We live in an era of sequels. But until Dolby announced a follow-up version of Dolby Vision, I didn’t expect to experience a sequel to an HDR format, of all things.

Several months after the announcement of the new format, Dolby Vision 2 is finally making its way to TVs all over the world. Dolby Vision 2 is arriving on select Hisense models first and will soon expand to additional sets.

If you’re a picture purist, an A/V aficionado, or an all-around home theater enthusiast, you’re probably champing at the bit to peep this premium HDR format. Before we dive into whether or not Dolby Vision 2 is worth seeking out, let’s start with the list of Dolby Vision 2-supporting TVs.

Which TVs have Dolby Vision 2?

As mentioned, the newest version of Dolby Vision is being welcomed into the world by way of Hisense. Right now, Dolby Vision 2 is rolling out in a firmware update to the following TVs:

• Hisense UX
• Hisense UR9
• Hisense UR8
• Hisense U7/U7 Pro

The first Hisense TVs to receive the update are models built around the Google TV or VIDAA OS smart platform. According to Dolby Laboratories, the initial rollout will expand in the coming weeks.

We’ve already tested and reviewed the Hisense UR9 (the brand’s top RGB LED flagship for 2026), and we’re in the process of evaluating the UR8 and the Hisense U7 (dubbed the U7SG here in the states).

Of these models, the Hisense U7SG represents the most-affordable way to secure Dolby Vision 2 support right now. It’s a mid-range Mini-LED TV that gets exceptionally bright and colorful during HDR content, but how well it showcases Dolby Vision 2 content remains to be seen.

Dolby claims that regular, garden-variety Dolby Vision content will look better on TVs equipped with Dolby Vision 2. But, of course, this raises a key question about the nascent feature.

Is Dolby Vision 2 worth having?

Like its predecessor, Dolby Vision 2 leverages dynamic metadata embedded in content to present the picture in a carefully controlled manner. In simple terms, Dolby Vision 2 (and the OG Dolby Vision) work to ensure that whatever you're watching gets as close as possible to matching the creator's intent.

How close it gets comes down to the overall performance of your display. Some TVs get brighter and more colorful than others, and as you can imagine, those TVs make better use of Dolby Vision (and HDR in general). Likewise, many affordable TVs offer Dolby Vision support, but due to their performance limitations, Dolby Vision-enhanced content looks worse than standard HDR content does on a better-performing set.

With all of that being said, let’s consider the newest format. Both Dolby Vision 2 and Dolby Vision 2 Max (the top-tier version) offer up new features for filmmakers to tinker with. These include Authentic Motion (which allows creators to control motion smoothing on a shot-by-shot basis) and Light Sense 2 (which dynamically adjusts the picture’s brightness based on ambient lighting conditions).

But the newest format’s bread and butter is the flexibility it gives to creators whose content will be screened on the TVs of tomorrow. It’s reportedly been developed for displays that reach up to 10,000 nits of brightness — far higher than anything I’ve personally measured on a consumer-facing, HDR-capable TV.

As TVs evolve, Dolby Vision 2 will be here to take advantage of their performance.

Just as we have to wait for the TVs of tomorrow to see what Dolby Vision 2 is fully capable of, we also need to wait for the content to start flowing. According to Dolby Laboratories, several streaming platforms have already committed to platforming Dolby Vision 2-enabled content, including Peacock and Canal+. But right now, there’s not much to see.

So, what are you missing out on if your TV doesn’t support Dolby Vision 2? Not much. Today, Dolby Vision 2-viewers might notice a slight improvement to the presentation of movies and shows mastered for the original Dolby Vision format, but we’ll have to wait for proper Dolby Vision 2-enhanced content to truly familiarize ourselves with the newest members of the Dolby Vision family.

More from Tom's Guide

• We just graded every TV brand on price, performance and more — here’s how their report cards stack up
• Hisense TV report card 2026: 'One of the best ways to maximize your dollar'
• TCL and Sony are joining forces to sell more TVs — but is that bad news for shoppers?

Just when you thought you had a handle on HDR and its many formats, here comes a few more. Right now, a new rivalry is brewing in the TV industry: Dolby Vision 2 vs HDR10+ Advanced.

As their names imply, these all-new, enhanced HDR formats are the next iteration of Dolby Vision and HDR10+, the two most popular standards for HDR content. Dolby Vision 2 and HDR10+ Advanced were only recently announced last year, and in 2026, we’re on the verge of seeing the first TVs to incorporate these formats.

If you’re gearing up to buy a new TV this year and you want to make the most of it, you might think that one (or both) of these promising new formats ought to be included in your next set. But here’s the thing: Most people can get along just fine without them for now.

To understand why, it helps to understand these formats first.

Dolby Vision vs HDR10+: A primer on the current major HDR standards

First, let's have a little crash course in HDR. All HDR-ready TVs support something called HDR10 by default. In addition, most HDR TVs support one (or both) of the following: Dolby Vision and/or HDR10+.

Dolby Vision and HDR10+ work similarly: by leveraging dynamic metadata to optimize the picture in real time, presenting it in a carefully controlled manner. In very simple terms, both of these HDR formats work to make sure the content you're watching gets as close to the creator's intent as possible by the time it reaches your eyes.

Dolby Vision is a proprietary format, and as such, it costs TV brands money to license it and include it on their sets. HDR10+, on the other hand, is a royalty-free format. Even though it works in mostly the same manner, TV-makers don't have to pay a hefty fee to implement it. This is why Samsung — one of the most popular TV brands in the world — supports HDR10+ but not Dolby Vision.

Dolby Vision 2 and HDR10+ Advanced: What do they do and what’s the difference?

If the original Dolby Vision and HDR10+ formats were designed to make the most out of modern displays, their sequels are built to do the same for future OLEDs, QLEDs and Mini-LED TVs by offering a heaping helping of new performance-related features.

For one thing, Dolby Vision 2 is designed to support TVs that reach up to 10,000 nits of brightness — far higher than anything I've measured on an HDR TV. The royalty-free HDR10+ Advanced format can take advantage of TVs that dole out up to 5,000 nits of brightness, which some TVs are capable of achieving right now.

Dolby Vision 2 and HDR10+ Advanced also offer several new levers of control for content creators to pull. For instance, Dolby Vision 2 comes with a feature called Authentic Motion, which allows creators to control motion smoothing on a shot-by-shot basis.

HDR10+ Advanced leverages AI-based algorithms to dynamically control motion performance, too. It also purportedly improves cloud-based gaming performance by reducing latency and adjusting the picture based on gameplay conditions.

These are just a handful of new features rolling out with Dolby Vision 2 and HDR10+, most of which are a means to ensuring that content — be it a movie, show or video game — is experienced as close as possible to what the creator has in mind.

Dolby Vision 2 and HDR10+ Advanced in 2026: outlook

Currently, only Hisense, TCL and Philips have confirmed to be partnering with Dolby for the rollout of Dolby Vision 2. However, we've yet to get our hands on a TV that actually carries the feature. It's possible that some of these brands' 2026 TVs could receive Dolby Vision 2 support in a firmware update sometime down the road.

On the other hand, there are a handful of TVs already shipping with HDR10+ Advanced support. Several 2026 Samsung TVs, for instance, come with HDR10+ Advanced support right out of the box.

Even if you set aside the scarcity of Dolby Vision 2- and HDR10+ Advanced-supporting TVs in 2026, there's a bigger reason why these enhanced HDR formats aren't poised to have a significant impact in 2026: content availability.

Simply put, there's almost nothing out there to watch in these formats. Content-creators are only now beginning to tinker with Dolby Vision 2 and HDR10+ Advanced. As is the case with many developments in the TV business, advancements are only as fast as the content stream allows.

So even though several 2026 models are packing the processing power to eventually support Dolby Vision 2-mastered content, and despite the release of Samsung TVs that support HDR10+ Advanced right out of the box, we're not getting much in the way of souped-up HDR content just yet.

In the coming years, as the pipeline produces more content, I suspect that brands like LG and Sony will get on board with at least one of these advanced HDR formats. For the time being, though, you shouldn't let the absence of their support stop you from buying one of the best TVs available today.

More from Tom's Guide

• Do you actually need Dolby Vision on your next TV? Here's the answer
• Here’s everything you need to know about LG's Hyper Radiant Color technology — and why you should want it in an OLED TV
• Samsung's new Micro RGB TV is finally here — but I'd rather buy this OLED instead

Unless you’re a Hollywood colorist, video metadata isn’t a very fun topic of conversation to bring up at a party — and yet, metadata is what’s going to transform your next budget TV purchase into a screen that punches well above its sticker price. At least, that’s the pitch of the Dolby Vision 2 demo I got at CES 2026.

I was certainly a bit skeptical when it was first announced at IFA 2025. It wasn’t clear to me why we’d need a new name for the technology that has, for the better part of 10 years, delivered higher-level HDR performance. And I really wasn’t sure why we needed both a Dolby Vision 2 and a Dolby Vision 2 Max.

Turns out, Dolby Vision 2 isn’t just about making the best TVs look better (although Dolby Vision 2 Max can do that). Instead it’s about making budget models look much, much better than their paltry price tags might suggest. Here’s how it works.

What does Dolby Vision 2 do, exactly?

