contrast. Professional cinematographic cameras and traditional 35mm film scanning from original negative preserve the dynamic range of highlights and dark shadows very well, getting very close to the perceptive capabilities of the human visual system. However, to make these images look normal on regular TVs, monitors, cinema projectors or even printed paper, this dynamism has to be compressed (not in quality, as we often associate with the term "compressed", but in power of the highlights).

In real life, when looking at a strong light source like the sun or light bulbs, our eyes nearly feel irritated. 

If you put your hand in front of the light source coming from the HDR reproduced image, your pupils will dilate, and you will start seeing more details within the shadow. It’s incredible. Like in reality.

For a more effective comparison, you should try to watch a night scene with some artificial lights on two 4K HDR identical monitors: on one monitor watch the scene colour graded in the traditional way with the monitor set in REC 709 (HD colour profile), and on the other monitor the same scene colour graded in HDR with the monitor set in 2020 colour profile (HDR colour profile). After this test, you won’t have any more doubts about it, and you will understand how low the range of highlights and shadows has been on TV screens, or even on the best professional monitors, until now.

HDR monitors mean that, when in colour grading you need to increase highlights for a better image, they finally will not “clip” or “burn” anymore. Therefore details like clouds in a bright sky, or electric wires in a light bulb, will still be visible, without the need of specifically selecting them with a power window (in order not to have the highlight clipped) - with a brilliance never seen before. 

HDR monitors also mean that a white curtain in front of a bright window will still maintain the distinguishable details of the fabric while letting through the strong light coming from the outside.

The best way to appreciate HDR monitors is by watching night scenes, for example: a car driving towards us will dazzle you with its bright headlights, as if you were watching it in real life; or in a dark room, with a few table lamps. You will feel the three-dimensionality of the room, whereas you would have never felt it in a regular two-dimensional image.

I strongly recommend film directors, production companies and even advertising agencies start approaching this new technology on their upcoming projects. Netflix, Apple TV, Sky, YouTube and Vimeo already offer the possibility to watch movies in 4K HDR. Most of the home TVs that you can find at the store are now in 4K HDR.

It’s time to catch-up also in the advertising world!

With a very small difference in post-production budgets, you will be able to direct your clients toward the future.

I would have loved to show an HDR image reference but since you will read this article from a normal monitor, it wouldn’t make any sense.

In July, in Milan, there will be an event organised by the film directors and production companies associations, Air3 and CPA, that will present the new 4K HDR, EIZO monitors. I hope there will be a good affluence and interest.