## Introduction

This document defines the behavior of a new file format that encodes a logarithmic range gain map image in a JPEG image file. Legacy readers that don't support the new format read and display the conventional low dynamic range image from the image file. Readers that support the format combine the primary image with the gain map and render a high dynamic range image on compatible displays.

The remainder of this document describes the methods of the processes needed to make use of this format. At a high level, the life cycle of an image conforming to this format is:

1. Encoding

   1. Gain map generation
   2. Gain map compression
   3. Gain map container generation
2. Decoding

<br />

![Example Ultra HDR image format file layout, with associated metadata and offset information](https://developer.android.com/static/guide/topics/media/images/hdrimageformatexample.png)

**Figure 1.**Example file layout and relevant metadata.

## Motivation

The goal of this file format is to encode additional information in SDR image files that can be used in combination with the display technique to produce their optimal HDR renditions, in a single file.

For this to be practical, the file format must:

- Be backward compatible, so that on naive viewers, the conventional SDR image is displayed.
- Not take up too much extra space.

Additionally, the display technique must:

- Not require heavy processing to decode.
- Be able to adapt to any ratio between a display's HDR and SDR white points, which can vary significantly between devices, or even temporally on a single device.

And finally, the technique must be able to do all of the preceding actions without ever:

- Clipping highlights.
- Crushing shadows.
- Changing or compressing local contrast.
- Changing relative tonal relationships (between objects in the scene).

## Dependencies

The following are normative references for this specification:

- [Adobe XMP Specification Part 3: Storage in Files](https://github.com/adobe/XMP-Toolkit-SDK/blob/main/docs/XMPSpecificationPart3.pdf "Adobe XMP Specification Part 3: Storage in Files")
- [ISO 16684-1:2019 XMP Specification Part 1](https://www.iso.org/standard/75163.html "ISO 16684-1:2019 XMP Specification Part 1")
- [ISO/IEC 14496-12 ISO base media file format](https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#iso:std:iso-iec:14496:-12:ed-7:v1 "ISO/IEC 14496-12 ISO base media file format")
- [T.81 (09/92) Digital compression and coding of continuous-tone still images](https://www.itu.int/rec/T-REC-T.81-199209-I/e "T.81 (09/92) Digital compression and coding of continuous-tone still images")
- [White Paper of CIPA DC-x 007-2009 Multi-Picture Format](https://www.cipa.jp/std/documents/e/DC-X007-KEY_E.pdf "White Paper of CIPA DC-x 007-2009 Multi-Picture Format")

## Definitions

- SDR display

  - A conventional display, not designed for displaying HDR content. These displays typically produce a nominal peak brightness of about 400 cd/m^2^or less.
- HDR display

  - A display designed for HDR content. These displays typically produce a nominal peak brightness greater than that of an SDR Display, typically 800 cd/m^2^or greater, and typically also have better contrast ratios than SDR displays.
- Primary image

  - The first instance of an image in a GContainer file with secondary media files appended to it. The primary image contains GContainer XMP metadata defining the order and properties of subsequent secondary media item files in the file container.
- Secondary image

  - Subsequent media item files that are appended to the primary image in a GContainer file.
- Range compression

  - In photography, real-world scenes often have more dynamic range than an SDR display can represent. Operations such as Range compression, also called local tone mapping, are needed to reduce the dynamic range of an image. This reduction needs to avoid clipping highlights or crushing shadows, while preserving local contrast as much as possible. You try to reduce the size of large luminance edges in the image, which contribute more to its global contrast, while trying to preserve the size of the small luminance edges, which are the details. Although there are many different implementations, such an operation is standard on most modern digital cameras today.
- SDR white point

  - The maximum linear luminance of SDR content on a display at a certain point in time.
- HDR white point

  - The maximum linear luminance of HDR content on a display at a certain point in time. This value is typically higher than the SDR white point.
- Boost

  - The HDR white point divided by the SDR white point.
- Max content boost (`max_content_boost`in equations)

  - This value lets the content creator constrain how much brighter an image can get, when shown on an HDR display, relative to the SDR rendition.
  - This value is a constant for a particular image. For example, if the value is four, then for any given pixel, the linear luminance of the displayed HDR rendition must be, at the most, 4x the linear luminance of the SDR rendition. In practice, this means that the brighter parts of the scene can be shown up to 4x brighter.
  - In practice, this value is typically greater than 1.0.
  - Always greater than or equal to*Min content boost*.
- Min content boost (`min_content_boost`in equations)

