ISO 22028-5 sets a common language for HDR still image colour
A new international standard published in May defines how studios encode, store, and deliver HDR photographs and graphics with consistent colour across devices.
ISO 22028-5:2026, published in May, is the first international standard dedicated entirely to high dynamic range and wide colour gamut (HDR/WCG) still image encoding. Until now, studios working with HDR stills and graphics have had no agreed framework for what metadata to embed, how to store images safely, or how to guarantee colour fidelity across devices and destinations. That changes this standard.
The specification defines both baseline and extended colour encoding methods, mandates 10-bit minimum pipelines (12-bit recommended for master files), and requires embedded metadata that describes colour reproduction and content intent. For a studio shooting product visuals, creating composited imagery, or designing graphics for HDR display, this means one set of rules replaces the ad-hoc conversions that have dominated the work.
What actually shifted
The industry has been operating on fragments. Rec.2100 (BT.2100) handles HDR video, Rec.709 governs SDR stills, and working between them required custom LUTs and manual tone mapping. The new ISO standard bridges that gap for stills specifically, using Rec.2020 colour space and either PQ (perceptual quantizer) or HLG (hybrid log-gamma) transfer functions depending on whether the final destination is mastering-grade or broadcast.
Vision For Xperiences works on product animation and compositing that lands across both SDR and HDR destinations. A standard reference for still-image colour encoding means metadata can travel with the work, reducing the metadata hand-off friction that typically requires our team to rebuild colour instructions on delivery.
Single-stream workflows now have a standard
The standard enables single-stream delivery, where one HDR master serves both legacy SDR devices and HDR displays. This eliminates parallel rendering pipelines and halves the QA burden on deliverables. The metadata-driven approach means tone mapping adjustments can be applied downstream without re-grading, which matters when a campaign needs both cinema DCP and Instagram delivery from one source.
For teams working in DaVinci Resolve or similar grading tools, ISO 22028-5 now defines what those tools should write to disk. Resolve has supported HDR10+ workflows since version 15, and this standard gives that work a normative foundation. When a studio handles interactive installations or real-time graphics, HDR colour management becomes critical for public displays that increasingly support wide gamut and HDR output.
Where the edges still matter
The standard covers image encoding and storage, not the entire pipeline. Cameras have their own colour science. Displays have their own gamut and peak brightness. Metadata can describe intent, but a phone screen and a cinema projector will always render differently. The standard is a lingua franca, not a silver bullet.
For measurement-dependent work, architectural visualization, scientific imaging, colour-critical reproduction, ISO 22028-5 provides the framework. For stylized, look-driven work, it gives you a consistent foundation to build the grade on top of. That distinction matters when choosing between SDR and HDR delivery, because HDR's peak brightness is a creative tool in cinema but a technical requirement in broadcast.
The standard also assumes 10-bit or higher depth at all stages. Workflows still running 8-bit pipelines will find the metadata less useful. This has quietly become a dividing line in professional 3D and compositing: shops that upgraded to 10-bit colour pipelines a few years ago will adopt this without friction. Others will be constrained by their tool versions and can't deliver to the standard.
Next step: adoption
ISO standards don't enforce adoption, they enable it. The real test is whether software vendors implement ISO 22028-5 export by default, whether camera manufacturers embed the metadata on capture, and whether broadcasters and streaming platforms begin to request or require it. We're at the moment where the standard exists but hasn't yet reshaped the industry's buying decisions.
The timing matters. Rec.2100 took years to move from broadcast to production tools. The new still-image standard is narrower, it's aimed at photography, graphics, and visual effects, not all of video, so adoption may be faster.
Quick answers
Do I need to change my workflow if I'm delivering SDR only?
Not immediately. The standard applies to HDR/WCG content. If your deliverables are Rec.709 SDR, the standard doesn't mandate changes. However, if your client later asks for HDR delivery from existing masters, ISO 22028-5 metadata embeds the tone-mapping intent, so you won't need to re-grade.
What colour space does the standard use?
Rec.2020, the same wide-gamut colour space used in Rec.2100 video. Transfer functions are either PQ (for mastering) or HLG (for broadcast). Metadata describes which and lets downstream tools apply the right conversions.
Does this replace DaVinci Resolve's HDR10+ workflow?
No. Resolve's HDR10+ is a video delivery format. ISO 22028-5 is a still-image encoding standard. They're complementary. A compositer exports stills as ISO 22028-5, and those can be imported into a Resolve timeline and graded as HDR video.
Referenced
Image: “HDR” by PAULO HUMBERTO, via source. Licensed CC BY-SA 2.0.
Tell us what you are making.
We cover VFX, 3D animation, live visuals, interactive installations and licensed drone work under one roof, at budgets from small one-off jobs upward. Send a brief and you get a real answer within 48 hours.