Dolby Vision 2 is one of the two names for the upcoming upgrade to the older Dolby Vision HDR standard: There’s Dolby Vision 2 and Dolby Vision 2 Max. (Yeah, I’m still not thrilled there’s two names for it.) Its biggest rival is HDR 10+ Advanced, and you could read all about the differences between them in our Dolby Vision 2 vs HDR10+ Advanced guide.

Dolby Vision originally promised to deliver better HDR by giving colorists — the people who color grade and correct shows and movies — the power to change the upper and lower limits of brightness on a frame-by-frame basis. Dolby Vision 2 applies that same level of tweaking to a wider range of TVs, like cheaper budget models that have typically had a hard time applying the original format effectively.

It does this by taking the metadata provided by filmmakers and TV show producers and turning that into a set of instructions for your TV.

For example, one of the features that Dolby calls “Precision Black” takes into account your TV’s peak brightness output and lowest black point to deliver better visibility in dark areas.

Another one called “Light Sense” uses a TV’s ambient light sensor to detect how bright your viewing space is and adjust the color saturation accordingly. (If you oversaturate or undersaturate an image, you’re not only getting a worse viewing experience, but it’s different from the one the creators intended for you to see.)

Dolby Vision 2 isn’t just doing this once every minute or even every second — but every single frame if that’s what the creator wants it to do.

So how can it make TVs look better?

That’s the question I couldn’t answer before CES. A TV is limited by certain factors — its backlighting system, for example, and its built-in processor. And that’s still true.

But what Dolby Vision 2 can do is take those limitations into consideration and churn out more meaningful settings changes. Dolby has labs all over the world that test TVs from all of its partners and compiles a database of their specs; it can then use these specs to make informed decisions about how to best portray incoming metadata.

I saw this firsthand on two nearly identical TVs sitting side-by-side, one with regular Dolby Vision and one with Dolby Vision 2. The colors looked more saturated and dark details were more visible on the TV running Dolby Vision 2. According to Dolby, Vision 2 isn’t adding anything that wasn’t there before — it’s just doing a better job of adapting the metadata to a TV that wasn’t super well-equipped to handle it.

Dolby Vision 2 Max can even do this with motion processing: On the backend, Dolby Vision 2 Max now allows content creators to dial in how much motion smoothing they want at any given moment in a show or movie.

Quickly panning the Fields of Pelennor in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King might require a lot of motion processing to prevent judder from occurring. The next minute, you might not want any motion processing at all when King Théoden gives his inspirational speech to the Rohirrim. Dolby Vision 2 Max will allow for both.

There’s just two major problems here…

The good news is that, right out of the gate, all Dolby Vision 2 TVs will be backwards-compatible with regular Dolby Vision content. If you have one of your favorite films in Dolby Vision on 4K Blu-ray, that won’t suddenly stop working when Dolby Vision 2 becomes available.

The bad news is that Dolby Vision 2 does require specific chipsets to work properly. At launch that’s limited to the MediaTek Pentonic 800 SoC. Dolby is working with MediaTek and other manufacturers to bring it to a wider variety of TVs, but for now, that’s the only chip with a portion dedicated to processing Dolby Vision’s algorithm.

The translation here is that, if a TV maker doesn’t decide to use the Pentonic 800 as the brains behind its next budget TV, then you can’t get all of those cool features I just mentioned. You’ll be stuck with regular Dolby Vision.

Another issue is that Dolby Vision 2 Max can’t magically conjure up new metadata for motion smoothing. Although it wasn’t explicitly said, the implication was that creators are going to have to go in and add that metadata themselves — a process that Dolby says is easy but still a hassle for any editor who’s already gone through and spent time adding metadata to their creations.

These are issues that content creators will have to iron out — and until they're integrated into a creator’s workflow, the Dolby Vision 2 content well will remain dry.

Dolby Vision 2: Outlook

In the end, Dolby can't make Vision 2 happen by itself. It needs creators, TV manufacturers, streaming services and even chip makers to all be on-board with the program.

But it's something Dolby has done in the past when it rolled out the original outline for Dolby Vision a decade ago. Slowly but surely more and more creatives and manufacturers came into the fold and, before long, there was plenty of content.

Why is any of that important for you as a regular ol' TV buyer? Well, the sooner we see widespread adoption, the sooner TV manufacturers will have the incentive to put Dolby Vision 2 into every model in its lineup. And that's a big win for everybody.

More from Tom's Guide

• Samsung's new Micro RGB TV lineup will go toe-to-toe with LG at CES 2026
• Micro RGB vs OLED TVs: What’s the difference?
• CES 2026 Preview: 6 biggest trends to watch

When it comes to making movies look exactly how their director intended, Dolby Vision is often considered to be the best HDR format — and if you have a compatible TV, chances are you're watching content in Dolby Vision without even necessarily realizing it.

But there’s a slightly newer and even more advanced version of Dolby Vision, called Dolby Vision IQ, that launched in 2020 and has become more widespread in the years since. It aims to solve a few of the major issues that you might have experienced when watching your favorite movies or TV shows.

But how exactly does it differ from regular Dolby Vision, and do you need one of the best TVs to experience it for yourself?

What is Dolby Vision IQ and how does it work?

Dolby describes Dolby Vision IQ as the next step of HDR. Put simply, it's a new-and-improved version of Dolby Vision, which is an HDR format that many TVs support...well, not Samsung ones. As you might expect, it's Dolby's proprietary HDR format and sits alongside other formats like HDR10 and HDR10+.

The biggest improvement to Dolby Vision IQ is that it's designed to adjust the picture and optimize Dolby Vision content depending on the brightness level of your physical room. In particular, it's supposed to address those dark TV shows where you can't see what's happening on the screen and can't see any details. That has been a problem in everything from Ozark to some episodes of Game of Thrones.

So how does it work? Regular Dolby Vision does not leverage your room's brightness to optimize content, and that’s the main difference between the two formats. That, however, doesn't mean that your TV isn't using its own tricks to sense brightness levels and adjust the image quality accordingly.

There is a difference between how Dolby Vision IQ works and how your TV’s regular ol’ brightness sensing works though. When your TV adjusts screen brightness using its light sensor outside of Dolby Vision IQ, it's really just increasing or decreasing the overall brightness for the purpose of making it easier to see the content as a whole while saving energy. When your TV does this, it makes a global adjustment that affects all of the content on the screen, regardless of the HDR format that the content you're watching might be in.

Dolby Vision IQ works a little differently. Instead of simply turning down the overall brightness in a dark room, it uses ambient brightness levels in tandem with the dynamic metadata in Dolby Vision content to more finely tune how content is presented. More specifically, in dark rooms, the image isn't really tweaked or changed at all, leaving the dynamic range completely intact, including those brighter highlights. It's only really in brighter settings where content is brightened a little bit while still preserving much of the dynamic range, making details in darker scenes more visible.

There is some additional metadata in Dolby Vision IQ content that identifies the kind of content that it is. According to Dolby, this so-called L11 metadata can be the default, movies, games, sports, or user-generated content. This metadata is not required for Dolby Vision IQ to work, but if included, it might allow your TV to adjust viewing modes according to the content that you're watching.

None of that happens with regular Dolby Vision content, which will still look excellent in a dark room, but may be hard to make out when there are dark scenes in a movie or TV show and you're in a brighter environment.

How to get Dolby Vision IQ on your TV

Unfortunately, getting Dolby Vision IQ for yourself isn't quite as easy as just having a TV that supports Dolby Vision and has a light sensor. As mentioned, much of the time, light sensors aren't used for HDR tone mapping at all, instead simply being used globally to adjust overall brightness.

The good news, however, is that content doesn't need to be specifically formatted for Dolby Vision IQ. All Dolby Vision content supports Dolby Vision IQ, with the only difference being that the content is adjusted dynamically using the brightness level in your viewing environment.

These days, there are plenty of TVs that support Dolby Vision IQ. Most recent Hisense and TCL TVs support the format, as do LG's and Sony’s top TVs. Samsung is perhaps the major exception, which is unsurprising given the fact that Samsung TVs don't support Dolby Vision in general.

That doesn't necessarily mean you should run out and buy a new TV just for Dolby Vision IQ support, especially if the room that you usually watch content in is darker or you haven't experienced issues around content being too dark.

Yes, it's a handy add-on, and if your TV supports Dolby Vision IQ already, it's definitely worth enabling. But if your TV simply supports regular old Dolby Vision, rest assured that you're still getting a great viewing experience — you might just need to turn up the brightness every now and then if you're watching particularly dark content, or let your TV handle brightness adjustments with the knowledge that the image quality might not be quite as precise as Dolby would have liked.

If you are looking to upgrade to a Dolby Vision IQ-equipped TV, consider the LG C5 OLED, our pick for the best OLED TV of 2025.

More from Tom's Guide

• I'm a TV expert and this is the one picture mode you should avoid at all costs
• Here's why you should never throw out the box that came with your TV
• I’ve set up hundreds of TVs in my career — here are 6 mistakes people make when setting up a new TV

Samsung is behind some of the best TVs in the world. It’s also the only major TV-maker to outright reject one of the most sought-after features on TVs today.

Since the format’s inception, Samsung has refused to support Dolby Vision, one of the most popular ways to experience HDR content. The brand’s TVs are better than ever, but to home theater enthusiasts and cinephiles around the world, their lack of Dolby Vision support is a glaring omission.