  - This value lets the content creator constrain how much darker an image can get, when shown on an HDR display, relative to the SDR rendition. This value is a constant for a particular image.
  - If, for example, the value is 0.5, then for any given pixel, the linear luminance of the displayed HDR rendition must be (at the least) 0.5x the linear luminance of the SDR rendition.
  - In practice, this value is typically equal to or just less than 1.0.
  - Always less than or equal to*Max content boost*.
- Max display boost (`max_display_boost`in equations)

  - The maximum available boost supported by a display, at a given point in time. This value can change over time based on device settings and other factors, such as ambient light conditions, or how many bright pixels are on the screen.
  - For example, if this value is 4.0, then the display is capable of displaying a pixel that is at most four times brighter than the SDR white point. This value is always \>= 1.0, since the display can always display HDR white at least as bright as SDR white.
- Display boost

  - Equal to the lesser of max content boost and max display boost. This value is always \>= 1.0.
  - For example, if max content boost is 4.0 and max display boost is 3.0, then display boost is 3.0. Pixels are displayed as much as 3x brighter than SDR, since the display capabilities are the limiting factor.
  - For another example, if max content boost is 4.0 and max display boost is 5.0, then display boost is 4.0. Pixels are displayed as much as 4x brighter than SDR, since the content's intent is the limiting factor.
- Target HDR rendition

  - The ideal HDR rendition, according to the content creator.
- Adapted HDR rendition

  - The final HDR rendition that is shown on the display, after adapting the Target HDR rendition for the current display boost.
- Gain map (`recovery(x, y)`in equations)

  - A map indicating how much to brighten each pixel, in the SDR rendition, to produce the target HDR rendition. This map can be single-channel or multi-channel. A multi-channel map indicates a separate gain for each color channel, such as red, green, and blue. This document illustrates the case of a single-channel map.
- `clamp(x, a, b)`

  - Clamp the value x to the range \[a, b\].
- `exp2(x)`

  - Base 2 exponentiation; 2^x^.
- `floor(x)`

  - Returns the nearest integer equal to or less than x.
- `log2(x)`

  - Base 2 logarithm; log~2~(x)
- `pow(b, x)`

  - Exponentiation; b^x^.
- XMP

  - Extensible Metadata Platform. A standard that defines a method for encoding metadata into an image container; defined by[ISO 16684-1:2011(E) XMP Specification Part 1](https://www.iso.org/standard/75163.html "ISO 16684-1:2019 XMP Specification Part 1").
- Multi-Picture Format

  - Multi-Picture Format is a technique developed by the Camera and Imaging Products Association (CIPA) for storing multiple JPEG encoded images in a single JPEG file.
  - For more information, see the related dependency,[White Paper of CIPA DC-x 007-2009 Multi-Picture Format](https://www.cipa.jp/std/documents/e/DC-X007-KEY_E.pdf "White Paper of CIPA DC-x 007-2009 Multi-Picture Format").
- GContainer

  - GContainer is a method for storing multiple images in one image container, where one image is considered to be the primary image. Any additional images are considered alternative versions or auxiliary. XMP metadata is used to communicate the presence and meaning of any additional images. For more information, see the[GContainer details](https://developer.android.com/media/platform/hdr-image-format#GContainer_details)section.

## Encode

This section describes how to encode a conforming JPEG file. Refer to[T.81 (09/92) Digital compression and coding of continuous-tone still images](https://www.itu.int/rec/T-REC-T.81-199209-I/e "T.81 (09/92) Digital compression and coding of continuous-tone still images"), in the Dependencies section, for more information about the JPEG format.

### Gain map generation

Camera imaging pipelines commonly perform a range compression operation to compress higher dynamic range luminance data to the lower range of conventional SDR displays. The gain map provides a mechanism to store data sufficient to recover the original, higher dynamic range luminance data.

The following calculations in this section assume floating point arithmetic.
| **Note:** To illustrate the following formulas, this document assumes that you are using a single-channel gain map. If this isn't the case, then formulas relating to these properties can be extrapolated to each color channel. You skip converting from`SDR(x, y)`and`HDR(x, y)`to`Ysdr(x, y)`and`Yhdr(x, y)`respectively and instead define`pixel_gain(x, y)`as a vector function relative to`SDR(x, y)`and`HDR(x, y)`. You also utilize per-channel metadata values, as required. Use a single-channel gain map whenever possible.

