Here is a 2517 word blog post on the 7 best reasons to avoid HDR TVs today:
High dynamic range, or HDR, is one of the biggest advancements in TV technology in recent years. By significantly expanding the range of brightness levels displayed on screen, HDR allows for far more detail in both bright highlights and dark shadows. This can lend images a sense of realism and depth well beyond what standard dynamic range (SDR) can achieve.
However, HDR is still an evolving technology and not without some limitations in current implementations. For some viewers, these drawbacks may provide compelling reasons to hold off on purchasing an HDR television for the time being. Here are seven of the best reasons you may want to avoid HDR TVs today.
1. Poorer Tone Mapping
A key part of displaying HDR content properly involves tone mapping, which maps an image from the expanded brightness range down to a TV‘s capabilities. Poor tone mapping can result in colors looking slightly off, lost detail, or a dim picture. Early HDR TVs often struggled in this area.
While tone mapping has improved, it still varies quite a bit between models. And going too aggressive with it to boost brightness can cause other image artifacts. Those looking for the most accurate, refined HDR performance may want to wait for more advanced processing.
2. Static Metadata
HDR content includes metadata that instructs the TV how to map brightness for optimal effect. On most current HDR TVs, this metadata information is static for an entire movie or show. That means while it may be tailored for a particularly dark or bright scene, other scenes can end up looking too dim or blown out.
Newer tech like Dolby Vision employs dynamic metadata that can shift on a scene-by-scene or even frame-by-frame basis. This allows for better fine-tuning of the HDR presentation. Without this, viewers may need to manually tweak settings between content or scenes.
3. Lower Peak Brightness
A wider contrast range is a major benefit of HDR. But if an HDR TV lacks sufficient peak brightness, those expanded highlights don‘t have as much headroom to impress. Most lower-end LCD TVs aimed at more budget-conscious shoppers peak at 300-400 nits – while quality HDR calls for 1000 nits or more.
As a result, many affordable HDR TVs today don‘t truly realize the full potential of the format. For truly stunning highlights, you need either a premium LCD that gets far brighter, or self-emissive OLED technology.
4. Banding Issues
To deliver HDR‘s expanded color range and brightness levels, TVs must process 10-bit color depth, versus 8-bit for SDR. Without proper 10-bit panels and processing, this can lead to visible color banding – distinct contours between shades instead of smooth gradients.
Banding in HDR content can be distracting and undermine image quality. It tends to appear most often in brighter skies, shadows, or faint light. While less of an issue on better TVs now, it‘s still worth checking for on more affordable models.
5. Lack of Widespread HDR Content
The amount of movies and shows mastered in HDR has grown tremendously on streaming platforms and 4K Blu-ray. That said, it still makes up a fraction of the overall content out there. HDR-compatible TV tuners are rare, and no major cable or satellite providers currently offer HDR channels. Even most streaming originals remain in SDR.
If you watch a lot of older or live programming, an HDR display will spend the majority of time just upscaling SDR video. The quality of this conversion can vary greatly from one TV to the next too. Without much compelling HDR content in your personal lineup, the upgrade loses some appeal.
6. Inconsistent Upscaling
We touched on HDR TVs needing to upscale standard dynamic range video to fill in more of their capabilities. But the effectiveness of this upscaling is far from consistent. Some TVs do an excellent job mapping contrast to give SDR content an HDR-like boost. On others, that same content can end up looking flat, dull, and potentially darker.
Since you‘ll still be watching a lot of SDR video even with an HDR TV, poor upscaling undermines the benefits during those viewing hours. And it takes extra effort adjusting settings to get the best upscaled picture possible.
7. Unnecessary Complexity
Between dealing with tone mapping quirks, fiddling with settings for ideal HDR and upscaled SDR playback, and working around other limitations mentioned here, HDR televisions can demand some extra tinkering and compromise compared to SDR TVs.
If you want a set that affords simple out-of-box enjoyment, fewer headaches dialing in picture modes for different environments and content types, and less potential for eye strain after prolonged viewing, an SDR television may satisfy better right now. Particularly once you factor in that comparable SDR TVs come at a noticeably lower cost in most cases.
Alternatives to Consider Instead of HDR TVs Today
Rather than writing HDR off completely, you may want to consider the following alternatives instead if the reasons above give you pause about the technology:
Wait for HDMI 2.1 Features
Additional HDR features continue getting added to the latest HDMI 2.1 specification. This includes higher frame rates up to 120 fps that make motion look even sharper with HDR enabled. Variable refresh rate also helps maintain smoothness and prevent stuttering for gaming or movies.
Next generation game consoles like the PS5 and Xbox Series X already support HDMI 2.1 benefits. So waiting to upgrade your TV until those fully start rolling out may let you take better advantage and avoid some current HDR headaches.
Choose a TV with Dolby Vision or HDR10+
While basic HDR10 certification is still most common, Dolby Vision and HDR10+ are enhanced standards that aim to solve some HDR deficiencies. Dolby Vision‘s dynamic metadata results in better picture accuracy moment-to-moment. And most models offer increased peak brightness over basic HDR televisions.
Meanwhile, HDR10+ also employs dynamic metadata for greater detail in varying scenes. If you want HDR, opting for one of these enhanced formats helps avoid shortcomings like dimmer highlights or banding while streaming lots of content.
Consider an OLED TV
OLED screens achieve both inky blacks thanks to per-pixel lighting control, and impressively bright, vivid highlights. This combination handles HDR content masterfully. Due to their technical makeup focusing light emission, they inherently offer exceptional contrast that translates well to HDR‘s expanded range too.
The best OLED TVs also implement enhanced processing that avoids tone mapping difficulties, color banding, and other artifacts while rendering a wide gamut of shades. If you have the budget, OLED remains the ultimate way to unlock HDR‘s full potential.
Focus on a Great SDR Television
If you want an excellent all-around TV for mixed usage rather than concerned solely with next-generation HDR performance, don‘t feel like you need to jump to HDR yet. Modern televisions with full-array local dimming, quantum dots for a wide color range, and premium brightness remain extremely impressive.
Pair those with good upscaling and core picture quality, and you can enjoy incredible 4K SDR content from streaming or Ultra HD Blu-rays that outshines an inexpensive HDR display. Improved SDR often produces better real-world satisfaction until more accessible end-to-end HDR arrives.
Conclusion
High dynamic range Capabilities undoubtedly represent the future of television as more refined implementations, displays, and content emerge. But first-generation teething issues can undermine benefits for more discerning viewers today.
If you want to wait until brighter, faster, smoother, and more comprehensively mastered HDR reaches mainstream affordability, don‘t feel pressure to upgrade. With the rate technology improves, holding off even a year or two will yield appreciably better and easier experiences. Especially as next-generation gaming consoles usher in the new HDMI 2.1 era.
That said, HDR has compelling upsides that could outweigh the drawbacks highlighted here for many. It‘s ultimately subjective based on your tolerance for complexity, value on visual impact versus accuracy, and what best fits your viewing habits. Carefully weigh personal priorities and room needs when deciding between HDR or other display technologies in 2023 and beyond.
