SwitchHDR Reconstructs True 16-Bit HDR From 8-Bit SDR Footage Using Region and Prompt Control

SwitchHDR is a new research model designed to recover genuine 16-bit HDR from ordinary 8-bit SDR video. Rather than stretching the existing signal — which exposes banding and amplifies noise — the model infers the high-dynamic-range scene the footage originally came from, rebuilding clipped highlights and recovering clean shadow detail. Output is delivered as a 16-bit EXR sequence in scene-linear ACES AP0, suitable for professional grading in tools like DaVinci Resolve.

What distinguishes SwitchHDR from conventional HDR conversion approaches is its controllability. Because highlight recovery is a one-to-many problem — a blown-out region could represent a sun, a window, or a bright sky — the model accepts direction via luminance-threshold masks and text prompts, letting cinematographers and colorists steer recovery independently for highlights and shadows. The model was trained on real HDR footage rather than synthetic or tone-mapped material, and processes sequences temporally so recovered regions remain stable frame to frame without shimmer or flicker.