[abhibeckert]

> HDR can't give you more range, so what does it actually do?

It does give you more range.

A lot of modern screens literally can't run at their full dynamic range, they would draw too much power and/or get too hot (some professional displays I use at work have a power cable as thick as your thumb and radiate heat like an oven with the door open. They also require following warm-down procedures to prevent the electronics from failing if they cool down too quickly when you power them off).

They can, however, run at full brightness for a small section of the display or brief periods of time. HDR videos are one way to instruct the screen to do that.

(obviously, how much range it can give you depends what screen technology you have - Apple's software has supported this for a long time, but even some current model displays they sell can't really do HDR properly - though many that "cant" to HDR are able to make a best effort using complex software tricks)

[stavros]

Thank you, I hadn't thought of full screen vs spot brightness!