With the recent announcement of Dolby Vision 2 — an updated version of the format that will soon be making its way to the top-tier TVs of tomorrow — the time has come for Samsung to embrace Dolby Vision.

Why Dolby Vision matters

Dolby Vision is a version of HDR that leverages metadata embedded within content. This metadata tells your TV how the picture should look on a moment-to-moment basis, ensuring that the show or movie looks as close to what the creator intended as possible.

But Dolby Vision licensing comes at a cost — one that Samsung hasn’t been willing to pay. Instead, the TV-maker equips its HDR-capable TVs with HDR10+, a royalty-free HDR format that essentially works in a similar fashion to Dolby Vision.

As a result, while Samsung TVs are equipped to showcase the relatively limited amount of HDR10+-mastered content out in the wild on various platforms, they’re not equipped to do so for Dolby Vision, the more popular of the two formats.

If you queue up a Dolby Vision-mastered movie or TV show — on, say, Netflix — your HDR-ready Samsung TV won’t quite be showing it in the way it was technically meant to be seen. Depending on the TV, the content in question might still look incredible, but it won’t have the Dolby Vision seal of approval.

So, does Dolby Vision support matter? It depends on who you ask.

For many people, a Samsung TV’s lack of Dolby Vision means very little, and it’s easy to see why. TV marketing terms are notoriously complicated — why should one less feature matter, especially if the TV looks good?

For some A/V enthusiasts, though, the perspective is different: There’s a gaping, Dolby Vision-shaped hole at the center of every Samsung TV, and this omission ought to be carefully considered when figuring out which TV is worth buying.

Regardless of where you land in this (admittedly nerdy) debate, one thing is very much true: Since the quality of Dolby Vision content ultimately comes down to the performance capabilities of any given TV, the question of whether or not Dolby Vision is worth it is more relevant the higher up you shop.

And, since the soon-to-be-released Dolby Vision 2 is designed in part to meet the performance of rapidly improving, high-end TVs, there’s never been a more opportune time for the prominent TV brand to get on board.

Will Samsung TVs support Dolby Vision 2?

There’s no indication that Samsung is gearing up to bring Dolby Vision or Dolby Vision 2 support to any of its current or upcoming TVs, and while it wouldn’t surprise me if that were to suddenly change, I would be just as unsurprised if Samsung TVs remained Dolby Vision-free for years to come.

The recent rollout of HDR10+ content on Netflix represents a sizable boon for the royalty-free Dolby Vision alternative — and for Samsung TV owners who stream their fair share of Netflix shows.

But the advent of Dolby Vision 2 presents an opportunity for Samsung to adopt the format, and for some of its top-performing TVs to add the only significant feature they’ve been missing for several years.

The Samsung S95F OLED, for instance, is one of the best TVs of the year — OLED or otherwise. Its picture quality is among the best I’ve ever seen, and it’s packed with enough gaming features to remain a powerful gaming TV for years to come.

But, like all Samsung TVs, the S95F snubs Dolby Vision. If I was in the market for an ultra-premium TV, I wouldn’t let this get in my way from buying it, but there are plenty of folks out there who would.

If Samsung were to incorporate Dolby Vision 2 support in future TVs — even just the top-tier sets — it would change the calculus for a certain type of shopper.

A total adoption of the format for all or most of its TV lineup might change the course of Dolby Vision’s future, too.

More from Tom's Guide

• Do you actually need Dolby Vision on your next TV? Here's the answer
• I'm a TV expert and this is the one picture mode you should avoid at all costs
• I’ve set up hundreds of TVs in my career — here are 6 mistakes people make when setting up a new TV

Just when you thought you’d finally made sense of all the jargon on the side of a TV box, another one surfaces.

Dolby — the A/V tech giant whose fingerprints are all over the entertainment industry — recently announced a follow-up to its popular enhanced HDR format, Dolby Vision. It’s called Dolby Vision 2, and soon, you’ll be seeing TVs that carry its certification.

But before you deem your current TV obsolete, let’s go over what Dolby Vision 2 brings to the table and whether or not you need it.

Dolby Vision: a refresher

In a nutshell, HDR (High Dynamic Range) is a format designed to take advantage of the improved capabilities of modern displays. It enhances contrast and color, delivering a better, more-immersive picture.

By default, all HDR-ready TVs support a base-level format called HDR10. In addition, most HDR TVs come with additional, enhanced HDR formats: either Dolby Vision, HDR10+, or both.

These formats work in largely the same way: They leverage dynamic metadata to optimize the picture in real time, presenting it in a carefully controlled manner that ensures that content looks as close to the creator's intent as possible on your own TV.

Dolby Vision is the more popular of the two formats, and there’s a wide array of streaming content, Blu-ray discs and video games mastered for the format. However, its certification comes at a cost for TV-makers, so many TVs support the royalty-free version — HDR10+ — exclusively. You can still find content mastered for HDR10+ across various streaming services (like Amazon Prime Video), but it’s nowhere near as prolific.

Famously, no Samsung TV supports Dolby Vision — not even the best Samsung TVs money can buy. If you watch a Netflix title mastered for Dolby Vision on a Samsung TV, it’ll fall back to HDR10 by default. Depending on the Samsung TV, this could still look stunning, but the TV isn’t dialed into the data that would bring it as close as possible to the creator’s intent.

Which brings me to a crucial point in understanding Dolby Vision, and ultimately, Dolby Vision 2: It only looks as good as the TV itself.

I’ve seen Dolby Vision-certified TVs whose Dolby Vision-enhanced picture looks dark, washed out and otherwise unremarkable, and I’ve seen TVs that don’t support Dolby Vision whose basic HDR performance has left me speechless.

This is because Dolby Vision — and all HDR content — relies on the capabilities of your TV’s hardware. If you buy a so-so TV, prepare for so-so Dolby Vision. The TV box could wear the Dolby Vision label proudly and prominently, but if its subpar picture isn’t that impressive, switching into Dolby Vision mode won’t make it much better.

Here’s an easy, shorthand way to think about all of this: The higher the performance of the TV you’re shopping for, the more you ought to be considering whether or not you need Dolby Vision.

Dolby Vision vs Dolby Vision 2: What’s the difference?

As of September 2025, only a handful of details have been made available about the newest version of Dolby Vision. We’ll update this page as information comes to light, but here’s what we know so far about Dolby Vision 2.

For the first time, the new, enhanced HDR format will give filmmakers the ability to embed scene-by-scene metadata to adjust motion handling on the fly. Dubbed Authentic Motion, Dolby is calling this feature "the world’s first driven creative motion control tool.”

We’ll know more about Authentic Motion in the coming months. I typically recommend that viewers disable motion smoothing on their TV during cinematic content, so I’m curious to see how this dynamic motion control affects the picture.

Another feature new to Dolby Vision 2 is called Content Intelligence. It seeks to give content creators greater flexibility when it comes to showcasing their work on different TVs across varied viewing environments. Or, if you ask Dolby, Content Intelligence is a way to “authentically and automatically optimize your TV to deliver a more captivating picture based on what you’re watching and where you are watching.”

Once again, details remain scarce about Content Intelligence, but Dolby claims that it will leverage the light sensor on TVs to adjust the picture based on ambient lighting conditions. The exact manner in which this differs from Dolby Vision IQ is unclear, but the brand says that it aims to solve the common complaint of conventional Dolby Vision content appearing too dark.

Pretty much everything else is up in the air. It’s not yet known what performance benchmarks the format is designed to meet (though original Dolby Vision supports a peak brightness of up to 10,000 nits — something that no commercially available TV can currently reach).

There’s also a higher-tiered version of this format that will launch alongside it called Dolby Vision 2 Max. In its press release, Dolby says that this version “delivers the best picture on the highest performing TVs,” so we can only assume that it will be made available on the best TVs with the highest performance ceilings.

When can you get Dolby Vision 2 (and do you need it)?

Currently, the only TVs confirmed to carry the Dolby Vision 2 specification are a pair of recently announced Hisense TVs. The Hisense 116UX and 110UX — the first models to feature Hisense’s RGB Mini-LED technology — will also be among the first to support the format.

At the time of publishing, no other TVs (available or otherwise) are confirmed to support Dolby Vision 2 or Dolby Vision 2 Max.

That doesn’t mean that Dolby Vision 2 is too far off. If I were to guess, I’d say that we’ll start seeing support roll out on 2026 TVs.

Hardware is only half of the equation, though. Just as good ol’ fashioned Dolby Vision content needs to be made available by Netflix, game developers and movie studios, so too will Dolby Vision 2 content.

Currently, the only company committed to platforming Dolby Vision 2 content is CANAL+, a French streaming service. Again — this doesn’t mean that Dolby Vision 2 won’t eventually make its way to your go-to streaming service and, eventually, your Blu-ray shelf. It just might take a while to achieve the level of proliferation we see in Dolby Vision.

For now, I’m keeping this space open to provide updated information as it arrives. I’m predicting that we’ll see a flurry of new details at CES 2026, where many TV brands will be unveiling next-year’s most impressive models.