The following functions describe the SDR image:

- `SDR'(x, y)`is the three-channel, non-linear (typically gamma-encoded) primary image.
- `SDR(x, y)`is the linear version of the three-channel primary image, obtained by transforming to a linear version of the primary image color space. For example, from a color space with a sRGB transfer function to a linear color space that preserves sRGB color primaries.

The`Ysdr(x, y)`function is defined on the range of 0.0 to 1.0 and is the standard dynamic range primary image linear luminance:  

    Ysdr(x, y) = primary_color_profile_to_luminance(SDR(x, y))

Similar definitions exist for the HDR image.

- `HDR'(x, y)`is the three-channel non-linear, that is, a PQ or HLG encoded image.
- `HDR(x, y)`is the three-channel linear HDR image.

`Yhdr(x, y)`is the luminance at a given point of the HDR image:  

    Yhdr(x, y) = primary_color_profile_to_luminance(HDR(x, y))

`Yhdr(x, y)`is defined in the range 0.0 to max content boost.

The SDR and HDR images must be the same resolution. The color profile of the SDR image defines the color space of the HDR image.

For example, if the SDR primary image has a Display-P3 color profile, then the HDR image is defined relative to the primary colors of that profile. This means the HDR image also has Display-P3 primaries.

The gain map is computed from two linear images containing the wanted HDR image luminance,`Yhdr(x, y)`, and the standard range luminance image,`Ysdr(x, y)`.

The`pixel_gain(x, y)`function is defined as the ratio between the`Yhdr(x, y)`function and the`Ysdr(x, y)`function:  

    pixel_gain(x, y) = (Yhdr(x, y) + offset_hdr) / (Ysdr(x, y) + offset_sdr)

The`pixel_gain(x, y)`function behavior where`Ysdr(x, y)`and`offset_sdr`are both zero is implementation-defined.

For example, implementations can handle the case where`Ysdr(x, y)`and`offset_sdr`are both zero by defining`pixel_gain(x, y)`as 1.0. Alternatively, implementations also avoid this scenario by utilizing a non-zero`offset_sdr`.

The implementation might choose the values of`offset_sdr`and`offset_hdr`.
| **Tip:** Use a value of 0.015625 (1/64) for`offset_sdr`and`offset_hdr`. The purpose of these values is to balance the ability to raise near blacks with the ability to precisely encode smaller gain values. Increasing these offset values increases the ability to recover near blacks, while maintaining a reasonable value for`map_max_log2`. Increasing the values too high can reduce precision of the map.

The gain map is a scalar function that encodes`pixel_gain(x, y)`in a logarithmic space, relative to max content boost and min content boost:  

    map_min_log2 = log2(min_content_boost)
    map_max_log2 = log2(max_content_boost)

    log_recovery(x, y) = (log2(pixel_gain(x, y)) - map_min_log2)
                       / (map_max_log2 - map_min_log2)
    clamped_recovery(x, y) = clamp(log_recovery(x, y), 0.0, 1.0)
    recovery(x, y) = pow(clamped_recovery(x, y), map_gamma)

The`recovery(x, y)`function behavior where`pixel_gain(x, y)`is zero is implementation defined, because`log2(0)`is undefined.
| **Tip:** Define`recovery(x, y)`as 0.0 where`pixel_gain(x, y)`is zero. This is because`recovery(x, y)`of 0.0 represents the largest possible attenuation that can be stored in the gain map.

`map_gamma`is a floating point number that must be greater than 0.0 and is chosen by the implementation.
| **Tip:** Use a`map_gamma`of 1.0. You can use a different value if your gain map has a very uneven distribution of`log_recovery(x, y)`values. For example, this might apply if a gain map has a lot of detail just above SDR range (represented as small`log_recovery(x, y)`values), and a very large`map_max_log2`for the top end of the HDR rendition's desired brightness (represented by large`log_recovery(x, y)`values). In this case, you can use a`map_gamma`higher than 1.0 so that`recovery(x, y)`can precisely encode the detail in both the low end and high end of`log_recovery(x, y)`.

