High-dynamic-range rendering

A comparison of the standard fixed-aperture rendering (left) with the HDR rendering (right) in the video game Half-Life 2: Lost Coast. The HDRR was tone-mapped to SDR for broad compatibility with almost all displays.

High-dynamic-range rendering (HDRR or HDR rendering), also known as high-dynamic-range lighting, is the rendering of computer graphics scenes by using lighting calculations performed in high dynamic range (HDR). This allows preservation of details that may be lost due to limiting contrast ratios. Video games and computer-generated imagery, movies, and visual effects benefit from this as it creates more realistic scenes than with more simplistic lighting models. HDRR was originally required to tone map the rendered image onto Standard Dynamic Range (SDR) displays, as the first HDR capable displays did not arrive until the 2010s. However, if a modern HDR display is available, it is possible to instead display the HDRR with even greater contrast and realism.

Graphics processor company Nvidia summarizes the motivation for HDRR in three points: bright things can be really bright, dark things can be really dark, and details can be seen in both.

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