Understanding HDR Vivid: Key Features, Standards, and Industry Adoption

Basic HDR Knowledge

HDR video offers a higher dynamic range (0.0001–10,000 nit vs. SDR 0.01–100 nit), a wider color space (BT.2020 vs. BT.709), and greater bit depth (10‑ or 12‑bit vs. 8‑bit). These improvements enable richer visuals within limited bit depth.

Transfer Functions

SDR typically uses a gamma curve (≈2.2). HDR uses either the PQ (Perceptual Quantizer) or HLG (Hybrid Log‑Gamma) curve. Compared with gamma, PQ and HLG provide nonlinear extensions in both shadows and highlights, allowing more efficient bitrate allocation and reducing quantization artifacts.

Color Space

SDR uses BT.709, while HDR adopts BT.2020, which covers 76% of the visible spectrum versus 36% for BT.709. This broader gamut includes more saturated colors, better matching human visual perception.

HDR Standards Overview

HDR10 is the most common open standard, using static metadata that describes peak brightness and content level for the entire video. HDR10+ adds dynamic metadata, allowing scene‑by‑scene or frame‑by‑frame adjustments, while remaining backward compatible with HDR10 devices.

Dolby Vision also uses dynamic metadata and is supported by several TV manufacturers and 4K UHD Blu‑ray players.

HLG differs by not requiring metadata; its electro‑optical transfer function is compatible with SDR displays, simplifying live broadcast workflows.

What Is HDR Vivid?

HDR Vivid (菁彩HDR) is a standard released by the CUVA (now UWA) alliance, which includes most Chinese TV, chip, and content providers, as well as some overseas companies such as Samsung and LG. The standard adds dynamic metadata, tone‑mapping, and saturation control on top of existing transfer curves and color spaces, aiming for an open and friendly ecosystem.

Why HDR Vivid Was Created

Inconsistent standards lead to varied terminal performance. Multiple HDR standards coexist with poor compatibility, causing noticeable differences across devices.

Fragmented ecosystem and high patent fees. Some standards involve costly patents, raising overall industry costs and limiting large‑scale device adoption.

Production difficulty and lack of ultra‑HD source material. Limited 8K content and short 4K program durations hinder consumer demand.

To address these issues, the CUVA alliance drafted a domestic HDR framework around 2016, publishing the official “CUVA HDR Standard” in September 2020. HDR Vivid builds on existing transfer curves and color spaces, adding three core technologies: dynamic metadata, tone‑mapping, and saturation adjustment.

HDR Vivid vs. Other Standards

The end‑to‑end HDR workflow includes capture, production, encoding, transmission, reception, and rendering. HDR Vivid follows this pipeline but distinguishes itself through its dynamic metadata approach.

Dynamic metadata splits the transmission curve into multiple intervals, allowing fine‑grained adjustments of highlights and shadows. The base interval follows the standard PQ curve, while additional intervals use interpolated mappings for precise tone control.

Identifying HDR Vivid Content

MediaInfo reports the HDR format field for different standards:

HDR10 – "SMPTE ST 2086, HDR10 compatible"

HDR10+ – "SMPTE ST 2094, HDR10+"

Dolby Vision – contains "Dolby Vision"

HLG – identified via its transfer characteristics

Current Status of HDR Vivid

Chip manufacturers such as HiSilicon and MediaTek have released HDR Vivid‑compatible chips (e.g., Kirin 990, Dimensity 9000). TV brands including Sharp, Skyworth, Xiaomi, Hisense, TCL, Changhong, OPPO, Samsung, and LG have launched models supporting the standard.

Content providers are also adopting HDR Vivid:

Tencent Video became the first global platform to stream HDR Vivid in early 2021, offering over 100 hours of exclusive content.

iQIYI supports full‑range HDR content with HDR Vivid, exceeding 10,000 hours.

Huawei Video’s AiMax zone streams hundreds of hours in HDR Vivid.

Migu Video used HDR Vivid for the 2021 Euro Cup final and the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, delivering 4K 50 fps at 30 Mbps.

These figures illustrate growing ecosystem support, though the article notes that the information is sourced from public reports and may be subject to removal.