A study on user preference of high dynamic range over low dynamic range video

The increased interest in high dynamic range (HDR) video over existing low dynamic range (LDR) video during the past decade or so was primarily due to its inherent capability to capture, store and display the full range of real-world lighting visible to the human eye with increased precision. This has led to an inherent assumption that HDR video would be preferable by the end-user over LDR video due to the more immersive and realistic visual experience provided by HDR. This assumption has led to a considerable body of research into efficient capture, processing, storage and display of HDR video. Although this is beneficial for scientific research and industrial purposes, very little research has been conducted to test the veracity of this assumption. In this paper, we conduct two subjective studies by means of a ranking and a rating-based experiment where 60 participants in total, 30 in each experiment, were tasked to rank and rate several reference HDR video scenes along with three mapped LDR versions of each scene on an HDR display, in order of their viewing preference. Results suggest that given the option, end-users prefer the HDR representation of the scene over its LDR counterpart.