More from Tom's Guide

• Do you actually need Dolby Vision on your next TV? Here's the answer
• I'm a TV expert and this is the one picture mode you should avoid at all costs
• I’ve set up hundreds of TVs in my career — here are 6 mistakes people make when setting up a new TV

If you read any review of the best TVs from the last 10 years, chances are good that you’ll see the words "Dolby Vision" in there somewhere. Dolby has created one of the most universally supported HDR formats in the world — and now, it’s ready to roll out its successor, Dolby Vision 2.

According to information sent to Tom’s Guide, Dolby Vision 2 will make its debut at IFA 2025 this week. Key improvements that Dolby plans to implement this time around include Authentic Motion, "the world’s first driven creative motion control tool," and Content Intelligence, a feature that allows for the format to have greater control over your TV’s settings.

The first TVs to support the format will be Hisense’s recently announced RGB-MiniLEDs, though the exact rollout date is still up in the air.

A new era for HDR

When the original Dolby Vision launched, it set a high bar for TV manufacturers. It was designed to support a peak brightness of 10,000 nits, a maximum resolution of 8K, and 12-bit color right out of the gate.

Over a decade later, the premium TVs from Samsung, Sony and Hisense are still nowhere near those numbers.

It’s a good thing, then, that instead of upping the specs and calling it a day, Dolby Vision 2 looks to correct some of the issues TV enthusiasts had with the original format, like overly dark scenes and improved bi-directional tone-mapping that will allow for more colorful SDR to HDR conversions.

All these features are part of the aforementioned Content Intelligence tool set that Dolby Vision 2 will offer, while Authentic Motion will give filmmakers the ability to add motion settings to the metadata of every scene.

Combine them, and Dolby says that you’re going to get a significantly better experience when watching shows and films in HDR.

The two types of Dolby Vision 2

Of course, any time there’s a new HDR format introduced there’s always going to be some confusion — and Dolby Vision 2 is certainly following in that direction.

Apparently, Dolby Vision 2 will be available in two flavors: base Dolby Vision 2 and Dolby Vision 2 Max. The former will offer all of the above while the latter will introduce new features exclusive to flagship TVs with higher specs.

Currently it’s unclear what those extra features are and what, exactly, the cut-off point is for TVs to support the base version versus the high-end format.

In the description sent to Tom’s Guide, Dolby says Hisense will be the first to adopt the new format on TVs powered by MediaTek’s Pentonic 800 SoC with "MiraVision Pro" PQ Engine, "the first silicon chip to integrate Dolby Vision 2."

How those Hisense TVs stack up against future LG OLEDs, Sony QD-OLEDs and TCL Mini-LED TVs isn’t exactly clear at the moment. As it stands, LG, Sony and TCL support Dolby Vision in its current iteration and it seems likely that they will want to support Dolby Vision 2 when that technology becomes available to them, but that could ultimately depend on how the format is implemented.

Can you watch anything in Dolby Vision 2?

Dolby looks set to use IFA to make its Vision 2 announcement because the first streaming service signed up for the format is CANAL+, a video-on-demand service in France.

Again, it seems likely that we’ll see all of the current streaming services that support Dolby Vision (Apple TV Plus, Netflix, Disney Plus, HBO Max) support its successor, but those deals are probably still in the works at the moment.

Keep in mind that, not only are we going to need streaming services to be on-board with it, but we’ll need content mastered in the format before we can actually watch it ourselves. It’s these hurdles that are preventing Dolby from being more specific in its launch plans.

For now, Dolby's keeping all of that extra information under wraps, but due to the imminent arrival of the new format, those details should be coming sooner rather than later.

More from Tom's Guide

• Does your OLED TV look funny? Here are 5 common issues and how to diagnose them
• I'm a TV expert and this is the one picture mode you should avoid at all costs
• I’ve set up hundreds of TVs in my career — here are 6 mistakes people make when setting up a new TV

Netflix has grown from supporting High Dynamic Range (HDR) in a limited capacity nearly a decade ago with the release of Marco Polo to it now being the norm across the company’s original content.

In all there are over 11,000 hours of HDR content to stream on the platform, and with the right display, this delivers more realistic shades and colors for a more cinematic experience in your own living room.

But there isn’t just one flavor of HDR, and owners of TVs that only support HDR10+ rather than Dolby Vision have been out of luck, with Netflix not supporting the format. Now, however, Netflix has corrected that oversight and HDR10+ support is ready to roll out.

Netflix HDR10+ support on the way

“We are excited to announce that we are now streaming HDR10+ content on our service for AV1-enabled devices, enhancing the viewing experience for certified HDR10+ devices, which previously only received HDR10 content,” the company wrote on its Netflix Technology Blog.

AV1 is the standard for streaming 4K video without consuming vast amounts of data, and has been in use by Netflix for some time. AV1-SDR is now, according to the company, second only to H.264/AVC in terms of codec popularity, which isn’t bad going as that’s been in use for more than 20 years.

“With the addition of HDR10+ streams to AV1, we expect the day is not far when AV1 will be the most streamed codec at Netflix,” Netflix added.

In all, AV1-HDR10+ content is available on “50% of all eligible viewing hours” — so around 5,500 hours worth of content. Netflix says that the aim is to ensure that all HDR titles are compatible by the end of 2025.

What devices support HDR10+?

In addition to having a device that supports HDR10+ and a compatible show or movie on hand to stream, you must have a Netflix Premium account to enjoy HDR content.

If you have one of the best TVs — which tend to already support the popular Dolby Vision format — you likely won’t see a difference. The big exception is Samsung, which still doesn’t support Dolby Vision, so owners of the company’s TVs definitely have something to smile about.

If you want to see if your device supports HDR10+, check out the official HDR10+ certified products tool. You can select by product type and by brand. For example, the Samsung Galaxy S25 series supports the standard, as does a wide range of TVs from Hisense and Roku.

Seeing the HDR10+ difference

If your device doesn’t support Dolby Vision but does offer HDR in some capacity, it’ll be using basic HDR10 on Netflix, rather than the ‘+’ variant. This uses “static metadata that is defined once for the entire content” allowing for a “one-size-fits-all tone mapping”, as the company explains.

By contrast, advanced versions of HDR like HDR10+ and Dolby Vision use dynamic metadata that “provides content image statistics on a per-frame basis, enabling optimized tone mapping adjustments for each scene”.

Netflix demonstrates the difference with the following two images. The top one is HDR10, while the bottom one is HDR10+.

At a glance, they look similar, but pay close attention to the flashlight in the middle of the image, and the differences are obvious.

Not only can you see three distinct bulbs rather than a single bright circle, but the document it’s resting upon is actually visible, rather than being lost in a sea of overexposure as it is with HDR10.

“The reason HDR10+, with its dynamic metadata, shines in this example is that the scenes preceding and following the scene with this frame have markedly different luminance statistics,” Netflix explains. “The static HDR10 metadata is unable to account for the change in the content.”

More from Tom's Guide

• 5 movies like 'The Electric State' but better
• Netflix just got this action crime thriller with Gerard Butler
• Netflix movies and shows I can’t wait to watch this spring

On some 4K TVs, you'll find an option buried in the settings menu for something that refers to dynamic tone mapping or active tone mapping.

If you've happened to glance at this setting, ignored it and moved on, I don't blame you — it's a jargony collection of words and there's a good chance you already like how your TV looks.

However, if you're curious about this setting, I'm here to help clear the air. Depending on your viewing habits, you might find it to be useful.

What is tone mapping?

To understand tone mapping (and your TV’s dynamic tone mapping setting), let’s start with HDR.

These days, most TVs support High Dynamic Range (HDR), a picture format designed to take advantage of modern display capabilities — namely, their added brightness and color volume.

As a result, an affordable, entry-level HDR TV — like the Samsung Q60D — doesn’t look as impressive when displaying HDR shows and movies as a higher-end TV, like the Samsung S95D. The S95D is one of the best OLED TVs on the market, and its superior brightness, color and overall contrast allow it to showcase HDR content in a way the ultra-affordable Q60D just can’t touch.

But despite its comparatively dim picture, the Q60D will still do a pretty decent job at displaying HDR content, and that’s due to a process called tone mapping.

If a filmmaker masters an HDR movie for a peak brightness of 1,000 nits, most TVs won’t be able to reach that mark. With tone mapping, those mastering decisions can be adjusted to fit within a lesser display’s capabilities. That movie won’t look nearly as good on the Q60D as the S95D, but at the very least, it won’t look blown-out and weird.

Now that we’ve got a foundational understanding of HDR and tone mapping, let’s talk about dynamic tone mapping.

What is dynamic tone mapping for TVs?

There’s a very good chance your HDR TV supports either HDR10+, Dolby Vision or both. HDR10+ is more or less a royalty-free version of Dolby Vision, and both operate by embedding dynamic metadata into every scene of whatever you’re watching.

This allows your HDR TV to tap into a whole world of information from the filmmaker about how that content should look, frame by frame. It’s one of the reasons people are excited to watch movies and shows mastered for HDR10+ and Dolby Vision, as it does an exceptional job of preserving the creator’s intent.

Some TVs offer dynamic tone mapping, which aims to apply a similar process to HDR content that isn’t packed with metadata for your TV to analyze. Rather than read frame-by-frame metadata, dynamic tone mapping analyzes each frame and does its best to adjust the picture in real time.

Should I use my TV’s dynamic tone mapping setting?

