Dolby Vision

Dolby Vision, known in Chinese as 杜比视界, is a system for the production, encoding, transmission, and display of high dynamic range (HDR) video developed by Dolby Laboratories. It combines PQ HDR, wide color gamut, content analysis metadata, and display mapping, and regulates the production and playback chain through licensing and certification. Dolby announced the Dolby Vision solution for consumer displays around 2014, subsequently expanding it to streaming, Ultra HD Blu-ray, broadcasting, gaming, and mobile devices.

Dolby Vision master content is typically produced using the PQ transfer function defined in SMPTE ST 2084 and employs the P3 or BT.2020 color spaces. The system is designed to support up to 10,000 cd/m² and up to 12-bit signals; however, these represent the upper limits of the technical container and processing architecture and do not imply that all content or display devices reach these values. Most consumer releases use 10-bit HEVC, and master peak brightness is often below 10,000 nits. Dynamic metadata is a key component of Dolby Vision. Production tools analyze each shot or frame, recording the content’s brightness and color characteristics, and allow colorists to adjust the content for different target display capabilities. Playback devices use this metadata, master information, and their own brightness and color gamut capabilities to map the content. The metadata does not increase the brightness or color gamut that the panel itself can produce; rather, it guides the conversion within the limits of the display’s capabilities.

Dolby Vision is not a single, fixed bitstream. Its profiles and levels specify combinations of video encoding, bit depth, base layer, enhancement layer, metadata, and device processing capabilities. Some configurations use a single-layer video, while others employ a base layer, an optional enhancement layer, and a metadata unit called an RPU. Different configurations may be tailored for streaming, optical discs, professional intermediate files, low-latency live broadcasts, or cross-format compatibility; devices that support one profile do not necessarily support all others.

Dolby Vision Profile 7, commonly found on Ultra HD Blu-ray, uses a dual-layer HEVC structure. The base layer provides HDR10 video that meets Ultra HD Blu-ray requirements, while the enhancement layer and RPU supplement the information needed for Dolby Vision reconstruction and dynamic mapping. Standard HDR10 devices can still play the base layer even if they ignore the Dolby Vision extensions. The enhancement layer can be further divided into forms such as the full enhancement layer and the minimal enhancement layer; the residual information contained in these two differs, so it is not possible to determine which one a disc uses based solely on the Dolby Vision logo.

Streaming services commonly use single-layer or compatible configurations. Profile 5 is primarily intended for dedicated Dolby Vision playback paths and does not require an HDR10-compatible base layer; Profile 8 can carry Dolby Vision metadata based on an HDR10, HLG, or other specified base signal. Therefore, it is inaccurate to describe all online Dolby Vision files as HDR10 with dynamic metadata; whether they can fall back to HDR10 depends on the specific profile and container format.

Dolby Vision can be combined with containers such as MP4, MPEG-2 transport streams, and M2TS, as well as supported codecs like HEVC, AVC, and AV1. The locations of sample entries, NAL units, and metadata within the container vary depending on the application specification. File extensions alone cannot indicate the Dolby Vision profile; identifiers such as “dvhe,” “dvh1,” and “dvav” displayed by media analysis tools must be interpreted in conjunction with information on the profile, level, base layer compatibility, and RPU.

The playback chain must maintain compatibility across content, players, interfaces, intermediate devices, and displays. HDMI or built-in applications can process signals in either device-led or source-led modes, with the TV completing the mapping based on the certification process. If any link in the chain does not support the corresponding profile or cannot pass metadata, the system may fall back to HDR10, HLG, or SDR, or may fail to display the content correctly at all; whether a fallback occurs and to which format is determined by the content structure and device implementation.

Both Dolby Vision and HDR10+ use dynamic metadata to optimize mapping for different display capabilities, but they differ in metadata syntax, production tools, and licensing and certification systems. HDR10 uses static metadata, while HLG employs a broadcast-oriented relative brightness transfer method. The 杜比视界 projection system in Dolby Cinema shares the HDR production philosophy and brand with Dolby Vision for home media, but cinema master copies, projection equipment, and consumer bitstreams are not the same delivery format.