Amazon Prime Video is preparing to introduce another high dynamic range format, promising brighter highlights, more detailed dark scenes and smarter handling of motion.
The service will begin offering selected titles in HDR10+ Advanced worldwide during August 2026. Prime Video is the first streaming platform to support the new standard, although it will initially be available only through Samsung’s 2026 television range.
That makes HDR10+ Advanced sound like an important upgrade—but also raises a familiar question for viewers: will it improve the television you already own, or is this another feature reserved for people buying new hardware?
What Is HDR10+ Advanced?
HDR10+ Advanced is the latest evolution of HDR10+, the dynamic HDR format originally introduced by Samsung, Panasonic and 20th Century Fox.
Standard HDR10 uses one set of brightness and colour instructions for an entire film or episode. HDR10+ can change those instructions from one scene to the next, allowing a compatible television to adjust its picture more precisely.
HDR10+ Advanced builds on that system with additional metadata designed for newer televisions with higher peak brightness, more processing power and improved local dimming.
The standard introduces several headline features:
- Enhanced overall brightness
- More detailed local tone mapping
- Advanced colour control
- Genre-specific picture optimisation
- Intelligent motion smoothing
- Support for adaptive HDR cloud gaming
The additional metadata can help compatible televisions preserve details in dark areas while making better use of the brightness available in highlights. It can also apply different processing based on whether the viewer is watching a film, sporting event or another type of content.
Intelligent Motion Smoothing May Be the Controversial Part
Motion smoothing is one of the most divisive television features.
It can make sport and other fast-moving content appear clearer, but it can also make films look unnaturally smooth—an effect often described as the “soap opera effect”.
HDR10+ Advanced attempts to address this by using scene-by-scene metadata. Instead of applying the same motion processing throughout an entire programme, a compatible television can adjust it dynamically.
In theory, that could allow a film to retain its cinematic appearance while making action sequences or sporting events look smoother. Samsung says the system is designed to apply motion processing according to the needs of each scene.
However, anyone who prefers to watch films with as little television processing as possible should note an important limitation: HDR10+ Advanced is not supported when Samsung’s Filmmaker Mode is enabled.
Viewers may therefore need to choose between the new HDR10+ Advanced processing and a mode intended to reproduce content closer to the filmmaker’s original presentation.
Which Televisions Will Support It?
Prime Video’s rollout will initially be available on Samsung’s 2026 TV lineup. Samsung says support will extend to future products as the wider HDR10+ Advanced ecosystem develops.
There has been no announcement that older Samsung televisions will receive HDR10+ Advanced through a software update. Owners of 2025 and earlier models should therefore not assume their existing television will support the complete feature set.
The rollout will also apply only to supported Prime Video titles. Samsung and Amazon have not yet published a complete list of films, series or sporting events that will be available in the new format.
That means buyers should be careful about purchasing a new television solely for HDR10+ Advanced until the amount of compatible content becomes clearer.
Prime Video already has a history with the format. It became the first major streaming service to offer the original HDR10+ standard in 2017, initially making its HDR library available in HDR10+ on Samsung televisions from that year.
How Does It Compare With Dolby Vision?
HDR10+ and Dolby Vision already compete to provide dynamic HDR, with both formats allowing picture information to change between scenes.
The practical difference for viewers often comes down to device and content support. Samsung televisions have traditionally supported HDR10+ rather than Dolby Vision, while many TVs from LG and Sony have prioritised Dolby Vision.
HDR10+ Advanced adds capabilities aimed at modern premium displays, but it does not automatically make every Prime Video programme look better. The result will still depend on:
- How the content was mastered
- The quality and brightness of the television
- The television’s local-dimming performance
- The room’s lighting
- The picture settings selected by the viewer
A strong television displaying well-mastered standard HDR10 can still provide a better experience than a weaker model carrying a newer HDR badge.
Should You Buy a New TV for HDR10+ Advanced?
Probably not based on this feature alone.
HDR10+ Advanced may provide a visible improvement on supported content, particularly through brighter highlights and more precise handling of difficult dark scenes. Its dynamic approach to motion could also be valuable for live sport.
However, the launch is currently limited to selected Prime Video content and Samsung’s 2026 televisions. We also do not yet know how widely other manufacturers, streaming platforms and studios will adopt it.
Anyone already planning to buy a premium Samsung TV should treat HDR10+ Advanced as a useful additional feature.
Everyone else can afford to wait.
The technology may become an important part of future home entertainment, but its real value will depend on something no technical standard can provide on its own: enough films and shows that viewers actually want to watch.
By Radoslav Jokic
Updated on 4th August 2026