# Brighter Highlights and Deeper Shadows From SDR Footage

> Convert SDR video to HDR with AI. Expand a clip's dynamic range for brighter highlights and deeper shadows, delivered as 10-bit HDR10 at the source resolution and frame rate.

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Players watch trailers and store videos on HDR televisions, consoles and phones, and SDR footage looks flat next to the HDR content around it. Grading a clip for HDR by hand takes time and tooling most marketing teams do not have on hand for every cut.

Convert to HDR on Layer expands an SDR clip's dynamic range, so highlights carry real brightness and shadows keep their depth. The result comes back as 10-bit HDR10 at the resolution and frame rate you sent, ready to drop into a store submission or a showcase reel.

## Key Capabilities

**Expanded Dynamic Range**
Bright effects, skies and specular highlights gain headroom, and dark scenes hold shadow detail instead of crushing to black.

**HDR10 Delivery Format**
Output is 10-bit HDR10, encoded as H.265 in an MP4, so it plays where HDR is expected.

**Source Resolution and Frame Rate Kept**
The clip comes back at the resolution and frame rate it went in at, 1080p or 4K, so it slots into the timeline without a conform.

**Works on Generated and Captured Footage**
Convert clips made in Layer, gameplay capture or edited cuts brought in from elsewhere, all in the same workspace.

**Part of the Video Toolkit**
Sits alongside Upscale, Convert FPS and Extend Video, so a clip can be finished end to end in one place.

## How It Works

**Select the clip**
Upload a finished cut or choose a video from your workspace.

**Convert**
Layer expands the clip into HDR. There is nothing to tune: the source sets the resolution, frame rate and length.

**Review and ship**
The HDR10 file returns to your workspace, ready to check on an HDR display and deliver.

## Built for Game Production

**Console and Store Trailers**
A trailer watched on an HDR screen shows the difference. Master the final cut so it holds up next to the HDR content around it.

**Showcase and Event Reels**
Presentation screens and streams reward bright highlights and deep blacks. Convert the reel once the edit is locked.

**Gameplay Capture**
Captures recorded in SDR can be expanded so magic effects, explosions and lighting moments land with more impact.

**Generated Cinematics**
Cinematic clips generated in Layer can be finished for HDR in the same workspace they were made in.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### What does Convert to HDR do?

It expands standard-dynamic-range footage into high dynamic range, so highlights can run brighter and shadows deeper on an HDR display than the SDR source allowed.

### What format does the HDR output come in?

The clip comes back as 10-bit HDR10, encoded as H.265 in an MP4, a widely supported HDR delivery format.

### Does it change the resolution or frame rate?

No. Resolution and frame rate are kept from the source, at 1080p or 4K. If you need a different frame rate, run Convert FPS first.

### When in the pipeline should I convert?

Treat it as a mastering step on finished footage. Lock the edit, the grade and any upscaling first, then convert the final cut.

### Can I convert AI-generated video?

Yes. Clips generated in Layer can be converted in the same workspace, alongside gameplay capture and edited footage you upload.

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Master your next trailer for HDR screens. Start converting on Layer.

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[View original](https://layer.ai/features/video-hdr) | [All Features](https://layer.ai/features)