Best HDR Software for 2025: Top 3 Picks Reviewed and Compared
- Last updated on 2025-04-15
Table Of Content
Introduction
SDR videos usually have a limited contrast, with muted, dull, and subdued colors with pale shades. So why don't you transform and refine how you consume your content more innovatively? Infuse the magic of AI to enjoy enhanced picture quality.
In this blog post, we will quickly educate you on the 3 best HDR software to take your SDR video clips to the next level with HDR. Stay tuned for a comprehensive review and comparison of all the HDR software.
What to Look for in HDR Software
You must not pick any random tool blindly when seeking the best HDR software. There are several significant contributors that can affect your decision-making process, making it more well-informed. Let's take a look at all the vital elements playing a critical role in determining the top HDR software for your needs.
1. HDR Quality and Accuracy offering true HDR output, color accuracy, and highlight and shadow details
2. AI Enhancement and Machine Learning Capabilities for scene detection, noise reduction, and powerful upscaling or enhancement
3. Customization and Control with manual adjustment tools, presets, and color grading options
4. Performance and Speed with hardware acceleration and rendering time, ensuring efficient encoding, file size, and export quality
5. User Interface and Ease of Use with beginner-friendly navigation, pro-grade control, and batch processing
6. Format Support and Compatibility to ensure support for common formats, HDR standards, and platform compatibility
7. Extra Features like a built-in editor, audio tools, and export presets
8. Price and User Reviews to ensure it fits your budget and has positive reviews from real users
Top 3 HDR Software
We've tested and compared the top-performing tools on the market. Here are the top 3 HDR software you should consider in 2025 — powerful, intelligent, and perfect for content creators of all levels.
#1 UniFab HDR Upconverter AI (Best HDR Software)
UniFab HDR Upconverter AI is the first to pioneer AI-powered SDR to HDR conversion, supporting both HDR10 and Dolby Vision. It intelligently enhances brightness, contrast, and color depth for cinematic visuals. With support for DCI-P3 and Rec.2020 color spaces, UniFab ensures accurate color reproduction across different displays—making it the best HDR software available.
Performance Analysis on SDR to HDR
UniFab's SDR to HDR conversion delivers a gentle boost in contrast while maintaining a natural and balanced look, closely resembling native HDR. Color accuracy is well-controlled, with moderate saturation enhancement that preserves the original color distribution. Shadow and midtone details are well-retained, resulting in a smooth, true-to-source HDR effect.
Processing Speed on SDR to HDR Conversion
UniFab stands out with its fast processing speed, outperforming most other HDR software.
Source Video Data
Duration: 9 min 57 s
Resolution: 1920 × 1080
Frame Rate: 23.976 fps
| Mode | Conversion Time | Conversion Speed |
|---|---|---|
| HDR | 9min 45s | 24.49 fps/s |
#2 Topaz Hyperion SDR to HDR
Topaz Video AI is also a go-to HDR softwarefor most professionals and novices to fulfill their SDR to HDR conversion needs. Its newly released Hyperion SDR to HDR feature leverages the inverse tone mapping process (or up-mapping) for seamless conversion.
Performance Analysis
Topaz Hyperion’s SDR to HDR conversion delivers a visibly brighter and more contrast-rich image, with enhanced shadow visibility and striking highlights. However, this aggressive tone mapping often leads to overexposure in bright areas and loss of both highlight and shadow details. The color reproduction is vivid—especially warm tones—which can sometimes appear oversaturated or overcorrected compared to the more balanced look of native HDR.
Processing Speed
Source Video Data
Duration: 9 min 57 s
Resolution: 1920 × 1080
Frame Rate: 23.976 fps
| Mode | Conversion Time | Conversion Speed |
|---|---|---|
| Hyperion | 14min 11s | 16.72 fps/s |
#3 HitPaw SDR to HDR
HitPaw VikPea (formerly known as HitPaw Video Enhancer) is also a reliable HDR software that allows you to easily convert SDR to HDR. It offers an adjustable Dynamic Range setting from 1 to 5, giving you control over the brightness and contrast levels to achieve your desired HDR effect.
Performance Analysis
For HitPaw, as the Dynamic Range (DR) value increases, the overall brightness of the video also rises. Compared to true HDR, this adjustment results in an overly bright image with higher color saturation. Especially at higher DR levels, the visuals tend to resemble SDR more than HDR, which may negatively affect the overall viewing experience.
