True DCI-Certified HDR for Cinema
DCI-Certified HDR vs. DCI-Certified SDR
At its core, Dynamic Range refers to the contrast between an image’s darkest and brightest elements in an image. While Standard Dynamic Range (SDR) has long been the norm for cinema imagery, it displays a limited range of brightness and color, with a maximum luminance of 48 nits. High Dynamic Range (HDR) significantly expands the difference, offering a maximum luminance of 300 nits. The DCI-certified HDR display system is about 13 times brighter than the DCI-certified SDR system. Even darkest elements in an image displayed by a DCI-certified HDR display are twice as dark as that in a DCI-certified SDR display. This allows for greater detail and more vibrant, lifelike colors and contrast than SDR. HDR produces images that more closely match how the human eye perceives the real world, enabling filmmakers to work with a much broader spectrum of colors, more subtle dark tones, and dramatically brighter highlights—such as sunlight glints or explosive action. The resulting image exhibits much greater contrast, revealing fine details in both the brightest highlights and the deepest shadows.
Why DCI Compliance Matters in HDR Cinema?
Major studio DCI-Certified HDR movies contain extra brightness and color data. To screen them, cinemas must meet DCI standards by using DCI-certified HDR direct-view cinema displays and DCI-certified HDR LED media servers.
For HDR technology to truly honor the filmmaker’s vision, it must follow strict, interoperable standards. This is where Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI) becomes essential. DCI is a group of major Hollywood studios that established the specifications for digital cinema systems to ensure a consistent, high-quality, and secure theatrical experience. DCI-compliance ensures that a film’s artistic intent is maintained and presented uniformly in every certified cinema worldwide. It acts as a mark of quality and a promise to audiences that they are experiencing the true, unaltered cinematic vision the filmmaker intended.
How Can Cinema Deliver a
True DCI-Certified HDR Experience?
The true potential of DCI-certified HDR emerges only when every DCI-compliant component works seamlessly together—without each element, HDR’s full impact cannot be realized.
- DCI-Certified HDR Display:The DCI-certified LED screen, like the CINITY LED cinema display system, serves as the ultimate display.
- DCI-Certified HDR LED Media Server:The GDC HDR LED media servers provide the secure, high-performance foundation for playback.
- DCI-Certified HDR Content:The content itself must be produced and mastered to DCI-certified HDR specifications.
Cinema LED Screens:
The Ultimate Canvas for DCI-Certified HDR
The true potential of DCI-compliant HDR can only be realized with cinema LED screens. Unlike cinema projectors, cinema LED displays are self-emissive, meaning each pixel generates its own light. This enables them to achieve the DCI-certified HDR specification of 300 nits peak brightness uniformly across the entire screen. At this brightness level, films reveal richer colors, deeper contrasts, and striking highlights with stunning realism.
In contrast, while cinema projectors can play HDR content, the inherent limitations of projection prevent them from achieving peak brightness levels of 300 nits uniformly across the entire screen. Recognizing this disparity, DCI specifications impose significantly tighter tolerances on cinema LED displays than on projectors for several key HDR performance metrics. Additionally, a projector’s brightness and black levels are highly influenced by the viewing environment, where ambient light can wash out blacks and diminish overall contrast.
GDC's Leadership in
DCI-Certified HDR LED Media Servers
A DCI-certified HDR LED display is just one part of the picture. To provide a complete DCI-certified HDR experience, the entire workflow from content creation to playback must be DCI-compliant. The core of this system is a strong, dependable, and powerful LED media server. As of June 2025, over 70% of LED cinemas worldwide use GDC LED media servers. Currently, LED cinema screens—including Cinity LED, Samsung Onyx, HeyLED, and LED Tokyo—rely on GDC to achieve DCI-certified HDR.
GDC is proud to be the very first company to deliver a DCI-certified HDR LED media server with full 3D support. In early 2025, the GDC DCI-certified HDR LED media server, integrated with the Cinity LED cinema screen, has successfully passed rigorous evaluations under DCI’s Compliance Test Plan Version 1.4. Achieving DCI compliance for direct-view HDR presentation was a technical milestone made possible by years of focused innovation, deep R&D investment, and the dedication of our top engineering talent.
GDC offers two models of DCI-certified HDR all-in-one media server for seamless 2D/3D HDR and HFR playback. The key features include:
- Robust Architecture: Both GDC DCI-compliant LED media servers are built using GDC’s Flexible Architecture Stable Technology (FAST) and are HDR and HFR ready. They are also built on a 100,000-hour Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) architecture and feature embedded power electronics used in medical and military products, ensuring overall system stability and ultra-reliable performance.
- Industry’s Highest Frame Rate: The HDR LED media server built for Cinity LED screen, can playback 4K 3D and 4K 120fps.
- Seamless Integration: Another DCI-certified HDR LED media server from GDC can playback 4K 3D and 4K 96fps to ensure smooth integration with world’s leading cinema LED screens, providing consistent quality from content to display, making it ideal for a DCI-compliant HDR setup.
At GDC, we are excited to be at the forefront of cinema’s future, not just adapting but also actively shaping it. For exhibitors and filmmakers who are passionate about excellence, investing in a complete DCI-compliant HDR ecosystem—with certified cinema LED displays and LED media servers—is more than just a decision; it’s becoming the new standard for truly immersive modern cinema to create a super-realistic motion picture experience, making the movie feel incredibly real.