HDR to SDR tonemapping profile/setup (gpu-next)

[geextahslex]

Hi, I worked long on that HDR profile. Actually it was the reason how I got to mpv in the first place (since v.36) and finally I am satisfied. I made many comparisons in dark, bright, midtone scenes. Also over multiple productions, not only one sample. In very saturated once also. I wouldn't call it perfect as there are always compromises with tonemapping, but it is better than the default mpv settings. You can set it up and enjoy your content.
The strong side of this project is the customizability, you can go to every shader and tune it how you want, turn it on or off and see what suits you best. It's not limited like the most build in once, where you have one setting for nits and the other one for gammut-mapping.
It is a combination of mpv, hdr-toys and a few custom-made shaders/script

honorable mentions: @natural-harmonia-gropius from hdr-toys, @butterw from bShaders, folk from discord, reddit and even chatgpt.

Download:

mpv.HDR.build.2026.zip (new latest January 2026)
update (January 2026): improved gamma.lua script

mpv HDR build 2025.zip (old August 2025)
update (August 2025):

1. the new script will automatically boost gamma in dark scenes and reduce brightness in very bright scenes
2. I added af=lavfi=[dynaudnorm=p=0.65:m=2:f=100:g=15:s=30] to normalize audio (control peaks, better dialogue/speech), you can disable it for sound systems etc. m=2 (max gain) boosts quiet parts and p=0.65 limits max peak to 65%

portable_config.zip (old) (2024)

Info:

1. In HDR (PQ) mode the UI elements (which includes subtitles) have a different appearance. There is nothing that you can do about it. I added a different subtitle color to the profile. sub-color='#e3cd00' (yellow)
2. Saturation is set to -20, this is my personal preference on my display. Adjust it to your preference.

Dolby Vision Build

Dolby Vision.zip
you can also use this profile for Dolby Vision, but you loose the dynamic hdr-compute-peak ability (this is the issue #11338 (comment))
To make this work you have to disable vf=format:dolbyvision=no:hdr10plus=no and delete the lua script from scripts folder.

[HDR]
profile-cond=get("video-params/primaries") == "bt.2020" and get("video-params/gamma") == "pq"
profile-restore=copy
hwdec=no
vo=gpu-next
dither-depth=8
dither=fruit

#Set saturation to your taste
saturation=-20

#PERFORMANCE (for low spec machines, better performance)
profile=fast
deband=no

#AUDIO (1. normalizes audio, 2. optional profile for multichannel 5.1)
af=lavfi=[dynaudnorm=p=0.50:m=2:f=100:g=15:s=30]
#af=lavfi=[pan=6c|c0=0.6*c0|c1=0.6*c1|c2=c2|c3=c3|c4=0.6*c4|c5=0.6*c5],lavfi=[dynaudnorm=p=0.50:m=2:f=100:g=15:s=30]

#SUBTITLES (fixes subtitle color in HDR mode)
sub-color='#e3cd00'

#HDR
target-colorspace-hint=no
gamut-mapping-mode=clip
vf=format:dolbyvision=no:hdr10plus=no
tone-mapping=st2094-10
target-peak=100
hdr-compute-peak=yes
allow-delayed-peak-detect=yes
hdr-peak-percentile=99.9
target-prim=bt.2020
target-trc=pq

#GLSL SHADER
glsl-shader=~~/shaders/pq_inv.glsl
glsl-shader-opts=L_hdr=1000,L_sdr=100
glsl-shader=~~/shaders/black_point_compensation.glsl
glsl-shader=~~/shaders/jedypod.glsl
glsl-shader=~~/shaders/bt1886.glsl

glsl-shader=~~/shaders/desatHDR.glsl
glsl-shader=~~/shaders/vibrance.glsl

difference between this and default mpv:
default mpv will desaturate dark scenes almost to black and white while my profile keeps the saturation normal
I opened issues for that here haasn/libplacebo#304 and here #15340

this profile:

default mpv:

[Vantskruv]

Thank you! I am using settings and I am very satisfied.
I am running a HTPC with Kodi as browser and MPV as player (overriding the Kodi player).
The HTPC is connected to a RX-A8A reciever and a Sony HW65ES projector.

