High Dynamic Range (HDR) technology delivers high-quality displays with brighter, more vibrant colors. Dolby Vision is widely considered the best HDR format, but while Samsung is considered the best smart TV brand in terms of customer satisfaction, none of its TVs support the technology. In fact, it probably never will. This is because Samsung has its own HDR technology: HDR10+. Samsung actually developed HDR10+ to use Dolby’s proprietary software.
Companies that want to use Dolby Vision must license the technology and pay a royalty on each unit sold with it, a steep cost for a company that sells as many TVs as Samsung each year. Additionally, Dolby requires manufacturers to rigorously test their Dolby Vision devices to ensure they meet the company’s high standards, which comes at an additional cost. That’s why Samsung introduced HDR10+ in April 2017 as a direct rival to Dolby Vision, which had been available on some TVs for about two years at the time.
Shortly after, Panasonic and 20th Century Fox announced a partnership with Samsung, although both have since started using Dolby Vision for their TVs and movies, respectively. Unlike Dolby technology, however, HDR10+ is an open standard, meaning companies that want to use it don’t have to pay royalties, just a relatively modest annual licensing fee of up to $10,000. Dolby Vision and HDR10+ have been around for about a decade now, and both recently unveiled major upgrades.
Samsung HDR10+ Advanced and Dolby Vision 2 both implement AI
Comparing HDR10+ and Dolby Vision, some would say that the latter is “the benchmark” for HDR formats. Dolby comes out on top due to its ability to process 12-bit color compared to the 10-bit capability of HDR10+. It’s also available on more platforms, including streaming services, a wide variety of TV brands, and Xbox Series X|S. Although support for HDR10+ has expanded, the color potential and range of Dolby Vision remain key advantages, while the only real appeal of Samsung’s technology is the lack of royalties, which doesn’t really affect the consumer.
In August 2026, Dolby and Samsung both rolled out new HDR technology: Dolby Vision 2 and HDR10+ Advanced. As of this writing, HDR10+ Advanced is available for various Prime Video titles, but only when played on 2026 Samsung TVs. Meanwhile, Dolby Vision 2 is available on some Hisense TVs via a firmware update ahead of a wider rollout, although there is currently no content specifically optimized for it. Both use AI in different ways.
HDR10+ Advanced focuses on AI algorithms that improve color accuracy, brightness and motion smoothing. It can also make adjustments based on genre and specific scenes or images and even offers game-specific enhancements. Dolby Vision 2 brings similar advancements in brightness and color, but it prioritizes tools that allow creators to fine-tune images for more creative control. Dolby Vision 2 and HDR10+ Advanced are designed for those who want the most cinematic movie experience possible from a home theater, while the average consumer probably won’t notice or care much about the difference.