If you’re not watching HDR content mastered for Dolby Vision or HDR10+, you may have the option to toggle this feature on and off.

Depending on your TV, this setting might be called Dynamic Tone Mapping, Active Tone Mapping (versus Static Tone Mapping) or Dynamic HDR (versus Standard HDR).

If you really want to get into the weeds, some newer TVs — like the LG G4 OLED — offer in-depth, “Professional” Dynamic Tone Mapping settings that allow the user to go even deeper into the dynamic tone mapping functionality.

Whether or not you should use these settings is a matter of personal preference. You may find that some HDR content — YouTube videos, Netflix shows and streaming services — are visually enhanced by your TV’s dynamic tone mapping setting. Colors might seem more vibrant and highlight detail (like the clouds closest to a blazingly bright sun) might come in more clearly.

However, I’ve often found this setting to be inconsistent. Darker scenes sometimes appear too bright with visual artifacts, or too dark and flat. It all depends on the TV and the content in question.

If you own a higher-end TV (like one of the top models in our best TVs round-up) and you’re committed to preserving the creator’s intent as much as possible, I recommend keeping this setting off by default, then adjusting it on the fly if you’re not watching Dolby Vision or HDR10+ content.

If you own a mid-range HDR TV (like the value-forward TCL QM6K Mini-LED TV), there’s a good chance you stand to get more out of this feature on account of the TV’s relatively limited performance — at least compared to a top-shelf model.

As with all things TV settings-related, it all comes down to what you think looks best.

More from Tom's Guide

• Tired of hard-to-hear dialogue on your TV? Here's how to fix it once and for all
• Do you actually need Dolby Vision on your next TV? Here's the answer
• Don't get scammed: Here's how to buy the right replacement remote for your TV

Your Super Bowl party might have just gotten better.

Comcast and Dolby just announced that Super Bowl 2025 will be broadcast in Dolby Vision, bolstered by Dolby Atmos sound. There's a catch, though: These formats will only be available to Xfinity TV customers as part of the company's Enhanced 4K coverage, either by way of the Xfinity X1 box or the Xfinity Stream app.

Dolby Vision is a proprietary HDR format designed to make use of the high-contrast and voluminous colors associated with modern displays, while Dolby Atmos is an enhanced spatial audio format that creates an immersive, three-dimensional sound experience.

In addition to Xfinity Enhanced 4K access, you'll also need a TV that supports both Dolby Vision. This rules out every Samsung TV on the market, as the brand doesn't offer this feature on any of its TVs.

And, while plenty of TVs support Dolby Vision as a spec, not every TV is equipped to make the most out of the format. In other words, the fact that your TV has "Dolby Vision" printed on the box doesn't necessarily mean that you'll notice a difference in picture quality while Dolby Vision content is playing.

The good news is that there's still time to upgrade your living room ahead of the Super Bowl. In addition to the Dolby Vision stamp, look for TVs that offer high brightness and excellent color volume. Some of the best TVs on the market— like the award-winning Hisense U8N — check all of these boxes. You don't have to spend an arm and a leg to make the most out of Dolby Vision.

If you want to take advantage of Dolby Atmos audio, you'll need a sound system that supports Dolby Atmos. We recommend one of the best soundbars for Dolby Atmos, which will go a long way toward improving the overall audio experience of your viewing environment.

To learn more about HDR formats before you shop, check out our guide on whether or not you need Dolby Vision.

More from Tom's Guide

• This fantastic LG OLED is back down to its Black Friday price just in time for the Super Bowl
• Hurry! This 55-inch TCL Mini-LED TV just crashed to under $500 in time for the Super Bowl
• 5 Super Bowl TV settings you need to change to get the best picture for the big game

One of the benefits of current-gen consoles from Microsoft and Sony are their ability to play Blu-rays — and that includes newer, 4K discs that collectors like myself love to stock our shelves with.

If you own an Xbox Series X or a PlayStation 5, there's a good chance that you've settled into a carefree state regarding your console's disc-playing abilities. You put in the disc and the disc spins, be it a game, an old-school DVD, or a fancy, new 4K.

For most people, this is an ideal relationship, and one that I'd rather not break up. However, if you're the type of person who wants to make the most of what you own (perhaps have shelves worth of high-quality Blu-rays, too), let me bend your ear about dedicated Blu-ray players. You just might want one.

Your console could struggle with certain Blu-ray discs

Let me start by saying that, throughout my time using an Xbox Series X to play 4K Blu-rays, I did not experience major playback issues that would get in the way of a viewing.

If you take a trip around the web, however, you'll find a never-ending stream of message board posts, comment section rants, and tech support queries where Xbox Series X owners bemoan their console's inability to play 100GB Blu-ray (often called "triple-layered") discs. Based on these accounts, the issues don't affect all Blu-rays of this capacity, but it speaks to the Xbox Series X's limitations as a part-time Blu-ray player.

Reports of the PS5 struggling with triple-layered Blu-rays are few and far between, so my assumption is that you're more likely to encounter playback issues of this sort with an Xbox.

But beyond basic functionality, the real sticking point lies in how Blu-rays end up looking.

Movies look better on a 4K Blu-ray player

If you own an affordable, middle-of-the-road TV, you're not very picky about picture quality, and if you've never had playback issues with your console, you probably don't need to shell out for a 4K Blu-ray player. There's a good chance you wouldn't notice the difference given the limitations of your TV.

However, if you own (or are planning on owning) a higher-end TV — perhaps one of the best TVs available — you owe it to yourself to make the jump to a dedicated Blu-ray player. For one thing, you won't have to fumble around with a confounded controller every time you want to pause a flick or jump back to the main menu.

More importantly, these Blu-ray players are better-equipped than your Xbox or PS5 to take advantage of your TV's capabilities — the very same capabilities that you spent your hard-earned money on. Dedicated players are built from the ground up for making stuff look really good. Your Xbox is designed to be a gaming console first, and if it has time, it'll try its best with your "Jurassic Park" Blu-ray.

But the biggest reason an A/V enthusiast would be better off with a dedicated player has to do with the world's most popular HDR format: Dolby Vision.

Xbox Series X and PS5 don't support Dolby Vision on discs

I recently did a deep dive into the subject of whether or not you need Dolby Vision on your next TV. My feelings on the matter haven't changed: If you're an A/V enthusiast who wants an all-encompassing home theater setup, Dolby Vision is worth your attention. It's the most popular HDR format, after all.

As of now, PlayStation 5 does not support Dolby Vision — not for games, streaming, or Blu-rays. Xbox Series X, on the other hand, does support Dolby Vision, but only for digital games and streaming apps. In other words, if you try to play a Dolby Vision-mastered Blu-ray via the Xbox Series X, you're getting stock HDR10. It's not a bad consolation prize, it's just not the real deal. It won't look quite the same as it was intended to look.

Once again, this probably won't be an issue if your modest, entry-level TV struggles to adequately showcase HDR content to begin with. If you spent hours researching your next TV, whittling down the choices, saving up money, ultimately deciding to go with a top-tier TV that supports (and can make the most of) Dolby Vision, I see no reason to compromise on this. It makes sense for you to have a Blu-ray player that supports it.

Which 4K Blu-ray player should I buy?

Here at Tom's Guide, our favorite 4K Blu-ray player doesn't come cheap, but it also won't set you back an arm and a leg, like this $1,000 Blu-ray player.

The Panasonic DP-UB820-K supports HDR10, HDR10+, and yes, even Dolby Vision. It's a popular pick among both casual and dedicated home theater-enjoyers, and unlike your Xbox, it's well-equipped to handle whatever triple-layer Blu-ray you happen to throw at it. Right now, the Panasonic DP-UB820-K is on sale at Amazon for around $400.

If $400 is too rich for your taste, you could always step down to the Panasonic DP-UB420-K, on sale for about $250 on Amazon. This model doesn't support Dolby Vision, unfortunately (though it's almost certainly a better-performing player than your Xbox Series X or PS5).

More from Tom's Guide

• ATSC 3.0 Tuners — do you really need one on your 2024 TV?
• The best looking 4K Blu-ray I’ve ever seen is definitely not the movie you’re expecting
• Do you actually need Dolby Vision on your next TV? Here's the answer

Of all the HDR-related questions I field when helping people find the best TV for their home, there's one I get more than all else: "Do I really need Dolby Vision?"

Of the enhanced HDR formats, Dolby Vision is the most prolific. You see its name splashed across Blu-ray covers and above movie theater doors. It's all over streaming platforms.

Despite its ubiquity, you may be surprised to learn that, for most people, it's not as essential as they might've been led to believe. For others, buying a new TV without its label on the box isn't an option.

Let's figure out where you fall.

What is Dolby Vision?

Let's back up a bit. All HDR-ready TVs support something called HDR10 by default. It's elemental. Beyond that, an HDR TV is likely to come with either Dolby Vision, HDR10+, or — if you're lucky — both.

Dolby Vision and HDR10+ work in largely the same manner: by leveraging dynamic metadata in real time to optimize the picture, presenting it in a carefully controlled manner that allows your brand-new TV to make it look its best. In very simple terms, both of these HDR formats work to make sure the content you're watching gets as close to the creator's intent as possible on your own TV.

