Several years ago HDR promised to be the next big step for games and cinema. Today, however, support for the technology is shrinking fast. Increasingly, titles launch without native HDR — even high-profile releases like Black Myth: Wukong, Starfield, and Space Marine 2. There are occasional outliers, but the broader trend is troubling.
TV specialist STOP the FOMO (165,000 subscribers) points out that Hollywood isn’t faring any better. In recent blockbusters such as F1, Jurassic World: Rebirth and Superman, HDR is barely utilized. Peak brightness rarely exceeds 200–300 nits, even though modern displays can achieve much higher levels. In Superman, lasers and explosions don’t even reach 100 nits, effectively negating any HDR benefit.
According to STOP the FOMO, “we’ve all been misled — the race for ever-brighter TVs is over.” The reviewer admits he’s stopped factoring HDR into his assessments because filmmakers largely ignore what modern screens can do.
For viewers the takeaway is simple: if you watch in a dark room, paying extra for ultra-bright panels makes little sense. It’s wiser to choose a larger screen than to chase high nit figures.
I thought HDR just needed time. But after ten years movies are getting darker, not brighter. We fell for a hype that turned out to be empty. HDR has become little more than an excuse for a pointless brightness war between TV makers.
Source: iXBT.games