Surprise! Dolby Vision 2 is here! That’s essentially a summary of the What Hi-Fi? home cinema team’s morning, and an accurate description of how the second generation of one of the world's most popular HDR standards was unveiled.
For those who missed it, there is plenty to get excited about. Dolby is promising all-round upgrades that will improve everything from dark detail, thanks to its new Precision Black feature, to motion control, thanks to its new Authentic Motion feature.
If even a fraction of these promises ring true when we get our hands on content mastered to the standard and can watch it on a compatible TV, Dolby Vision 2 could be a huge deal for home cinema enthusiasts as well as movie fans in general.
Going through the press release and details Dolby has released thus far, however, TV and AV editor Tom Parsons and I were left with a few key questions…
1. Which TVs will support Dolby Vision 2?
The first and most basic question we have is which TVs are getting it? In the release, the only information we’ve been given is that Hisense is the launch partner for the standard. But even then, we haven’t been given specific models.
All we have been told is that the new sets will feature the next-generation RGB-MiniLED panel tech we first saw at CES 2025, and will be powered by a custom MediaTek Pentonic 800 with “MiraVision Pro” PQ Engine chipset – the purported first to integrate Dolby Vision 2. Sadly, even for these sets, even a vague indication of price and availability has not been given.
2. Is Dolby Vision 2 backwards compatible?
This leads to our second question: can any existing TVs be upgraded to support it, or is it going to be available only on next-generation sets with new chipsets optimised for Dolby Vision 2?
The short release indicates Dolby Vision 2 will require upgraded hardware to run, which would probably be an annoyance for any buyer who just spent thousands on a flagship OLED such as the five-star Sony Bravia 8 II, LG G5 and Panasonic Z95B.
It would be pretty annoying if these sets were already out of date, considering how mainstream the first-generation Dolby Vision standard is. The HDR format is seen with various 4K content on common streaming platforms, including Netflix, Apple TV Plus and Disney+.
We have asked Dolby for clarification on this point and reached out to TV manufacturers to confirm their plans for Dolby Vision 2.
3. How does Dolby Vision 2 actually work?
Dolby has also been fairly quiet about how the new technology actually works, and what specific performance improvements it will bring outside of very broad strokes.
For example, all we know about its new Precision Black feature is that it is designed to ensure greater clarity and ensure images don’t look too dark when watching Dolby Vision content.
But there is no technical detail on how it actually does this, outside a vague “better AI and processing” via new Content Intelligence and Next-Gen Dolby Image Engine toolkits – for which technical information is lacking.
The same is true about its new Light Sense feature, which promises to optimise compatible TVs' performance based on viewing conditions. Sound familiar? It should: Dolby Vision IQ has a similar goal. Again, Dolby promises improvements on this via Dolby Vision 2 but hasn’t revealed how they are being made.
4. What’s the difference between Dolby Vision 2 and Dolby Vision Max?
A further complication is that there are two new “tiers” of Dolby Vision: Dolby Vision 2 and Dolby Vision Max.
The only clarifying information Dolby has given is that Max “delivers the best picture on the highest performing TVs” and will have “additional premium features”.
We have reached out to Dolby for answers on all of the above and will update our coverage the moment we hear back.
In the meantime, make sure to get in touch on our social media pages, the comments section of this article, or directly using our shared whathifi@futurenet.com email address with any questions you have about Dolby Vision 2.
We’ll do our absolute best to get them answered!
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