Dolby Vision is the more popular format. You can find a host of Dolby Vision-mastered titles on streaming platforms like Netflix, Apple TV+, and across more Blu-rays than I can count. It's a proprietary format, so Dolby oversees its application.

HDR10+ is also widely available on platforms like Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and others. It works similarly to Dolby Vision (though Dolby argues that its version of HDR is more bespoke since it offers frame-by-frame metadata), but to the everyday movie-lover the biggest difference between the two comes down to the availability of supported content.

Do I need Dolby Vision for movies and TV shows?

There's no way around it: If you want to watch Dolby Vision content in its intended format, you need a Dolby Vision TV.

The inclusion of Dolby Vision support won't enhance basic HDR10 content, though, so its benefits are limited to movies and shows that are mastered for it.

On a TV that doesn't offer it, Dolby Vision content will likely fall back to HDR10. You can still watch the movie (and it'll likely look great on a good TV), but it won't be optimized in the same way.

Do I need Dolby Vision for gaming?

For video games, the landscape is a bit different.

Titles mastered for Dolby Vision natively are few and far between, and right now, you'll only find them on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S. The PlayStation 5 showcases HDR titles in HDR10.

In recent years, from what I've gathered from friends, acquaintances, and readers, Dolby Vision gaming on Xbox is divisive. At times, I've found that it does increase the impact of HDR on titles that were natively mastered for the format, but only when the game is being presented on a TV with the performance chops to make the most of HDR to begin with (the keys being high contrast and ample color volume).

In rare cases, I've found that certain titles appear too dim with Dolby Vision enabled. And while I don't feel that way often, you don't have to search high and low to find reader comments and forum posts by folks who share the sentiment. Some prefer how their TV presents these games in stock HDR, either due to apparent dimness, a lack of fine detail, or another closely held preference.

There are a number of factors at play: the TV in question, which settings are enabled, and what the room conditions are while gaming, just to name a few. You also have to factor in the developers' intent. It's possible that the game was meant to appear dimmer than most, but by the time it's rendered on a mid-range TV during the day, it's downright darker than it ought to look.

So, who is Dolby Vision for?

The people who stand to get the most out of a TV with Dolby Vision support are those that fit the following criteria: recognizing the value in preserving a creator's intent and, more importantly, having a completionist's mindset when it comes to home entertainment. That second part is more important, as the HDR10+ alternative still does a bang-up job at leveraging metadata.

We should also be clear-eyed about what we mean when we ask ourselves if Dolby Vision is a necessity. Since Samsung is the only major TV brand that currently doesn't offer Dolby Vision support in any of its TVs, it would probably help to phrase the question differently.

Is a Samsung TV's lack of Dolby Vision a deal-breaker?

If you spend some time chewing on it, you probably know the answer to this question better than I do, but I'll offer up my perspective: No, I wouldn't let a lack of Dolby Vision get in the way of a Samsung TV that caught my eye.

For me, given the relative scarcity of Dolby Vision-mastered Xbox titles, the question mostly comes down to Blu-rays and streaming titles. And, while it's nice to have the compatibility in my back pocket when reaching for one of my favorite Dolby Vision-mastered Blu-rays, I've seen these titles reduced to HDR10 on Samsung TVs, and the results are perfectly fine (and often sensational-looking).

Obviously, an HDR10 picture on a flagship-level TV is going to look better than a Dolby Vision-mastered picture on a budget-friendly TV. But if you compare both formats across two TVs of roughly the same price, the difference in picture quality is likely to come down to factors outside of the formats themselves, like the type of display technology in use.

But, by all means, search your feelings before making a choice.

Are you going to feel like your missing out if your home theater setup doesn't cover the HDR gamut? Only you know the answer to that.

More from Tom's Guide

• ATSC 3.0 Tuners — do you really need one on your 2024 TV?
• What is TV glare and how do you get rid of it?
• What size TV should you buy?

Amazon Prime Video's new ad-free subscription plan went live now nearly 2 weeks ago and users are already starting to see additional differences between the more expensive option and the ad tier — namely the absence of Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos.

These streaming quality changes were first spotted by German news site 4Kfilme, as many Prime Video users started to notice the dip in quality. 

Various tests were conducted across a wide range of  the best TVs, which included Sony, LG, TCL, and Samsung models. It should be noted that Samsung TVs do not support Dolby Vision HDR content, though it and Google are working on their own iteration of the tech standard.

While other audio and visual technologies still exist, like 5.1 surround sound, 4K resolution, HDR10, and HDR10+, the loss of both Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos is quite the change — especially given the fact that Amazon has seemingly given no word on this disparity.

The new price for Dolby Vision & Atmos support

Amazon Prime Video's new more expensive ad-free tier first rolled out to customers starting on January 29th in the US and later for folks in the UK, Germany, and Canada on February 6th. The price hike adds $2.99/£2.99 to the monthly subscription simply to cut out annoying ad breaks in the middle of Prime movies and shows.

Following the upgrade, Prime Video customers will once more gain access to both Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. Amazon itself has confirmed the tech downgrade for ad tier subscribers to Forbes, thus ensuring users that it is not a technical mistake.

Confusingly, users on the basic tier Prime Video subscription will still have access to the alternative HDR formats of both HDR10 and HDR10+, as well as 5.1 surround sound. It’s unclear if these might be pushed into the premium plan later down the line, but currently it seems they will remain in Prime’s basic plan.

Amazon gave no mention of these changes prior to users discovering the alteration. It’s yet another instance of Amazon pushing for better ways to monetize. However, with alternatives to both Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos on the near horizon, several may not even want the upgrade or need it to begin with.

A Dolby Vision & Dolby Atmos alternative

Called Project Caviar, Samsung and Google have teamed up to design their own versions of Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. It’s not only intended to mirror the potential provided by these two audio and visual tech enhancements but bring additional “functionality beyond what Dolby Atmos and Vision offer,” per Protocol.

HDR10+ is one such part of Project Caviar, which aims to bring royalty-free 3D audio and HDR video formats to wider audiences over the excessive foothold Dolby has with its Vision and Atmos counterparts.

Tentatively called Immersive Audio Model and Formats (IAMF), the Dolby Atmos counterpart under Samsung and Google has been in ongoing development since 2020. Samsung showcased various ways its IAMF will enhance the viewing experience in a blog post released late last year. 

It’s unclear when Samsung TV buyers or prospective users can expect the official rollout of IAMF and its broader Project Caviar initiatives. 

As of right now, it might be best for Amazon Prime Video customers to upgrade to the premium tier if they want improved video and audio quality via Dolby Vision and Atmos support — especially those who have one of the best Dolby Atmos soundbars.

More from Tom's Guide

• Samsung HW-Q990B 11.1.4 Dolby Atmos Soundbar review
• How to test if Dolby Atmos is working on your soundbar
• Prime Video’s Fallout TV show opens the vault — first look at cast and characters

A lot of the best TVs often come with support for Dolby Vision. Dolby Vision is one of the ever growing number of HDR standards that can take your TV's picture quality to the next level, so it's often a selling point for the best TVs. Now, it could be getting a serious upgrade.

According to our friends at TechRadar, LG has hinted at taking the existing feature Filmmaker Mode on its TVs and adding support for Dolby Vision HDR. This is based on comments made by Mike Zink, the President and Chairman of the UHD Alliance, at a recent LG press briefing for the new LG G3 OLED TV launch. 

Currently, Filmmaker Mode is a feature that exists on several of the best 4K TVs. Designed in collaboration between the UHD Alliance and Hollywood studios, it works by disabling all the added video processing features enabled on your TV to present films in the way that filmmakers intended them to be seen — hence the name. It’s a great feature for movie buffs and it's one of the TV settings we recommend changing if you want to watch movies the way they were intended.

But Filmmaker Mode has a catch — it only works with certain types of content. Specifically, it only works with Standard Dynamic Range (SDR) and High Dynamic Range 10 (HDR10) content only. That means any Dolby Vision content will still get augmented by your TV's video processing features because of Dolby Vision’s preset settings. While these presets can be changed, it’s not as simple as just selecting Filmmaker Mode to remove unwanted processing.

Now it seems that the UHD Alliance wants to change that. In his comments, Mike Zink said that the UHD Alliance is working with multiple TV makers to bring Filmmaker Mode to Dolby Vision. TechRadar’s reporting says that the feature was approved late last year and could come as soon as 2024. So while that means that the new LG C3 and G3 OLED TVs will not get the feature, we may not have to wait too much longer for Filmmaker Mode to be available for both of the most popular HDR standards. 

Dolby Vision Filmmaker Mode: What is Dolby Vision? 

Dolby Vision is a type of HDR format, which can improve the resolution, brightness and color gamut of each frame that shows up on your TV — provided that the content is designed for HDR. HDR requires specific metadata for your TV to recognize that it needs to optimize content for an HDR-capable TV. The two most popular HDR formats are Dolby Vision and HDR10, though some of the best TVs like the Sony Bravia XR A95K OLED will support both.  

Dolby Vision does have some benefits over HDR10. It uses dynamic metadata that allows it to go frame-by-frame to make adjustments to brightness, resolution, and color gamut. By comparison, HDR10 sets its metadata for an entire show or movie rather than adjusting by frame or scene. 

