Dolby has announced Dolby Vision 2, an upgrade to its proprietary HDR standard that is going beyond just HDR. The new standard implements AI tech, which Dolby says will intelligently adapt to the content you’re watching to provide the best viewing experience.
Dolby Vision 2 boasts a more powerful image engine, which Dolby says will improve your viewing experience even for the existing library of Dolby Vision-supported content. The major difference for the new version of Dolby Vision is Content Intelligence, an AI-powered technology that claims to intelligently adapt your display based on “what you’re watching and where you are watching.”
These features include ambient-light detection and specific adjustments targeting the “unique needs” of live sports and gaming. The intelligent features also include a “Precision Black” feature that appears to be targeting viewer complaints that a lot of premium TV is too dark–saying Dolby Vision 2 can improve clarity of dark scenes “in any viewing environment without compromising artistic intent.”
Dolby Vision 2 is also dipping its toes into the controversial world of motion smoothing, but Dolby claims its Authentic Motion feature will be “the world’s first creative-driven motion control tool,” and will serve to make content feel “more authentically cinematic without unwanted judder.” Motion smoothing is notoriously unpopular with filmmakers, who have often urged consumers to turn off the feature to avoid the dreaded “soap opera effect,” so it will be interesting to see how Dolby’s promised cinematic application of motion smoothing plays out in practice.
Dolby Vision 2 is still in its early days, but early adopters include Hisense, which will incorporate the new standard into its premium line of TVs, and on the content side, CANAL+ has said it will support Dolby Vision 2 in the content it distributes. TVs with Dolby Vision 2 incorporated will come in two tiers–the premium Dolby Vision 2 Max, which will include “additional premium features,” and the standard Dolby Vision 2.
Dolby Vision is not widely supported in the gaming industry, but can be used with a growing list of games on Xbox Series X|S since support was added in 2021. Dolby hasn’t said anything about game-industry adoption of the new Dolby Vision 2 standard, but games that already support Dolby Vision will presumably see an improvement in quality if played on a Dolby Vision 2-enabled TV.
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