As an owner of a Samsung TV, I was frustrated to discover that my TV didn’t have Dolby Vision – one of the most popular standards for HDR. After doing some research and testing, I wanted to share my findings, and explain why Samsung TVs don’t have Dolby Vision, and what other solutions are available.
In this blog post, I’ll discuss why Samsung TVs don’t have Dolby Vision, and the other options available for those who want to enjoy an HDR experience.
Most Samsung TVs don’t support Dolby Vision because of the additional license fees and costs from Dolby. In addition, Samsung has its own HDR technology, HDR10+. With this service, Samsung TVs don’t even need Dolby Vision.
| Tips: |
|---|
| Samsung TVs don’t have Dolby Vision due to license fees. |
| Samsung uses its own HDR technology, HDR10+, as an alternative. |
| HDR technology is designed to create a hyper-realistic image. |
| To check HDR10+ support, go to Picture > Expert Settings > HDR support. |
| Use the Google Home app and Chromecast to enable Dolby Vision on Samsung TV. |
| Other TV brands offer Dolby Vision such as TCL, Toshiba, Vizio, and Sony. |
Table of Contents
What Is HDR Video Technology?
High Dynamic Range video technology allows your TV to produce a hyper-realistic image. Through processing and postproduction, HDR video can achieve an incredibly detailed screen display.
Even though Dolby Vision is the most popular HDR video technology, it’s far from being the only one. There are many other services that offer HDR technology.
- HDR10
- HDR10 with dynamic metadata
- Advanced HDR
- HDR10+
All these services aim to create the perfect picture, and they use the same technology to do it. However, each service is slightly different from the next.
Manufacturers often change HDR video to achieve what they consider a ‘perfect’ picture. They tweak peak white values, mid-gray tone values, and metadata carriage.
Why Don’t Samsung TVs Have Dolby Vision?
Samsung is one of the leading TV vendors in the world, and it achieves this by providing excellent quality. Even without Dolby, Samsung TVs can boast some of the brightest and most dynamic screens.
Because of this, Samsung didn’t feel the need to add the service to its screens. Plus, the Dolby Vision service requires a licensing fee and extra costs to run on a new system. Therefore, Samsung opted to use a different service instead, HDR10+.
Dolby Vision Vs. HDR10+
Dolby Vision and HDR10+ both provide an incredibly similar service. They both have the same peak brightness and use dynamic metadata on a scene-by-scene basis. So, the picture quality of both is almost identical.
However, there are a few key differences between the services, mainly in content and availability.
Dolby Vision gives you access to more content and is compatible with more devices. Still, this shouldn’t be an issue with your Samsung TV.
Do All Samsung TVs Support HDR10+?
Most newer Samsung TVs will come with HDR10+. However, if you bought your model before 2016, there’s a chance that your TV doesn’t support HDR10+.
Before you think of changing your settings, it’s a good idea to find out your TV’s capabilities.
To check if your Samsung TV supports HDR10+, follow these steps:
- Click on the Menu button on your remote control
- Go to the Settings tab
- Find the Picture menu
- Go to Expert Settings
- Navigate to the HDR support tab
- Make sure this option is on
- Restart your TV
If you can’t find the HDR support tab, your TV probably doesn’t carry the service. This means that you need an external device to use HDR on your TV.
How to Enable Dolby Vision on Samsung TV
Even though most Samsung TVs don’t come with Dolby Vision, you can still use the service. You can add the service to your TV with the help of Chromecast.
Chromecast is a dongle that you plug into your TV’s HDMI port. This dongle allows you to use the Google Home app to control your TV.
With Chromecast, you can bypass your TV factory defaults and use Dolby Vision. Using the device is simple. All you’ll need is the Chromecast and the Google Home app on your phone. Here are the steps you need to take to enable Dolby Vision on your TV:
- Plug the Chromecast into your Samsung TV
- Launch the Google Home app on your phone
- Find your Chromecast in the app
- Connect your Chromecast to the same Wi-Fi network as your phone
- Follow the setup instructions
After you’re done, you can use the unlimited access of Dolby Vision comfortably on your Samsung TV.
Other Devices That Support Dolby Vision
If you don’t want to go through the hassle of Chromecast but still want Dolby Vision, there’s a solution.
The fact that Samsung doesn’t support Dolby Vision doesn’t mean that other brands don’t. There are many other TVs on the market that can support the service, so you may consider these instead. These TVs include:
Wrapping Up
Why don’t Samsung TVs have Dolby Vision? The answer to this question comes in two parts. The first is that Samsung offers its own HDR video technology. As for the second, Dolby charges an additional license fee and extra cost, and Samsung doesn’t want that.
However, if you insist on using Dolby Vision on your Samsung TV, try adding Chromecast to your setup.
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