Samsung has previewed HDR10+ Advanced, an upgraded dynamic high‑dynamic‑range (HDR) format meant to sharpen the appearance of movies, TV and cloud gaming on next‑generation televisions — and to compete directly with Dolby’s recently announced Dolby Vision 2.
What Samsung announced
At a media briefing this fall Samsung showed a simulated demo of HDR10+ Advanced and outlined six headline features the company says will deliver brighter highlights, more accurate color and more nuanced motion handling. Samsung is positioning the format for its 2026 TV line and expects to talk about it publicly at CES 2026.
Samsung also said a major streaming partner is already signed on: Amazon Prime Video will support HDR10+ Advanced. The company has previously pushed the original HDR10+ standard across its ecosystem and has worked with streamers to expand HDR10+ libraries; Samsung’s corporate newsroom reiterated the company view that the format will give viewers “enhanced contrast and more vivid colors.” (Samsung’s newsroom announcement is available from the company.)
The six headline features
Samsung and reviewers who saw the simulations describe HDR10+ Advanced as adding a cluster of developer‑driven and display‑driven tools:
- HDR10+ Bright — extended metadata and statistics to drive consistently higher average and peak brightness, enabling displays to take fuller advantage of ultra‑bright panels (some demonstrations noted 4,000–5,000 nit peak capability).
- HDR10+ Genre — genre tagging so creators can signal how a title should be tone‑mapped (drama, sports, gaming, etc.), letting TVs apply genre‑appropriate processing.
- HDR10+ Intelligent FRC — creator‑driven frame‑rate conversion (motion smoothing) that signals the level of interpolation desired on a scene‑by‑scene basis and can adapt to ambient light.
- HDR10+ Intelligent Gaming — adaptive tone‑mapping for streamed games that reacts in real time to lighting conditions, aimed at cloud gaming services.
- HDR10+ Local Tone‑mapping — far more granular analysis zones for local dimming and per‑area tone mapping to improve contrast and preserve detail.
- Advanced Color Control — more precise color metadata so displays can reproduce a wider, more accurate gamut.
- Tiers: Dolby Vision 2 is organized into tiers, with certain features limited to premium (higher‑tier) hardware. Samsung says HDR10+ Advanced does not introduce separate consumer tiers — its features are available to any TV maker that supports the standard.
- Motion tools: Dolby’s Authentic Motion (part of Dolby Vision 2) and HDR10+ Advanced’s Intelligent FRC have similar goals — shot‑by‑shot creator control over interpolation — but the two approaches will differ in implementation and in which sets they appear on.
- Simulations vs. real panels: Samsung’s public demonstrations were simulations, not necessarily representative of how the standard will behave in finished 2026 TVs running real‑time processing.
- Motion smoothing artifacts: Both HDR10+ Advanced’s Intelligent FRC and Dolby’s Authentic Motion aim to reduce judder while avoiding the so‑called soap‑opera effect. Yet motion interpolation still produces artifacts like halos and incorrect frames when the algorithm cannot accurately predict interim motion. Giving creators control may reduce inappropriate smoothing but does not inherently solve artifact generation.
- Production burden: Adding more per‑scene metadata and motion directives increases mastering complexity for studios and streamers. Widespread benefits require creators and streaming services to adopt the new metadata in mastering workflows.
- TV makers to ship real, qualified HDR10+ Advanced implementations in 2026 hardware.
- Streaming services and content creators to master titles using the new metadata features.
- Effective real‑world performance that avoids introducing new artifacts while improving contrast, brightness and motion.
Taken together, Samsung says these features will help get better contrast, brighter peaks, improved color fidelity and more controlled motion handling across a variety of content types.
How HDR10+ Advanced compares with Dolby Vision 2
On the surface HDR10+ Advanced and Dolby Vision 2 overlap on ideas: both add creator signals for motion control and tone mapping and both try to make HDR more adaptable to different displays and viewing environments. But there are distinctions worth noting:
Industry observers caution that similarity in feature lists doesn’t guarantee equivalent results in practice. Dolby has already demoed its motion controls on premium hardware; Samsung’s demonstrations of HDR10+ Advanced so far have been simulations rather than finished, real‑time implementations.
What reviewers and technologists say — promise and caveats
Early hands‑on and reporting has been broadly interested but cautious. Some reviewers who saw Samsung’s simulations judged that HDR10+ Advanced could deliver visibly stronger highlights, punchier colors and better shadow detail — especially on ultra‑bright panel designs. Amazon Prime Video’s early support is a practical positive for consumer rollout.
But critics and independent technologists warn about unresolved questions:
Where HDR10+ already stands and what’s required for consumers to see the benefits
The original HDR10+ format has been in use since 2018 and is already supported on many TVs and in multiple streaming libraries. Samsung and industry tracking report hundreds of titles and thousands of certified product models supporting HDR10+. Separately, Samsung has worked to bring HDR10+ support to services including Disney+ and Hulu on Samsung sets, expanding consumer access to HDR10+ content on compatible hardware.
But for HDR10+ Advanced to matter to viewers it needs three things:
What it means for buyers and the market
If HDR10+ Advanced performs as promised, it could raise picture quality on high‑end and mainstream displays alike and give Samsung and its partners a competitive lever against Dolby Vision 2. For gamers, the format’s cloud gaming and adaptive tone‑mapping features are pitched as tangible benefits. But early adopters should expect incremental rollouts: features may appear first on Samsung’s top 2026 sets, while broader support from other manufacturers and across streaming catalogs will take months or longer.
For the moment, consumers can look forward to HDR10+ content expanding on major services and to comparative demos at trade shows early next year. Whether HDR10+ Advanced becomes a meaningful industry standard will depend on real‑world implementations, studio adoption and whether it can address the technical limits — especially around motion interpolation — that have made some viewers and filmmakers wary of “smoothing” technologies.
Next steps and timeline
Samsung has signaled a 2026 TV debut and will likely bring finished demonstrations to CES in January. Prime Video’s early backing is a practical boost, but broader streamer and studio commitments will be the deciding factor for most viewers. Technologists and reviewers will be watching for first public, real‑time run‑throughs of HDR10+ Advanced on shipping hardware to validate the simulations.
For Samsung’s official announcement and related press material, see Samsung’s newsroom: Samsung Newsroom.