HDRcreated

HDRcreated is a term used in digital imaging to denote that a file carries metadata indicating its content was created as high dynamic range (HDR) rather than derived from standard dynamic range (SDR) sources. It is not part of formal HDR standards like HDR10 or Dolby Vision, but rather appears in some workflows and vendor documentation as a marker of HDR provenance. The concept is intended to help software and hardware distinguish HDR assets from SDR assets for appropriate processing and display.

In practice, HDRcreated is typically implemented as a metadata flag embedded in image files or in accompanying metadata containers such as XMP or EXIF sidecar data. It can be stored as a custom field or maker note in formats capable of carrying HDR data, including TIFF, OpenEXR, or certain JPEG variants. The flag signals that the image contains scene-referred HDR data or has undergone HDR creation processes, such as multi-exposure merging or computational HDR synthesis, and may influence tone-mapping, color management, and display-time decisions.

Adoption and compatibility of HDRcreated are uneven. Because it is not standardized, it may be ignored or stripped by some software, devices, or platforms, leading to inconsistent interpretation. As a result, workflows relying on HDRcreated typically rely on broader HDR metadata conventions or vendor-specific implementations to ensure reliable handling across tools.

See also: High dynamic range imaging, HDR10, tone mapping, image metadata, XMP, EXIF.