Problem with getting HDR

[The_Tester]

Hi. I wanted to try use MakeMKV (v.1.18.2 Win) to backup a disc with HDR content but opening it shows only SDR. Am I doing something wrong? I'm using Verbatim 43888 (HL-DT-ST BD-RE BU40N) which I downgraded from 1.05 to 1.03 as tutorials suggested. Because I didn't get the HDR in the list of tracks, I also tried different recommended firmware (1.04). Still doesn't work. Tried two different discs, one quite new and one older. Seeing so many successes over the forum I'm pretty sure I'm doing some noob mistake...Please enlighten me.

[flojo]

If the files on the disc have HDR in them, then it might be impossible to not get HDR. I've never seen a option that states ~"Strip HDR". I'm thinking this is user error.

[The_Tester]

If the files on the disc have HDR in them, then it might be impossible to not get HDR. I've never seen a option that states ~"Strip HDR". I'm thinking this is user error.

If that's a user error then what error that could be? Both discs are HDR content and yet MakeMKV shows only MpegH HEVC Main10@L5.1, which doesn't include HDR stream when saving to mkv file (MediaInfo). Interestingly enough, when Win autostart kicks in for those dicsc and MPC-HC along with it, it does force Win to switch to HDR.

[dcoke22]

Do you have the latest version of MediaInfo? It looks like 25.10 is the most recent release.

[dcoke22]

Here's an example of MediaInfo output with an HDR10 rip:

Code: Select all

Video
ID                                       : 1
ID in the original source medium         : 4113 (0x1011)
Format                                   : HEVC
Format/Info                              : High Efficiency Video Coding
Format profile                           : Main 10@L5.1@High
HDR format                               : SMPTE ST 2086, HDR10 compatible

Here's a Dolby Vision example:

Code: Select all

Video
ID                                       : 1
ID in the original source medium         : 4113 (0x1011)
Format                                   : HEVC
Format/Info                              : High Efficiency Video Coding
Format profile                           : Main 10@L5.1@High
HDR format                               : Dolby Vision, Version 1.0, Profile 7.6, dvhe.07.06, BL+EL+RPU, no metadata compression, Blu-ray compatible / SMPTE ST 2086, Version HDR10, HDR10 compatible

[flojo]

If that's a user error then what error that could be?

I don't know. Rip the files off the disc then use MKVToolNix GUI with the .mpls file (playlist) and then check it.

[The_Tester]

Ok, I need to update my statement: At first I thought that both discs didn't get HDR after being saved as mkv. But the older one actually does - I was at the impression that it won't as I read that the HDR track should be visible in the MakeMKV tree and I didn't want to waste time to do actual mkv from the older disc...
So it looks like there's an issue with that specific newer dics that doesn't get the HDR stream properly for some reason. Is that something that can happen? I am using the latest MakeMKV and MediaInfo. Is it possible that the disc is too new?

[dcoke22]

Every 4K UHD that I've used with MakeMKV has had the HDR I expected it to have. It always shows up on the HDR format line in MediaInfo when I examine the resulting .mkv file. I don't even think about it or try to look for it in the MakeMKV tree.

[The_Tester]

So...after your reactions I took that disc to my dedicated BD player and...this weird release does not trigger HDR! And there's a DV right on the box! This is first time I'm seeing something like that. So it seems it's not the MakeMKV thing but rather something really, really weird.

[dcoke22]

Which movie is it? I have a few 4K UHDs in my collection that don't have any HDR. Flow (2024) is the most recent title I've encountered without any HDR, although as a Criterion release the box was correctly labeled.

[The_Tester]

It's French edition of Dracula.
I thought that the HDR was a part of UHD, I mean, that it is required...Am I wrong here? Anyway, the DV is there on the box.

[dcoke22]

I don't have that one in my collection. I believe you that the box suggests it has Dolby Vision. I was unable to find a picture of the back of the case on the internet. The few French sites I've found talking about the movie contradict one another about if the movie has any HDR or not.

https://4k-ultra-hd.fr/film/dracula-4k-2
That site seems to suggest that it does not have any HDR. But others have said that it does.

As I understand it, a UHD does not require HDR content. It certainly supports it however. I think it does require things to be in a wider colorspace, Rec. 2020, which is a bigger colorspace than Rec. 709 used on regular blu-rays. Having a wider color gamut is not the same thing as having high dynamic range however.

[The_Tester]

Interesting...I was convinced that the UHD standard required HDR to be present. I wonder where I got that from...
Anyway, I made a photo of the back of the box for future reference, if someone would need it.