The values of max content boost and min content boost are implementation-defined, and can be arbitrarily decided by the content creator. Max content boost must be greater than or equal to 1.0. Min content boost must be in the range (0.0, 1.0\].
| **Note:** For example, say the image comes from a camera, and the camera's image-processing pipeline generates the SDR image by performing range compression on a higher dynamic range input. Then, max content boost and min content boost might be a function of the amount of range compression performed and what regions of luminance it affected.  
|
| Such pipelines might choose a min content boost of 1.0 if they don't want to encode any attenuation of the HDR image relative to the SDR image. Alternatively, if generating the gain map based on the SDR and HDR renditions themselves, max content boost and min content boost can be determined based on the maximum and minimum gain needed to convert between the two renditions.  
|
| Content creators or editors can also adjust max content boost to control the maximum allowable difference between SDR and HDR luminance when the image is displayed.

Values in`recovery(x, y)`are limited to the range \[0.0, 1.0\].
| **Note:** The brightest areas of the image typically have`recovery(x, y)`values close to 1.0, while darker areas of the image have values around 0.0.

The gain map is stored in a secondary image JPEG, and therefore must be encoded using 8-bit, unsigned integer values, thus in the range \[0, 255\]. Each value represents a`recovery(x, y)`value and is stored in one pixel of the secondary image.

For 8-bit unsigned integer storage, the encoded value is defined as the following:  

    encoded_recovery(x, y) = floor(recovery(x, y) * 255.0 + 0.5)

Calculation of the encode function is done in floating point and converted at the end to the 8-bit unsigned integer result by rounding as indicated.

This encoding results in an 8-bit unsigned integer representation of`recovery(x, y)`values, from 0.0 to 1.0. The encoded gain map must be stored in a secondary image item as a JPEG. The implementation chooses the amount of compression to use during JPEG encoding.
| **Tip:** Start with an implementation defined JPEG algorithm quality parameter of 85 to 90 out of 100, or similar, for most JPEG encoding implementations.

After the gain map is stored in a secondary image, it is appended to a primary image with MPF and GContainer XMP metadata. The primary image GContainer directory must contain an item for the gain map image.

The resolution of the stored gain map is implementation-defined and can be different from the resolution from the primary image. In the case that the Gain Map is scaled to a different resolution from the primary image for storage, the sampling method must be bilinear or better, and is implementation defined.
| **Tip:** Have the gain map downsampled to ¹⁄₁₆ of the size (¼ on each dimension) of the primary image before storage, such as a 480x270 gain map for a 1920x1080 primary image. The gain map needs a similar aspect ratio to the primary image.

The orientation of the gain map must match that of the primary image. If present, any orientation metadata in the stored gain map image, as in EXIF, isn't used.

If present, the gain map's color profile isn't used.

### Gain map container

#### Color profile

The color profile of the image must be indicated via an ICC Profile for the primary image.
| **Tip:** Use a Display-P3 color profile.

#### XMP attributes

The primary image contains XMP metadata to define at least two images with extra semantic information for the HDR gain map format.

The following subsections contain details specific to this format. Additional information regarding general conformance to GContainer is specified in the[GContainer details](https://developer.android.com/media/platform/hdr-image-format#GContainer_details)section.

Attribute values described in the following tables are stored as XMP simple values of the specified XMP basic value types.

#### Item semantic values

The`Item:Semantic`property defines the application-specific meaning of each media item in the container directory.

|  Value  |                                                               Description                                                               |
|---------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Primary | Indicates that the media item is the primary image, ready for display, in the container. The directory must contain one "Primary" item. |
| GainMap | Indicates that the media item is a gain map. The directory might contain at most one "GainMap" item.                                    |

#### HDR Gain map metadata

Gain map metadata encodes information about how to interpret and apply the gain map to produce the HDR representation of the primary image.

The XMP namespace URI for the gain map metadata XMP extension is`http://ns.adobe.com/hdr-gain-map/1.0/`. The default namespace prefix is`hdrgm`.

