What Is AV Receiver HDR?

High Dynamic Range (HDR) is the hottest term in the world of television. TV makers and content creators are confident that technology can provide a measurable leap in picture quality.

What is HDR?

HDR is an abbreviation that stands for High Dynamic Range. The dynamic range of a display indicates the difference between the lightest and darkest colors it can display. The wider this range, the more detail will be visible on the screen.

Our eyes have a very wide dynamic range, which, among other things, can expand or contract when the pupils dilate or constrict. Cameras work in much the same way – the better their sensors, the more information about the scene they can capture and transfer for processing to the chipset. At the same time, when viewing a photo or video, we can focus our gaze on different parts of the scene, and HDR provides high-quality color reproduction over the entire area of ​​the frame.

So, HDR technology significantly expands both contrast and color! Bright areas of the picture can become much, much brighter than on a regular TV, so the picture looks “deeper” and more realistic. The color palette expands with deeper shades of reds, greens, and blues – and all possible combinations.

Full HDR requires two things: a suitable TV and an image source

If we talk about an AV receiver, then the device must be equipped with HDMI 2.0 or 2.1 ports and be able to broadcast 4K video with HDR and HDCP 2.2 protection through itself. Now manufacturers are trying to implement this technology even in budget devices. And you can already that the presented the best home theater receiver under $ 500 at Chooserator.com can already work with 4K and HDR content.

To pass the HDR signal, both source and TV must have an HDMI 2.0a interface. If you are connecting equipment through an AV receiver, make sure that it has HDMI 2.0a ports. Fortunately, many manufacturers have been able to programmatically update their HDMI 2.0 interfaces to 2.0a, so check for the latest firmware.

To ensure a high dynamic range, HDR TVs use advanced backlighting that can be dimmed in specific areas of the screen. The maximum brightness margin is many times higher than ordinary TVs: up to 1,000-1,500 nits in HDR versus 300-400 nits for standard models.