Converting the 4K HDR transfer back to 1080p is indeed a bit trickier, but it’s a bit more complex than just saying the image is brighter. There is more contrast and a sharper difference between the brightest of brights and the darkest of black levels, as is intended for an HDR image, but the benefits of that conversion get somewhat muddled when conforming the HDR benefits to SDR. This is made even worse by the fact that it’s almost impossible for PCs to take proper HDR screenshots as well. Only youtube clips viewed on Chrome or Edge on an HDR capable monitor should show the true benefits of these transfers accurately, or the original files displayed on a correctly calibrated 4K HDR TV.

In truth, this project is indeed intended for 4K HDR viewing and benefits by far the most from that transfer, but due to demand it was best to offer an SDR version as well, and for simplicity’s sake I had to render the 1080p version based on the HDR template. Most of my viewers actually like the brighter SDR transfer, but understandably some won’t and that’s okay. The impact of it will also vary depending on where the HDR source came from (an official transfer vs down-scaling one I made myself).

Overall, you’ll see far better retaining of detail and the more accurately intended contrast and color differences in the $K HDR version, but I’ve had such a wide audience of demand for these that I need to offer both versions from the same template.