[kasper93]

here is an updated version #15340 (comment) just add to that hdr-peak-percentile=99.8 is much better know

You should consider profile=high-quality

[geextahslex]

You should consider profile=high-quality

In the future I will, but not on my current potato PC. It's a wonder that HDR tonemapping even functions ^^'

[Vantskruv]

I wonder if this would give a better image-quality, if running on a HDR projector, hence ignoring the projector "HDR capabilites", as projectors is known to not work well with HDR and Dolby Vision?

I am on the razors edge of buying a 4k projector (which often do have HDR support). I am not sure if it is worth it, I am currently satisfied with the image quality from my 10 year old Sony HW65ES (I never seen a 4k projector in action).

[geextahslex]

I have no experiences with projectors, but when you consider that many HDR TV's have issues with displaying proper HDR I would think twice about that. HDR tonemapping makes a good job, when the picture is bright enough for you I would wait with any purchase. Only my opinion.

[danbezerra]

I have a JVC projector and use MPV to tone mapping HDR to SDR gamma, but configured to use my max nits output (~100 nits, to add some extra highlights) and BT.2020. So better than regular SDR.

There are some newer projectors with good HDR/DV tone mapping built in as well.

[Canowyrms]

Nice, looking forward to trying this.

Have you given any thought to setting up a repo with releases? Might be a little easier for users to receive updates 🤔

Regardless, thanks for this!

[geextahslex]

Honestly I don't know how all fo this repo/github stuff works, so it's hard to say. I'm just a casual user.
No problem, I hope it works nice for you :)

[glpc-blaze]

can these shaders and scripts work on android mpv i'm amazed by this work and works finely on windows

[geextahslex]

I don't know, I never tried it on android

[dasdasrft]

I used your preset and it looks great, but I’m wondering why you set the saturation to -20. Is it just a personal preference? It looks a bit washed out on my monitor.

[geextahslex]

Thats nice to hear :)
Yes depending on the content I switch between -10 and -25 saturation. Some productions (like sci-fi shows) are oversaturated for my taste, but yes this is only my preference.

[Headcrabed]

Btw what would it look like if using tone-mapping=bt.2446a? I found someone said that this would give better result among mpv's built-in tonemapping algorithms.

[geextahslex]

You would have to make screenshots from some samples with low,mid and highlight scenes and then see which one looks best to you.

[rabbit-time]

This is really good. Although, it seems like the shaders are being applied to the entire window rather than just the media.

I noticed my UI controls and subtitles are greyed out now and are kinda hard to see since they aren't their regular bright white anymore. Is there a way to fix this?

[geextahslex]

No, unfortunately you can't bypass this. You can adjust your subtitles color and add this to your HDR profile. I use this yellow color
sub-color='#e3cd00'

[stellarwork]

Would this work with mpv-android? Thanks.

[geextahslex]

I don't know. I only use it on Windows

[glpc-blaze]

works fine on android but some shaders like vibrance struggle

[glpc-blaze]

im seeing visible brightness fluctuations using your script in bright scenes

[glpc-blaze]

indeed, im using your shaders .latest April version i think astra shader makes brightness fluctuation
requesting make a fix

[glpc-blaze]

@geextahslex ive done that earlier its not the script problem im using astra with it that may be causing problem as when i removed it flucation didnt happened

[geextahslex]

This script is finetuned as a package with all shaders, scripts and settings.
Astra is its own thing that controls exposure, brightness etc. on its own. These are two different paths. You can't slap them together.
To make astra work you have to follow hdr-toys setup/config
It will not work properly with astra as glsl from hdr-toys. This script works only with mpv native tone-mappers like tone-mapping=st2094-10