There is a proprietary version of HDR10 called HDR10+ that uses dynamic metadata, but it's developed by Samsung, so TV manufacturers have to enter an agreement with Samsung to use it. HDR10, by comparison, is open source.

The best solution? Buy a TV that handles as many of these standards as possible. A fair amount of the best TVs we’ve tested have support for multiple HDR formats. The Sony Bravia XR A95K OLED and LG C2 OLED TV both handle HDR10, HLG (an HDR format for live broadcasts) and Dolby Vision, and the Samsung QQN95B Neo QLED TV handles HDR10, HLG, and HDR10+. 

Personally, I prefer the TVs that handle HDR10 and Dolby Vision, but you should read our HDR explainer to determine which formats are necessary for you. If you prefer the best Samsung TVs, it may be worth it to pass on Dolby Vision. 

More from Tom's Guide

• LG 2023 TV Lineup: LG C3 OLED, QNED TVs and more
• LG C3 OLED vs LG C2 OLED: which TV should you buy?
• I just saw the LG C3 and LG G3 OLED TVs up close — here’s which one I would buy
  

Google is working on a replacement for Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos called Project Caviar, and it aims to enhance the playback experience of YouTube.

Development still seems like it’s in the early stages, but it sounds like Google wants to avoid the licensing fees that Dolby charges for its premium HDR and spatial audio formats with an open-source alternative.

The details of Google’s plans were obtained by Protocol, who report that the formats would be made available for free and could one day “be more attractive to device manufacturers and consumers alike by adding functionality beyond what Dolby Atmos and Vision offer”.

Should Google succeed in the creation of the formats, we could see a reduced cost on devices that use the format, as those device manufacturers wouldn’t have to pay Dolby any fees for its formats.

The confusing world of AV formats and specifications 

If your eyes are glazing over at this point, you’re not alone. Keeping formats straight has long been a challenge in the AV community — their feature set changes frequently, device manufacturers sometimes aren’t forthcoming about which formats their devices support and some specifications, like HDMI 2.1, aren’t properly followed. 

All that said, the idea of an open-source format that would universally work on YouTube across all devices (especially new Android phones) is a win for everyone. You could buy a new TV, smartphone or laptop knowing that it would play videos in the highest possible quality and with spatial audio support. 

In a perfect world, all device makers would jump on board with this proposal and there would never be a format war ever again. Sadly, that’s not the world we live in.

What’s more likely to happen is that some device makers will continue to support Dolby while others will sign on with Google. That’s what we’ve already seen happen with HDR10+ — an HDR format that’s supported by Samsung on its QLED TVs — and Dolby Vision supported by Sony, LG, TCL and others.

Still, we can’t blame Google for trying to do something positive — even if it will likely lead to more confusion down the road.

After backing HDR10+ for the last few years, Amazon has now added Dolby Vision support for some of its most popular shows including The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Jack Ryan and The Wheel of Time in what feels like a real win for Dolby's HDR format.

That's interesting because, at one time, Amazon was a huge supporter of the HDR10+ format — likely because its proponents said HDR10+ required less work from creators than Dolby’s format and produced similar results.

Now that tune seems to be changing somewhat as the streaming service rolls out Dolby Vision support to several of its most popular shows. 

That said, for now it looks like Amazon Video will support three separate HDR formats — basic HDR10, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision — for some shows and movies, but only on certain streaming devices including some Fire TV products as well as LG smart TVs that have the latest version of the Amazon Video app.

Dolby Vision vs HDR10+: what’s the difference? 

When it comes to HDR formats, any HDR content is going to have better color saturation and contrast than non-HDR content, but there are some key differences between the two market leaders, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision.

HDR10+ is considered by insiders the more open of the two platforms as it can take any generic HDR content that has set metadata and algorithmically convert it into dynamic metadata that can have different high-points and low-points for brightness depending on the scene. This is the standard backed by Samsung and Vizio, though the latter supports Dolby Vision as well.

Dolby Vision, on the other hand, requires Dolby Vision cameras to record the content that can then be edited in post to have scene-by-scene metadata. Because of Dolby’s workflow, content can reach a higher peak brightness (upwards of 10,000 nits), but it does often require some extra work in post-processing. Sony, LG and TCL have all backed this format.

While neither of their creators or manufacturing partners consider this to be an out-and-out format war like the one we saw between Blu-ray and HD-DVD, the industry has taken sides on which formats it’s willing — and unwilling — to support.

In short, be sure to check which formats your TV supports before buying a new one – and read up on the best TVs in 2022 to see which models support which format.

• Read more: Don't buy a TV until you read this guide to all those HDR standards

Editor's note: This article previously, incorrectly, stated that the PS5 had Dolby Vision support in streaming apsp apps. It does not.

As much as I'm a gamer, I'm a movie-lover. So, when it came time for me to buy a next generation console (first the PS5 and later an Xbox Series X), I bought the disc-drive bearing options. And looking back at those decisions, I wonder if I made the right call.

Sure, I'd rather have the Xbox Series X's higher internal storage and 4K gaming, but after I tried to watch a 4K Blu-ray of Spider-Man: No Way Home on Microsoft's console, I've realized I didn't make the most informed buying decision. So if you're one of the prospective console shoppers, and thinking about PS5 vs PS5 digital edition or Xbox Series X vs Xbox Series S, let me introduce one element you might not have thought about — optical media.

And, yes, as the world of physical media slowly gets replaced by streaming, this may not be a huge deal to you. But it's enough of a concern that I'm actually looking into standalone Blu-ray players.

The PS5 and Xbox Series X's Dolby Vision issues

Dolby Vision, one of the top and widely-accepted video standards in home entertainment, is only kinda there on Xbox Series X. I say "kinda" because folks watching the Marvel movies in order on Disney Plus or streaming the latest Netflix Original series on the Xbox Series X — which stream in pristine Dolby Vision — will likely have no idea why i'm upset. 

That's because streaming apps are the only way to watch something in Dolby Vision on one of these consoles. Those consoles only have regular ol' HDR for optical media, which isn't bad, but it's below the established standards. 

As we've stated on Tom's Guide, Dolby Vision television sets "should deliver a more dynamic, brighter and livelier image" than regular-old HDR, though some of the metrics that get us there are supposedly coming from sets that aren't even out yet.

For what it's worth, optical media played back on these consoles does allow for the more-immersive sound of Dolby Atmos, just (again) not Dolby Vision.

How the heck do you support Dolby Vision for apps, but not discs? It doesn't really make sense at all. It feels like some issue about someone not wanting to pay for it. These consoles are far from cheap, though, at $500 each.

Outlook: What are my options?

Is this a huge deal? Probably not. Is this something that makes me want to sell my Xbox Series X or PS5? Not really. But it's still the kind of thing that I wish I knew going in. I probably wouldn't have made the decision to save $100 to $200 by getting the digital-only versions of either console, but that optical drive doesn't feel as complete without Dolby Vision.

That's especially true when standalone 4K Blu-ray players start at $219 online. But I don't really want another piece of hardware cluttering up my counter-top. Maybe this is just a sign to leave optical media behind. 

Many copies of movies you buy these days comes with a digital code through MoviesAnywhere. I was buying physical copies, though, to prevent any loss of quality that comes with the streaming process. 

What I'll likely do, I think, is just always make sure that the streaming device I'm using is hard-wired to my router to try and prevent quality dips. I wish Sony or Microsoft would just add Dolby Vision for their optical media drives, but since these consoles have been out since November 2020, I'm not going to hold my breath.

Then again, Nintendo eventually added Bluetooth headphone support, so maybe not all hope is lost. For now, though, the writing continues to be on the wall for optical media. If these mammoth consoles (likely two of the more popular Blu-ray players) can't get Dolby Vision for discs, why should I think disc-based media is important?

While both the Xbox Series X and PS5 are excellent consoles, that still hasn't stopped fanboys online from debating over which is best. Well, with a new update that hit both Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, it seems that the technical advantage remains in Microsoft's corner.

In an Xbox news post, Microsoft announced that Dolby Vision support is now available on both Xbox Series consoles, giving gamers better visual fidelity though supported televisions. While the PS5 supports HDR, the inclusion of Dolby Vision does give Xbox a slight advantage in colors and pop. 

• Xbox Series X review
• These are the best Xbox Series X games
• Plus: Windows 11: What it means for gamers

At the moment, over 100 "next-gen" HDR titles have been or will be optimized for Dolby Vision. Additionally, classic titles that have been mastered in HDR10 will gain from Dolby Vision. And older titles that benefit from Auto HDR implementation, which adds HDR via software, will too see a Dolby Vision boost.

For the uninitiated, Dolby Vision is an HDR (high dynamic range) format that brings added color and depth over standard definition content. While HDR is a free and open standard, Dolby Vision is owned by Dolby. 

The main difference between HDR10 and Dolby Vision is the potential amount of colors each can offer. 

Standard definition content, such as what can be outputted by the upcoming Nintendo Switch OLED, supports 8-bit color depth. This means it can produce 16 million colors. HDR is 10-bit, which bumps the number of available colors to over two billion. Dolby Vision, on the other hand, is 12-bit, meaning it can potentially output 68.7 billion colors. 

According to a rundown from Display Ninja, 12-bit panels don't yet exist, meaning that at the moment, Dolby Vision downsamples its colors to 10-bit. What this means is that even on our best TV list, featuring televisions costing over $2,500, Dolby Vision will net only a very slight improvement over HDR10. 

