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SDR vs HDR color: BT.709, DCI-P3 and BT.2020 compared

By TechCompare · Updated · How we check

BT.709 is the SDR range, and sRGB uses the same primaries. BT.2020 is the range HDR signals carry. DCI-P3 sits between them, and it's the one DisplayHDR measures: CTS 1.2 asks for 90% of it at DisplayHDR 400 and 95% at every other tier.

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CIE 1931 xy chart with sRGB, Rec. 2020 and DCI-P3The curved outline holds every color people can see, with wavelengths in nanometers along its edge. Each standard is a triangle of its red, green and blue primaries. A larger triangle holds more saturated colors.
  • DCI-P3, the solid line
  • sRGB (BT.709): The web, most apps and SDR video. BT.709, the HDTV standard, has the same primaries.
  • Rec. 2020 (BT.2020): The range HDR10, HLG and Dolby Vision carry. Monitors today cover only part of it.
DCI-P3 against each reference, in CIE 1931 xy
ReferenceCoverageArea
sRGB100.0%135.7%
Rec. 202071.7%71.7%

Coverage is the part of the reference inside the triangle, so it stops at 100%. Area is the triangle's size next to the reference, and it can pass 100%. Spec sheets don't always say which one they print.

Your screen

Checking what your screen reports.

sRGBDCI-P3Adobe RGBRec. 2020
red
green

The report comes from the browser's color-gamut media query. It's a rough guess from the screen's profile, not a measurement.

Open this chart in the Color Gamut Visualizer. Check any standard, enter a monitor's primaries or spec sheet numbers, and switch between CIE 1931 xy and u'v'.
Edit in the full tool

HDR isn't only about brightness. HDR10, HLG and Dolby Vision also carry a wider color range than SDR. The chart draws sRGB, which has the same primaries as BT.709, the SDR range, plus DCI-P3 and BT.2020 on the CIE 1931 chart of every color people can see. The swatches below ask your browser for the same red and green in each range.

Topic
SDR vs HDR color
Color ranges
On the chart
sRGB, DCI-P3, Rec. 2020
CIE 1931 xy

How this is calculated

A color range, or gamut, is set by three primaries: the deepest red, green and blue a standard allows. Every color in the standard is a mix of those three, so on the chart it sits inside their triangle. The curved outline is the edge of human vision. Light of a single wavelength sits right on it.

BT.709 is the HDTV standard, and sRGB uses the same primaries. Nearly all SDR video, web pages and desktop apps live inside it. DCI-P3 started in digital cinema, and monitors use a version with the D65 white point, often called P3 D65 or Display P3. It reaches further into green and red. BT.2020 came with UHD TV. Its primaries sit on the edge of the chart, so it holds colors most screens can't show yet.

HDR video is stored in BT.2020, but it's usually mastered on displays that cover about DCI-P3, so its colors rarely go past that. A screen that matches DCI-P3 exactly covers 71.7% of BT.2020 in CIE 1931 xy, and that's plenty for nearly all HDR content. That's why DisplayHDR measures P3 coverage, and why a review's P3 number tells you more than its BT.2020 one.

The chart's fill shows roughly which hue sits where. Your screen can't show the real colors near the edge, so treat it as a map, not a sample.

Verdict

For HDR, read the DCI-P3 coverage on a spec sheet or in a review. BT.709 coverage only tells you about SDR, and monitors today cover only part of BT.2020. To see the difference on your own screen, compare the swatches: on a P3 screen the ones to the right of sRGB look deeper.

More Color Gamut Visualizer scenarios

sRGB vs DCI-P3
DCI-P3 holds all of sRGB and reaches further into red and green. Here's how big the gap is, and when it matters.
View details
DCI-P3 vs Adobe RGB
Two wide ranges of about the same size, pointed different ways. P3 reaches further into red, Adobe RGB into green and cyan.
View details
sRGB vs Adobe RGB
Adobe RGB keeps sRGB's red and blue and moves green far out. Here's what that adds for photos and print.
View details

Related guides

Is DisplayHDR 400 real HDR?
What the entry tier asks of color.
View guide
OLED vs QD-OLED
How quantum dots widen the color range.
View guide
Why the same hex looks different
Same numbers, different light on each screen.
View guide

Frequently asked questions

Is DCI-P3 the same as Display P3?
They share the same red, green and blue primaries. Cinema DCI-P3 uses a slightly green white point and a 2.6 gamma, while Display P3 uses the D65 white point and the sRGB curve. Monitor spec sheets and DisplayHDR use the D65 version.
Why do colors look too saturated on my wide color monitor?
SDR content is made for BT.709. A monitor that shows it across its full P3 range stretches every color outward, so skin and grass look too strong. Use the monitor's sRGB mode, or let the OS manage color, for SDR work.
Does HDR need full BT.2020 coverage?
No. HDR video is stored in BT.2020, but the screen maps it down to what its panel can show. Good DCI-P3 coverage gets you most of the color that HDR movies and games use.

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