This metadata is stored in the gain map image's XMP packet and the following properties must appear in the gain map image XMP's`rdf:Description`:

|           Name           |              Type              |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Description                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |
|--------------------------|--------------------------------| |
| hdrgm:Version            | Text                           | The version of the gain map format in use. This version is "1.0".*Required*.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      |
| hdrgm:BaseRenditionIsHDR | Boolean                        | Indicates the dynamic range of the primary image. "False" indicates the primary image is SDR and the gain map can be combined with it to produce an HDR rendition. "True" indicates the primary image is HDR and the gain map might be combined with it to produce the SDR rendition. Must be "False".*Optional; default value is "False".*                                                                                                                                                                                       |
| hdrgm:GainMapMin         | Real or ordered array of Reals | Stores the value(s) of`map_min_log2`. This is`log2`of min content boost, which is the minimum allowed ratio of the linear luminance for the target HDR rendition relative to (divided by) that of the SDR image, at a given pixel. May be a single Real, or an ordered array of Reals. When an ordered array of Reals, it may contain one item which applies to all channels or three items for the Red, Green, and Blue channels respectively. Must be less than or equal to`hdrgm:GainMapMax`.*Optional; default value is 0.0.* |
| hdrgm:GainMapMax         | Real or ordered array of Reals | Stores the value(s) of`map_max_log2`. This is`log2`of max content boost, which is the maximum allowed ratio of the linear luminance for the Target HDR rendition relative to (divided by) that of the SDR image, at a given pixel. May be a single Real, or an ordered array of Reals. When an ordered array of Reals, it may contain one item which applies to all channels or three items for the Red, Green, and Blue channels respectively. Must be greater than or equal to`hdrgm:GainMapMin`.*Required*.                    |
| hdrgm:Gamma              | Real or ordered array of Reals | Stores the value(s) of`map_gamma`. This is the gamma to apply to the stored map values. May be a single Real, or an ordered array of Reals. When an ordered array of Reals, it may contain one item which applies to all channels or three items for the Red, Green, and Blue channels respectively. Must be greater than 0.0.*Optional; default value is 1.0.*                                                                                                                                                                   |
| hdrgm:OffsetSDR          | Real or ordered array of Reals | Stores the value(s) of`offset_sdr`. This is the offset to apply to the SDR pixel values during gain map generation and application. May be a single Real, or an ordered array of Reals. When an ordered array of Reals, it may contain one item which applies to all channels or three items for the Red, Green, and Blue channels respectively. Must be 0.0 or greater.*Optional; default value is 0.015625 (1/64).*                                                                                                             |
| hdrgm:OffsetHDR          | Real or ordered array of Reals | Stores the value(s) of`offset_hdr`. This is the offset to apply to the HDR pixel values during gain map generation and application. May be a single Real, or an ordered array of Reals. When an ordered array of Reals, it may contain one item which applies to all channels or three items for the Red, Green, and Blue channels respectively. Must be 0.0 or greater.*Optional; default value is 0.015625 (1/64).*                                                                                                             |
| hdrgm:HDRCapacityMin     | Real                           | Stores the value of`hdr_capacity_min`. This is`log2`of the minimum display boost value for which the map is applied at all. This value also affects how much to apply the gain map based on the display boost. Must be 0.0 or greater.*Optional; default value is 0.0.*                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |
| hdrgm:HDRCapacityMax     | Real                           | Stores the value of`hdr_capacity_max`. This is`log2`of the maximum display boost value for which the map is applied completely. This value also affects how much to apply the gain map based on the display boost. Must be greater than`hdrgm:HDRCapacityMin`.*Required*.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |

| **Tip:** Whenever possible, use only a single Real value for each preceding property that permits one value or an array of values, with one for each color channel. Set`HDRCapacityMax`equal to`GainMapMax`and`HDRCapacityMin`to the greater of`GainMapMin`or 0.0. The rest of this document assumes that you are using a single Real value for all properties which may have an array of Real values. Formulas about these properties can be extrapolated to each color channel when this isn't the case in practice.

#### Example gain map XMP

The following example of a valid gain map XMP packet contains metadata taken from the example file illustrated in the[Introduction](https://developer.android.com/media/platform/hdr-image-format#introduction)section.  

```xml
<x:xmpmeta xmlns:x="adobe:ns:meta/" x:xmptk="XMP Core 5.5.0">
  <rdf:RDF xmlns:rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#">
    <rdf:Description rdf:about=""
     xmlns:hdrgm="http://ns.adobe.com/hdr-gain-map/1.0/"
     hdrgm:Version="1.0"
     hdrgm:GainMapMin="-0.57609993"
     hdrgm:GainMapMax="4.7090998"
     hdrgm:Gamma="1"
     hdrgm:OffsetSDR="0.015625"
     hdrgm:OffsetHDR="0.015625"
     hdrgm:HDRCapacityMin="0"
     hdrgm:HDRCapacityMax="4.7090998"
     hdrgm:BaseRenditionIsHDR="False"/>
  </rdf:RDF>
</x:xmpmeta>
```

#### MPF storage of the gain map

The gain map image must be stored as an additional image as defined in[CIPA DC-x 007-2009 Multi-Picture Format](https://www.cipa.jp/std/documents/e/DC-X007-KEY_E.pdf "White Paper of CIPA DC-x 007-2009 Multi-Picture Format"), as referenced in the[Dependencies](https://developer.android.com/media/platform/hdr-image-format#dependencies)section.