[glpc-blaze]

glsl-shader-opts=L_hdr=1000,L_sdr=100 what should be the value of sdr as when i set to 300{my ips's peak brightness} i get dark video

[geextahslex]

it should be the same value as target-peak=100

you can adjust this on the fly, put this into your config, and keybind to something
L_sdr

PGUP cycle-values glsl-shader-opts pq_inv/L_sdr=50 pq_inv/L_sdr=60 pq_inv/L_sdr=70 pq_inv/L_sdr=80 pq_inv/L_sdr=90 pq_inv/L_sdr=100 pq_inv/L_sdr=110 pq_inv/L_sdr=120 pq_inv/L_sdr=130 pq_inv/L_sdr=140 pq_inv/L_sdr=150 pq_inv/L_sdr=200 
PGDWN cycle-values !reverse glsl-shader-opts pq_inv/L_sdr=50 pq_inv/L_sdr=60 pq_inv/L_sdr=70 pq_inv/L_sdr=80 pq_inv/L_sdr=90 pq_inv/L_sdr=100 pq_inv/L_sdr=110 pq_inv/L_sdr=120 pq_inv/L_sdr=130 pq_inv/L_sdr=140 pq_inv/L_sdr=150 pq_inv/L_sdr=200 

target-peak

UP add target-peak 50
DOWN add target-peak -50

[KAGEYAM4]

I was playing *.1080p.NF.WEB-DL.DDP5.1.Atmos.DV.HDR.H.265-teamACH and the color looked washed out, i have SDR display. Using yours latest zip fixed it but subtitle looked washed out, as you mentioned in previous comment and hdr-toys faq.

is there no inbuilt solution for this in mpv? is this being worked on? I saw #15340, but i am not sure if this is related.

I tried showtime ( gnome video player ) and it looks good there but it using alot of CPU. I tried VLC but it is same here, the situation is little bit improved in vlc-git but not fully.

is this problem niche? from now on i will be careful not to get HDR/DV files.

Also, the tonemapping is quite good on https://github.com/mpv-android or https://github.com/marlboro-advance/mpvEx, can you take a look. I think its even better than what the current config is doing.

[geextahslex]

Have you tried to change the subtitle color, like I mentioned in a previous question?
No, unfortunately you can't bypass this. You can adjust your subtitles color and add this to your HDR profile. I use this yellow color
sub-color='#e3cd00'

is there no inbuilt solution for this in mpv? is this being worked on? I saw #15340, but i am not sure if this is related.

I have no idea, I am not involved in the development of mpv, honestly this doesn't bother me

I tried showtime ( gnome video player ) and it looks good there but it using alot of CPU. I tried VLC but it is same here, the situation is little bit improved in vlc-git but not fully.

Yes this project is very light, I have an old PC thats why performance was crucial to me

is this problem niche?

Which problem do you mean? Tone-mapping in general? I guess it is, probably most people have already an HDR display/tv

from now on i will be careful not to get HDR/DV files.

I always try to get HDR, this gives you the best image quality. SDR can not match this, but if you have tone-mapping issues, than go for SDR.
If you are only watching on a phone, I wouldn't use HDR, files are bigger, quality on a small screen doesn't really matter and the battery will drain faster.

Also, the tonemapping is quite good on https://github.com/mpv-android or https://github.com/marlboro-advance/mpvEx, can you take a look. I think its even better than what the current config is doing.

I have no experience with those projects and also with anything on android.

[maxim-sm]

Thank you for sharing the profile! I think it looks much better than the default.

A quick question, is there a specific reason to use hwdec=no? Will it be OK to use hwdec=auto-safe with this profile?

[geextahslex]

You welcome :)
Not really (so no specific reason), this is just how I setup my config and I know it works. You can make changes and see if it still works normally.

[maxim-sm]

Got it, thanks!