AWS MediaConvert HDR: HDR10, HDR10+, Dolby Vision Pro tier requirements
AWS MediaConvert's HDR support — HDR10, HDR10+, HLG, Dolby Vision via Pro tier. Metadata signaling, color-space conversion for SDR fallbacks, and the licensing model.
AWS MediaConvert's HDR encoding is full-featured — HDR10, HDR10+, HLG, and Dolby Vision are all supported. The trade-off is the pricing tier: HDR encoding requires the Pro tier (3-5× the basic tier rate per minute), which makes the cost meaningful at scale. For operators delivering HDR primarily, MediaConvert is well-equipped; for operators where HDR is occasional, the tier system can over-charge.
What AWS MediaConvert actually has
HDR10 (static metadata, broadcast-ubiquitous) with full master-display + max-cll signaling. HDR10+ (Samsung/Amazon dynamic metadata) for compatible delivery targets. HLG (BBC/NHK broadcast standard). Dolby Vision profile 5 (mobile-optimized, single-layer) and profile 8.4 (HDR10-backward-compatible). Color-space conversion from BT.2020 to BT.709 for SDR fallback renditions in ABR ladders — typically required for non-HDR-capable players. Metadata-aware tone-mapping for HDR-to-SDR conversion. Dolby Vision encoding requires accepting Dolby's licensing terms in the AWS console — a meaningful integration step.
Where it's the right fit
AWS-resident HDR workflows where the encoded output integrates with MediaPackage for HDR-aware HLS/DASH delivery via CloudFront. Operators delivering primarily HDR content where the Pro tier pricing is amortized across mostly-HDR encoding. Studio-grade workflows where Dolby Vision is contractually required and the AWS Elemental stack's end-to-end HDR support fits the procurement umbrella.
Where the gaps show up
Pro tier pricing makes HDR uneconomical for occasional HDR encoding within a mostly-SDR library. Dolby Vision licensing in MediaConvert is a console-side acceptance flow that many engineering teams don't notice until the first DV-tagged encode fails — the docs could surface this more prominently. NVENC GPU acceleration for HDR encoding lags software encoding in MediaConvert's pipeline.
Pricing implications
HDR encoding lives in MediaConvert's Pro tier: ~$0.030/minute for 1080p HDR10, ~$0.075/minute for 4K HDR10, with Dolby Vision adding a per-encode surcharge for the licensing. Reserved-capacity contracts reduce the per-minute cost meaningfully but require upfront throughput commitment.
MpegFlow's HDR10 + HLG support ships in the 2026 Q2 encoder MVP via libx265 with proper master-display + max-cll signaling. Dolby Vision arrives 2026 Q4 alongside DRM — same dependency on encoder licensing. Self-hosted economics on spot pools make HDR encoding cost-comparable to SDR at scale. Audit log records the HDR metadata produced for each rendition so QC can verify metadata survives delivery.
- hdr
- hdr10
- dolby-vision
- aws-mediaconvert
- codec