High Dynamic Range (HDR) is becoming an increasingly relevant element in broadcast productions, especially in sports events and large-audience productions. According to our partner INTINOR, a specialist in high-quality solutions for the transmission, encoding, and transport of video and audio over IP networks, the transition to HDR makes it possible to significantly improve visual image quality without requiring substantial increases in transmission bandwidth.
For many years, improvements in image quality were mainly associated with higher resolution, with the industry promoting the transition to Ultra HD / 4K. However, this shift has a significant impact across the entire production and distribution chain.
Moving from 1080p to 2160p can require up to four times more bandwidth, in addition to demanding upgrades in capture, processing, storage, and signal transport equipment. According to INTINOR, many producers and broadcasters have opted for a more efficient approach: improving the dynamic range of the image while maintaining a base HD resolution. HDR makes better use of the luminance levels available in the video signal, resulting in higher contrast, improved color representation, and smoother gradients. In practice, this enhancement produces a visually sharper image with greater depth, delivering a significantly richer viewing experience.
HDR in Live and Broadcast Productions
The adoption of HDR has been particularly visible in large-scale sports productions, where image quality is a critical factor for audience experience. In international production environments, the host broadcaster responsible for the event may provide different signal formats to rights holders, including traditional HD in SDR, 10-bit HDR production, or adapted versions for legacy infrastructures. To facilitate interoperability between different equipment and platforms, the Hybrid Log-Gamma (HLG) standard was developed by BBC and NHK, specifically designed for broadcast and contribution workflows.
This system combines traditional SDR behavior in lower luminance levels with a logarithmic function in brighter areas, allowing additional image information to be preserved without introducing visual artifacts.
One of HLG’s main advantages is its backward compatibility, meaning the same signal can be correctly interpreted by both SDR and HDR devices. This significantly simplifies production workflows, as it enables a single output signal that remains compatible with different reception systems.
Impact on Contribution Workflows
In the context of signal contribution for remote production or broadcast distribution, transporting HDR content requires transmission platforms capable of correctly recognizing the signal format and preserving the metadata associated with the video. According to INTINOR, this information is essential to ensure that receiving equipment correctly interprets the transported content, in a way similar to how flags were previously used to identify widescreen content.
IP contribution solutions developed by INTINOR, such as the Direkt platform, are designed to meet these technical requirements, allowing both SDR and HDR HLG signals to be transported while preserving metadata and video stream signaling. According to the company, advances in video processing and compression now make it possible to transport HDR content with broadcast quality and controlled latency, even over connections with relatively moderate bandwidth.
In many live production scenarios, bandwidths of around 15 Mb/s may be sufficient to efficiently transport HDR HLG signals within contribution workflows.
HDR as a Trend in Premium Productions
As broadcast productions continue to evolve, INTINOR believes HDR will continue gaining relevance across different areas of the audiovisual industry. For producers and broadcasters, this means ensuring that contribution and distribution infrastructures are prepared to handle HDR signals transparently and efficiently.
As INTINOR’s partner in Portugal, Pantalha is following this technological evolution closely, supporting clients in implementing IP contribution solutions capable of transporting HDR content with broadcast quality, low latency, and high reliability.
Learn more HERE.
For further information, contact us by email at geral@pantalha.pt or by phone 21 754 36 40.
March, 2026