## Decode

This section describes how to decode the gain map from a conforming JPEG file.

### Signal of the format

A JPEG file conforming to this format may be identified by the presence of`hdrgm:Version="1.0"`in the primary image's XMP packet, where`hdrgm`is the namespace URI`http://ns.adobe.com/hdr-gain-map/1.0/`.

### Locate the gain map image

For details on parsing and decoding the image, see the following[GContainer details](https://developer.android.com/media/platform/hdr-image-format#GContainer_details)section. A "GainMap" semantic item within the XMP`rdf:Directory`is used to signal the location of a gain map image. Alternatively, the MPF Index IFD and scanning images' XMP is used to determine the location of a gain map.

### Handle invalid metadata

Metadata is considered invalid if a required field is not present, or if any field is present with an invalid value. A value may be invalid because it is not parseable to the specified type or because it is outside of its expected range.

If invalid metadata is encountered, the gain map should be ignored and the SDR image should be displayed.

## Display

Files encoded in the HDR gain map format might be rendered on either conventional SDR displays, or on HDR displays capable of higher-luminance output.

### Use the gain map to create the adapted HDR rendition

The following calculations in this section assume floating-point arithmetic.

`encoded_recovery(x, y)`is the single-channel, 8-bit, unsigned integer value from the gain map image.

If the gain map is a different resolution than the primary image, then`encoded_recovery(x, y)`is instead determined by a filtered sampling of the gain map image for x and y over the range of the primary image width and height, respectively. The filtering method must be bilinear or better and is implementation defined.

`map_gamma`is determined by the`hdrgm:Gamma`metadata field.

`log_recovery(x, y)`is the normalized floating point pixel gain in a logarithmic space:  

    recovery(x, y) = encoded_recovery(x, y) / 255.0
    log_recovery(x, y) = pow(recovery(x, y), 1.0 / map_gamma)

Max display boost is a scalar floating point value defined as the ratio between the current HDR white point and divided by the current SDR white point. This value is provided by the display system and can change over time.

`hdr_capacity_max`is determined by the`hdrgm:HDRCapacityMax`metadata field.`hdr_capacity_min`is determined by the`hdrgm:HDRCapacityMin`metadata field.

`weight_factor`is determined as follows when`hdrgm:BaseRenditionIsHDR`is "False":  

    unclamped_weight_factor = (log2(max_display_boost) - hdr_capacity_min)
                            / (hdr_capacity_max - hdr_capacity_min)
    weight_factor = clamp(unclamped_weight_factor, 0.0, 1.0)

When`hdrgm:BaseRenditionIsHDR`is "True", the second equation is instead:  

    weight_factor = 1.0 - clamp(unclamped_weight_factor, 0.0, 1.0)

`gain_map_max`is determined by the`hdrgm:GainMapMax`metadata field.`gain_map_min`is determined by the`hdrgm:GainMapMin`metadata field.`offset_sdr`is determined by the`hdrgm:OffsetSDR`metadata field.`offset_hdr`is determined by the`hdrgm:OffsetHDR`metadata field.

The linear adapted HDR rendition can be computed as follows:  

    log_boost(x, y) = gain_map_min * (1.0f - log_recovery(x, y))
                    + gain_map_max * log_recovery(x, y)
    HDR(x, y) = (SDR(x, y) + offset_sdr) * exp2(log_boost(x, y) * weight_factor)
              - offset_hdr

If needed, the implementation might apply a transform to`HDR(x, y)`, to put the data in the space expected by the display. Any such transformations must be colorimetrically correct.
| **Note:** The gain map must be applied as shown earlier (using exponentiation) to properly produce the needed relative tonal relationships (between areas of different brightness in the image) at any wanted display boost. If the Gain Map is applied any other way, such as via simple linear interpolation, then the relative tonal relationships within the image are correct only at max content boost, and are compromised at other boost factors.  
|
| The described method for recovering the adapted HDR rendition means that display results transition seamlessly as max display boost changes. This method always produces a display result that matches the content creator's intention as closely as possible, and that meets all of the image quality requirements enumerated in the[Motivation](https://developer.android.com/media/platform/hdr-image-format#motivation)section.  
|
| The amount of attenuation applied in cases where min content boost is less than 1.0 also scales based on the relationship between max display boost and max content boost. For example, if max content boost is 4.0, min content boost is 0.5, and Max display boost is 2.0, then the maximum attenuation of the displayed image is 0.7071, rather than 0.5 if max display boost is 4.0 or higher.

