Dolby Announces Dolby Vision 2, Expanding Picture Quality Beyond HDR
Dolby Laboratories has unveiled the next generation of its high dynamic range technology, Dolby Vision 2. Introduced at IFA 2025, this update is described as a groundbreaking evolution designed to meet the capabilities of modern televisions and a growing suite of creative tools. The new iteration promises a more powerful image engine, better TV optimization, and a push into features that go beyond traditional HDR.
The core of Dolby Vision 2 is a new foundation called Content Intelligence. This suite of tools uses AI to create a better bridge between the creative intent of filmmakers and the viewing experience in a consumer’s living room. It works by automatically adapting the television’s performance to the specific content being watched and the ambient conditions of the room.
Key features within Content Intelligence include Precision Black, which is engineered to preserve detail in darker scenes, and Light Sense, which detects the ambient light in a room to dynamically adjust the picture for optimal viewing. The update also brings dedicated Sports and Gaming Optimization modes. These are tailored to the specific demands of live sports and video games, offering enhancements to white point adjustments and motion control for a smoother, more responsive experience.
A significant technical upgrade is the inclusion of bi-directional tone mapping. Dolby explains this allows premium TVs to deliver higher brightness, sharper contrast, and more deeply saturated colors while still faithfully maintaining the original artistic intent of the content creators.
The beyond HDR initiative includes a feature called Authentic Motion. Dolby bills this as the world’s first creative-driven motion control tool, designed to make on-screen motion feel more authentically cinematic, moving past the sometimes artificial look of standard motion interpolation.
When it arrives on the market, Dolby Vision 2 will be available in two distinct tiers. Dolby Vision 2 Max is intended for premium televisions, harnessing their full processing power to unlock a set of unique, high-end features. The standard Dolby Vision 2 will be available on mainstream TVs, offering core benefits from the new image engine and Content Intelligence tools.
Adoption of new standards can often be slow, but Dolby has already announced key partners. Hisense will be the first manufacturer to bring Dolby Vision 2 to market, with plans to support the new technology on its premium TVs, including its RGB-MiniLED models. On the content side, the French streaming service Canal+ has also committed to leveraging Dolby Vision 2 for its movies, TV shows, and live sports broadcasts.
The technology is expected to be a major topic of discussion at the upcoming CES event in January, where television manufacturers typically debut their latest models. Demonstrations of Dolby Vision 2’s capabilities are highly anticipated at the show.