Processing Speed
HitPaw's processing speed is quite slow, often taking several hours even for short video clips.
Source Video Data
Duration: 9 min 57 s
Resolution: 1920 × 1080
Frame Rate: 23.976 fps
| Mode | Conversion Time | Conversion Speed |
|---|---|---|
| HitPaw D2 | 2h 37min 10s | 1.52 fps/s |
| HitPaw D5 | Approx. 3h | 1.33 fps/s |
HDR Reviews: Basic Info Comparison Table of 3 HDR Software
Let us dive into the detailed comparison of the 3 HDR softwareto get a fair overview across common categories.
| Key Factors | UniFab HDR Upconverter AI | Topaz Hyperion SDR to HDR | HitPaw SDR to HDR |
| Ease of Use | Easy, user-friendly interfac | Steep Learning Curve | Simple, beginner-friendly interface |
| Price (Lifetime) | US$119.99 UniFab All-In-One: US$279.99 (including HDR Upconverter AI) | US$299 (Topaz Video AI) | US$350.39 (HitPaw Video Enhancer) |
| HDR Info in MediaInfo | ✅ Present | ❌ Not Present | ❌ Not Present |
HDR Reviews: Performance and Speed Test of 3 HDR Software
We tested all the 3 HDR software to test their performance and speed. Here’s how the results turned out when we upconverted a 9min 57s SDR video to HDR.
Test Machine:
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5700G with Radeon Graphics
Source Video Data:
Duration: 9 min 57 s
Resolution: 1920 × 1080
Frame Rate: 23.976 fps
| Performance and Speed | UniFab HDR Upconverter AI | Topaz Hyperion SDR to HDR | HitPaw SDR to HDR |
| Output Quality | Natural colors, balanced highlights, and rich shadows | Bright and vivid, it loses details in highlights and shadows | Oversaturated and high contrast with highlight loss |
| Preserves HDR Depth | Yes. Preserves true HDR depth | Weakens HDR effect | Resembles SDR more than HDR |
| Conversion Speed | 24.49 fps/s | 16.72 fps/s | 1.52 fps/s |
| Conversion Time | 9min 45s | 14min 11s | 2h 37min 10s |
To explore how these tools compare in other features, check out: UniFab vs Topaz and Hitpaw vs Topaz.
How to Convert SDR to HDR with the Best HDR Software: UniFab HDR Converter AI
We have seen how UniFab HDR Upconverter AI stands out in terms of high quality, performance, and speed compared to other HDR software. So, let’s see how you can convert your SDR video clips to HDR with this intuitive, user-friendly software.
30-day Free Trial with full feature access!
Launch UniFab, go to All Features, and select HDR Upconverter under Video AI. Click the + icon or drag and drop your SDR video to import it.
Choose HDR 10 or Dolby Vision based on your needs, and adjust the color space, format, quality, audio settings, and other parameters as required.
Once you are satisfied, tap Start. UniFab HDR Upconverter will utilize its AI models and automatically upscale your SDR video clips to HDR10 or Dolby Vision.
Conclusion
Your favorite home-recorded videos and old movie collections deserve as much respect as the new ones. So why not redefine the memories without compromising on the data, details, or your viewing experience? We have discussed the 3 best HDR software with pros and cons. Our detailed review has compared the three tools to help you glance at their offerings on common parameters. While you are free to pick any, our favorite HDR software is UniFab HDR Upconverter AI. Its high-quality output, inbuilt editor, and cstomization options lure beginners and professionals for to-grade results.
FAQs about HDR Software
What is the best free HDR software?
Depending on your system requirements and preferences, you may choose the best free HDR software online or desktop tool for your usage. However, we suggest using the UniFab SDR to HDR Converter AI as it offers high-quality conversion with ultimate video editing and customization features. Its ‘30-day free trial without a watermark’ policy lets even new users gain insights into its paid version.
Will I lose detail and data by converting my video from SDR to HDR?
No. Nowadays, most HDR software uses AI enhancement technology. It upscales your low-quality video content to more stunning, vibrant, and realistic details with visible brightness, contrast, and saturation. So, the data does not get lost; instead, it improves more realistically.