## GContainer details

This section specifies additional requirements such that this format conforms with GContainer XML metadata. The metadata is serialized following[ISO 166841:2011(E) XMP Specification Part 1](https://www.iso.org/standard/75163.html "ISO 16684-1:2019 XMP Specification Part 1")and embedded inside the primary image file as described in[Adobe XMP Specification Part 3 Storage in Files](https://github.com/adobe/XMP-Toolkit-SDK/blob/main/docs/XMPSpecificationPart3.pdf "Adobe XMP Specification Part 3: Storage in Files"). The primary image file contains the following items, formatted as RDF/XML.

### XMP packet requirements

The XMP packet shall include the gain map metadata XMP extension via the namespace URI`http://ns.adobe.com/hdr-gain-map/1.0/`. The default namespace prefix is`hdrgm`.

The XMP packet shall define`hdrgm:Version="1.0"`.

### Container element

The XMP namespace for the GContainer XMP extension is`http://ns.google.com/photos/1.0/container/`. The default namespace prefix is`Container`.

The primary image contains a`Container:Directory`element in XMP metadata defining the order and properties of the subsequent media file in the file container. Each file in the container has a corresponding media item in the`Container:Directory`. The media item describes the location in the file container and the basic properties of each concatenated file.

The container element is encoded into the XMP metadata of the primary image and defines a directory of media items in the container. Media items must be located in the container file in the same order as the media item elements in the directory and must be tightly packed.

The directory can contain only one "Primary" image item and it must be the first item in the directory.

|    Element name     |            Type             |                                                     Description                                                     |
|---------------------|-----------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Container:Directory | Ordered Array of Structures | Ordered array of structs each containing a`Container:Item`struct defining the layout and contents of the container. |

### Item element

Item elements describe how each media item is used by the application.

The XMP namespace URI for the GContainer Item XMP extension is`http://ns.google.com/photos/1.0/container/item/`. The default namespace prefix is`Item`.

The first media item must be the primary image. It must specify`Item:Semantic
= "Primary"`and an`Item:Mime`listed in[Item MIME type values](https://developer.android.com/media/platform/hdr-image-format#item_mime_type_values).

The length of the primary image item is determined by parsing the primary image based on its MIME type starting at the beginning of the file container.

Media items can contain an`Item:Padding`attribute specifying additional padding between the end of the media item and the beginning of the next media item. When present on the last media item in the`Container:Directory`,`Item:Padding`indicates padding between the end of the item and the end of the file.

Each media item must contain`Item:Mime`type and`Item:Semantic`attributes. The secondary image media items must contain`Item:Length`attributes.

Sequential media items can share resource data within the file container. The first media item determines the location of the resource in the file container, and subsequent shared media items have`Item:Length`set to 0. In the case that the resource data is itself a container,`Item:URI`might be used to determine the location of the media item data within the resource.

The location of media item resources in the container is determined by summing the length of the primary image encoding, the`Item:Length`values of the preceding secondary media item resources, and all preceding`Item:Padding`values.`Item:Padding`is considered to be 0 on media item resources that don't specify its value.

