High Dynamic Range
To jump straight to the HD View demos click on one of the links below. The technology that enables these demos is described on this page.
 HDR Images |
 Mark Fairchild's HDR Survey |
 Wide Gamut Demo |
The traditional process of viewing a photograph in a browser begins with the camera compressing and outputting an 8 bit Jpeg image. This leaves little flexibility downstream to adapt the image to current viewing conditions.
In contrast, HD View leverages new encodings such as JpegXR and modern GPUs that recognize floating point formats to maintain most of the bit depth and gamut of the light in the real world. Only at the last step does HD View adapt the current view of the image given the monitor properties to create an optimal display.
Notes:
1: Our ability to see light spans the range from starlit to the sun reflecting off snow: about 1 Billion to One ratio.
1: Our ability to see light spans the range from starlit to the sun reflecting off snow: about 1 Billion to One ratio.
2: Jpeg images are typically encoded in an sRGB
gamut optimized for the 8 bit restriction.
3: Raw images carry ~10 bits of depth, multiple
exposure bracketed shots can lead to higher dynamic
range.
4: Image editing software can combine bracketed
shots into high dynamic range images.
5: JpgXR is an evolving standard that can encode
each channel in a 32 float value, and thus can also
afford a wider gamut.
6: HD View optimizes the mapping to the bitdepth of
the monitor based on the current image portion in
view.
7: New monitors can support greater gamuts than
the 8bit sRGB. HD View is also color managed to
use the monitor profiles.
Future monitors that can display high dynamic range
will be automatically supported.