Convert automotive listing video to HDR
Paint reflections and chrome trim behave the same way glass and water do outdoors: they clip to white in SDR and hold their shape in HDR10. Dealership walkaround clips are usually well within the size and time limits.
Why HDR helps here
Paint reflections and chrome trim keep highlight detail instead of flattening to white.
A typical 20 to 45 second walkaround clip is comfortably inside the 60-second limit.
Most listing platforms will not preserve HDR metadata, the same caveat as product video, so plan to use HDR on your own site, YouTube, and social.
What to shoot for
Paint, chrome and glass are all specular, so the entire subject is the kind of surface HDR helps with. Shoot when there is a defined light source to reflect: a low sun, a showroom light bar, a lit sign. Overcast light gives a car a soft even sheen with no bright specular, which converts to a technically HDR file with very little visible difference. Keep the brightest reflection below clipping.
What to expect
Reflections travel across bodywork with shape and falloff rather than blowing to a white streak. Headlights and tail lights hold their internal structure instead of becoming blobs. Chrome trim and polished wheels separate from the paint. Matte wraps and interior fabric shots gain the least.
Where it actually plays
Dealer sites, YouTube walkarounds and social are the usual destinations, and only YouTube reliably serves HDR of the three. If the video plays on a screen in the showroom, you control the player and the display, which is the best case: deliver the HDR10 file directly and confirm the screen reports HDR support.
Does your footage fit
MP4, MOV, or WebM. Up to 60 seconds and 500 MB. Resolution and frame rate come back exactly as they went in, nothing is resized or retimed.
- MP4, MOV, or WebM, straight from your camera or editor.
- Up to 60 seconds and 500 MB per clip.
- Resolution and frame rate come back exactly as they went in.
- Failed conversions refund automatically, usually within minutes.
Frequently asked questions
Will the HDR version show up on the dealership listing site?
Usually not. Most listing platforms re-encode to SDR. Use HDR for your own site and social, and keep an SDR export for the listing.
Does this work for interior shots too?
Yes. Interior dashboard and cabin shots with window light behave like the real estate use case, the same window-exposure benefit applies.
What if my walkaround video is longer than 60 seconds?
Trim to the strongest segment, usually the exterior reveal, or split it into two clips.
Does it help with night or showroom footage?
Night footage yes, strongly: headlights, street lights, lit signage and wet asphalt reflections are all above diffuse white and all flattened by SDR. Evenly lit showroom footage helps less unless there are visible light sources or strong specular reflections in frame.
Should I convert a full walkaround?
Only if it is 60 seconds or under, which most walkarounds are not. Convert the exterior orbit where light moves across the panels, which is the section that shows the difference, and keep interior detail coverage in SDR.
Get started
Upload a clip and see the price before you commit to anything. $6.00 per 10 seconds at 1080p and below, $12.75 per 10 seconds above 1080p, $0.60 minimum.
Convert a clip