| Attribute name |  Type   |                                                                                                                                                                                                   Description                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
|----------------|---------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Item:Mime      | Text    | Simple string indicating the MIME type of the media item in the container. For a definition, see the Item MIME type values section.*Required*.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
| Item:Semantic  | Text    | Simple string indicating the application specific meaning of the media item. For a definition, see the Item semantic values section.*Required*.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 |
| Item:Length    | Integer | Simple string containing a positive integer length in bytes of the item. Length 0 indicates that the media item resource is shared with the previous media item.*Required for secondary media items. Optional for the primary image media item.*                                                                                                                                                                |
| Item:Label     | Text    | Implementation defined string used to disambiguate multiple item elements with the same`Item:Semantic`.*Optional*.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |
| Item:Padding   | Integer | A string containing a positive integer length in bytes of additional padding between the end of the media item and the beginning of the next media item, or end of the file when used on the last media item in the`Container:Directory`. A value of 0 is assumed when not present.*Optional.*                                                                                                                  |
| Item:URI       | Text    | A URI string conforming to[ISO/IEC 14496-12](https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#iso:std:iso-iec:14496:-12:ed-7:v1)section 8.11.9, containing the relative URI of the media data inside the media item resource. Default is the primary image resource.*Optional for[ISO base media file format ISO/IEC 14496-12](https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#iso:std:iso-iec:14496:-12:ed-7:v1)MIME types. May not be used otherwise.* |

### Item MIME type values

The`Item:Mime`attribute defines the MIME type of each media item data.

|   Value    | Description |
|------------|-------------|
| image/jpeg | JPEG image. |

### Example GContainer XMP

The following example of a valid GContainer XMP packet has metadata taken from the example file illustrated in the[Introduction](https://developer.android.com/media/platform/hdr-image-format#introduction)section.  

```xml
<x:xmpmeta xmlns:x="adobe:ns:meta/" x:xmptk="Adobe XMP Core 5.1.2">
  <rdf:RDF xmlns:rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#">
    <rdf:Description
     xmlns:Container="http://ns.google.com/photos/1.0/container/"
     xmlns:Item="http://ns.google.com/photos/1.0/container/item/"
     xmlns:hdrgm="http://ns.adobe.com/hdr-gain-map/1.0/"
     hdrgm:Version="1.0">
      <Container:Directory>
        <rdf:Seq>
          <rdf:li rdf:parseType="Resource">
            <Container:Item
             Item:Semantic="Primary"
             Item:Mime="image/jpeg"/>
          </rdf:li>
          <rdf:li rdf:parseType="Resource">
            <Container:Item
             Item:Semantic="GainMap"
             Item:Mime="image/jpeg"
             Item:Length="66171"/>
          </rdf:li>
        </rdf:Seq>
      </Container:Directory>
    </rdf:Description>
  </rdf:RDF>
</x:xmpmeta>
```

## ISO 21496-1 Compatibility

[ISO 21496-1](https://www.iso.org/standard/86775.html "ISO 21496-1 Digital Photography — Gain map metadata for image conversion - Part 1: Dynamic Range Conversion")provides an alternative encapsulation mechanism for encoding gain map metadata in an image file. You can encode both Ultra HDR metadata and ISO 21496-1 metadata in one JPEG file using a single gainmap image in the file.

![The ISO 21496-1 metadata appears immediately after the APP1 XMP segment in both JPEG images](https://developer.android.com/static/guide/topics/media/images/hdrimageformatwithisoexample.png)

**Figure 2.**Example file layout with Ultra HDR and ISO 21496-1 metadata.

For maximum cross-platform compatibility, Android implementations and apps that implement their own encoding or decoding of JPEG files with gain maps should support encoding and decoding for both Ultra HDR v1 and ISO 21496-1 metadata. During an encode operation, the implementation or app should encode both metadata formats. If both types of metadata are present during a decode operation, the implementation or app should prefer using the ISO 21496-1 metadata.
| **Note:** Android supports ISO 21496-1 encoding from and decoding to[`Bitmap`](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/graphics/Bitmap "Android Bitmap class")for JPEG starting on Android 15 (API level 35). Android 15 encodes both Ultra HDR v1 metadata and ISO 21496-1 metadata when encoding Ultra HDR JPEG files from`Bitmap`objects. In addition, the[libultrahdr](https://github.com/google/libultrahdr "libultrahdr on GitHub")library in AOSP supports ISO 21496-1 encoding when the appropriate[flag](https://github.com/google/libultrahdr/blob/46f1337fbc63eee76d4554375269b95fd5f3ff58/lib/src/jpegr.cpp#L56 "libultrahdr ISO 21406-1 encoding flag")is enabled.

## Change Log

This section contains information about changes between versions of this specification.

### v1.1

All changes in this version of the Ultra HDR specification are informational and about ISO 21496-1 compatibility. There are no changes to the actual file format.

- Add[ISO 21496-1 Compatibility](https://developer.android.com/media/platform/hdr-image-format#iso_21496_1_compatibility)section.

### v1.0

The initial Ultra HDR specification publication.