But Dolby Vision does support dynamic metadata, which can adjust the image as frames load in. Dolby Vision can also differentiate between specular highlights better than HDR, preventing bright objects from looking blown out. This video by HDTVTest does a great job in comparing the two on an Xbox Series X and an LG C1 OLED TV. Granted, the HDTVTest video was made in August, before the latest update, meaning that Dolby Vision has trouble outputting at 4K. 

While Microsoft is touting Dolby Vision support as taking Xbox gameplay to the next level, in reality it likely won't look markedly different from prior HDR implementation. At the very least, Dolby Vision is compatible with Raytracing, automatic low-latency mode, Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) and 120fps gameplay. 

To check and see if your TV supports Dolby Vision, head on over to the Settings menu on your Xbox Series X, then select General, then TV & display options then 4K TV details. You may need to enable Dolby Vision output in your TV settings, or use a specific HDMI input to support Dolby Vision content from the console.

Most mid-to-high end TV's from 2020 onward support Dolby Vision. A handful of 2019 televisions, like the LG C9, support Dolby Vision as well. If you're unsure of whether your TV supports Dolby Vision, or are considering upgrading to a set that does, check out our TV reviews, which include HDR format support (including Dolby Vision) in the product specs.

Weirdly, Sony has not implemented Dolby Vision, selecting to go with the open HDR standard. The PS5 doesn't support Dolby Atmos audio either, instead opting to use its own 3D audio. 

• More: New malware steals your Steam, Epic, EA accounts — how not to get pwned

LG OLED TVs are some of the best 4K gaming TVs you can buy, but it's about to get even better with the firmware update that's rolling out to select LG OLED TVs today.

With the release of Firmware version 03.15.27, the LG C1 OLED and LG G1 OLED TVs will get expanded support for HDR gaming, and now will support 120Hz gaming with Dolby Vision HDR at 4K.

• The best gaming TVs for PS5 and Xbox Series X
• What are the best TV brands? We've got the answers
• Plus: OLED nanotech breakthrough could deliver brighter TVs

LG OLED TVs have already got top marks for gaming, thanks to full HDMI 2.1 support — the latest HDMI standard, offered on both the Xbox Series X and PS5 consoles. With features like variable refresh rate (VRR) and auto low-latency mode (ALLM), not to mention support for 4K resolution with up to 120Hz framerates, these TVs offer the best gaming experience you can get. But today's firmware update adds a new capability.

High dynamic range (HDR) content uses additional data to deliver a more vibrant picture, providing brighter lighting for bright portions of the screen and dimmer backlight for darker portions of the screen, like deep shadows and night skies. The effect is especially pronounced on OLED TVs, which can control brightness at the level of individual pixels.

Among the different HDR formats available, Dolby has taken a leading position with Dolby vision HDR, a proprietary HDR format that delivers more granular lighting control and lifelike images.

Until now, gaming in HDR was limited to 60 frames per second, but the new firmware from LG unlocks the ability to play Dolby Vision-enabled games with frame rates up to 120 fps. That means a smoother and more responsive gaming experience while also getting best in class HDR capability.

As of this writing, high frame rate Dolby Vision game content is only supported by the Xbox Series X, and not the PS5. Xbox users may already have Dolby Vision 120Hz through the Xbox Insider test program, but the capability is expected to roll out to all Xbox users in the future. Sony has also promised Dolby Vision support in the future, but the PS5 only supports the more basic HDR10 format at this time.

LG said that the new firmware is initially rolling out to current LG C1 OLED and LG G1 OLED TVs starting today, with support for more OLED and non-OLED LG TV models coming in July. 

"Additional premium models in LG’s 2021 TV lineup such as OLED Z1 series, QNED Mini LED QNED99 series and NanoCell NANO99 series TVs will also receive the update in July," LG announced. "Additional 2021 and 2020 TV models are also being tested for Dolby Vision gaming in either 60Hz or 120Hz."

The firmware update is free, and there is no additional expense for this enhanced gaming capability. LG Smart TVs, using webOS and setup with an internet connection should receive updates automatically. If your TV does not receive the update, you can manually check for updated software in the LG TV settings. (Check out our extensive guide How to use your LG TV to learn more.) 

To top all of this up, LG OLED TVs now also support Google Stadia. 

• More: Netflix for Android just got a big upgrade before the iPhone

Update: Microsoft has reached out to Tom's Guide to provide a correction to the below article. The original Xbox blog post confirming that Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision are exclusive to the Xbox Series X for the next two years was in fact posted in error.

A Microsoft spokesperson said: "A blog post was mistakenly published by a local Xbox team that included inaccurate information regarding exclusivity of Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision on Xbox Series X|S. There is no exclusivity agreement of either tech on Xbox. We are proud to partner with Dolby to offer Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision to gamers on Xbox and will have more to share about the general availability of Dolby Vision on Xbox Series X|S soon.” 

So it looks like these Dolby features could theoretically come to additional gaming consoles at any point in the future. The original article follows...

• Xbox Series X restock update today: Track on Twitter, Walmart, GameStop and more
• The best Xbox Series X headsets in 2021
• Plus: PS5 vs Xbox Series X: With great power comes greater electric bills

The Xbox Series X may have the exclusive use of Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision for two years according to an official Xbox blog post — after this time window, the features could presumably come to PS5. 

This news originally surfaced thanks to a post on the official Xbox Wire in France. While the article has since been removed — likely as the terms of Microsoft’s deal with Dolby wasn't supposed to be made public. However, information is tricky to eradicate from the internet and the post was screen-capped and widely shared before it could be taken down. 

The blog post was translated (via VGC), and reads: “Xbox Series X|S have been Dolby Atmos compatible since their release and Dolby Vision will arrive on these consoles sometime in 2021, with both technologies remaining exclusive to the Xbox ecosystem for two years.”

Dolby Atmos is a surround sound system that primarily competes with Sony’s 3D Audio technology, at least in the console space. Whereas Dolby Vision is a form of HDR that optimizes the way your TV delivers pictures. Neither feature is currently available on PS5. 

These technologies are a serious boon for the Xbox Series X when going head to head with PlayStation’s flagship console in terms of audio and HDR. And while this exclusively deal does mean Microsoft’s bulky black box will remain the home of Dolby Atmos/Vision for now it does suggest in the future the PS5 could get these features. Of course, Microsoft could negotiate further exclusivity, or Sony may have no interest in bringing Dolby features to its own console years after launch. 

The blog post also revealed that the official Xbox Wireless Headset will only have free Dolby Atmos support until the end of September. “Our partnership with Dolby allows you to activate Dolby Atmos for Headphones on all Xbox Wireless Headsets until September 30, 2021. After this trial period, you will be able to purchase the license for the app directly from Dolby,” it stated.

 We don’t yet know how significant this news will be for the Xbox Series X long-term. Though PS5 players will surely be pleased to know that, in a couple of years, these Dolby features could come to Sony’s latest gaming console.   

If you’re still after a next-gen system but haven’t managed to secure one yet due to the ongoing supply issues, make sure to bookmark our Xbox Series X restock and PS5 restock guides. These contain the latest stock information as we get it. 

• More: The 10 best Xbox Series X FPS boost games to play

Disney Plus is here, loaded with Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars movies as promised. But Disney didn’t make any promises about the streaming quality of those films. As it turns out, it is pretty awesome — at least for Star Wars.

It appears that Disney Plus has been quietly remastering all the original Star Wars movies for 4K with Dolby Vision image and Dolby Atmos audio streaming. If you have the necessary AV gear and internet connection to enjoy these standards, you are in for a sensory treat. 

Disney has not made public any details about this remastering. We don’t know if they rescanned the original film with any new technology to get more detail or if the audio was fully remixed.

• Sign up for the Disney+ 7-day free trial

But Devindra Hardawar at Engadget tried A NewHope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi and — according to him — they look great: “The image looks sharp and detailed, with no ugly edge enhancement and a healthy dose of film grain. The original trilogy certainly won't be a showcase for Dolby Vision HDR like The Last Jedi, but in the few scenes I glanced it, the technology allowed gave the image a bit more depth and nuance.”

Dolby Vision HDR is a Dolby’s implementation of 4K high dynamic range, a technology that uses more bits per color to define each pixel on screen, greatly boosting the number of colors, their levels of intensity, and the details in shadows and highlights. Since most modern TVs and projectors can display a much larger range of color, movies encoded with the Dolby Vision HDR standard can tell these devices how to display the material with much greater detail than ever before.

It appears that Disney has at least tweaked the material so it looks quite better, although it’s yet to be seen how far the quality jump goes and how it compares to the latest remastering of the trilogy for its Blu-ray re-release in 2011. Hadawar says that he hasn’t tried the Dolby Atmos soundtrack  in a Dolby Atmos-compatible home theater yet, so we don’t know how good the audio remastering is.

We will have to try ourselves in yet another Star Wars binge — which I’m afraid will have to include the prequels, since those are also available in 4K with Dolby Vision and Atmos, just like the first two movies in the final trilogy. Just in time for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

• All the Star Wars movies and shows on Disney Plus
• 7 ways Disney Plus beats Netflix
• How to get the Disney Plus app for iOS, Android and more