HDR Toolkit
Test it in your own project before you buy.
A three-tool HDR system for DaVinci Resolve — SDR-to-HDR conversion, peak-nit limiting, and nit-level exposure analysis.
Built for colorists, DPs, and finishing artists delivering in PQ and HLG. The HDR Toolkit covers the moves every HDR delivery demands: place a finished SDR grade into an HDR container with its look intact, roll your peaks into the deliverable spec without a hard clip, and read every pixel in nits before the file leaves the suite.
All three tools share one diagnostic language and run in real time on the node graph — from conversion to limiting to final QC, with no round-trips.
New to DCTLs? See our complete guide to DCTLs in DaVinci Resolve.
Why Not Just Use a CST, Custom Curves, or the Scopes?
A CST or color-managed conversion will mathematically place SDR into an HDR container, but it makes one-size-fits-all assumptions: where diffuse white lands, how highlights map toward peak. There is no per-shot control and no on-screen verification in nits. Fine for a quick viewing conversion, not for a supervised master.
Hand-building a highlight roll-off with the curve tool in a PQ timeline means eyeballing a spline against a 0–10,000-nit scale. Tiny point moves swing hundreds of nits, nothing guarantees your ceiling, and the spline has to be rebuilt shot by shot. A limiter with the ceiling typed in nits is repeatable — and provable.
The waveform tells you what levels exist in the frame — not which pixels are about to clip, how much roll-off a highlight is receiving, or what perceptual brightness a saturated color actually carries. False color in nits puts the answer on the image itself, where your eyes already are.
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HDR Toolkit — Frequently Asked Questions
What is the HDR Toolkit?
A three-tool DCTL collection for HDR mastering in DaVinci Resolve. SDRtoHDR places finished SDR grades into PQ or HLG containers, PQ Limiter rolls highlights into your deliverable's peak spec, and PQ False Color gives you nit-level exposure analysis on screen. The three share one consistent diagnostic language, so what you learn in one tool reads instantly in the others.
Do I need an HDR reference monitor?
For final grading decisions, yes — and it must genuinely support HDR and PQ (ST.2084); nothing replaces proper HDR monitoring. That said, the Toolkit's false color, curve overlays and nit-labeled references let you verify signal placement objectively even when you're working on a client monitor, a scaled-down display, or checking a remote grade.
Does it support both PQ and HLG?
SDRtoHDR outputs to both ST.2084 PQ and BT.2100 HLG. PQ Limiter and PQ False Color are purpose-built for PQ — the container behind HDR10, Dolby Vision masters, and most streamer deliverables.
Does it work in ACES or DaVinci color-managed projects?
Yes. Like all DCTLs, the tools operate on the signal at the node where you place them. Place the PQ tools where the signal is PQ-encoded (typically at or after your output stage), and feed SDRtoHDR a display-referred SDR signal. Node placement for RCM, ACES and manual pipelines is covered in the included User Guide.
How is this different from Resolve's built-in HDR tools?
Resolve's color management handles conversions generically. HDR Toolkit is built for the mastering decisions those conversions don't make — where diffuse white lands, how highlights render on their way to peak, exactly where your roll-off engages — with on-screen verification of all of it, in nits, as you grade.
Will this help me pass Netflix and other streamer QC?
The Limiter gives you direct control over peak levels so your master stays inside spec, and False Color lets you verify it shot by shot before export. QC compliance always depends on your full pipeline — but these tools are built to remove the guesswork from the parts you control.
How do I install it?
Installation is handled by the free PixelTools installer app: download it, run the installer, and the HDR Toolkit DCTLs are placed in the correct Resolve folder automatically.
Can I try it before buying?
Yes — a free watermarked demo including SDRtoHDR and PQ Limiter is available, so you can run the tools in your own suite, on your own footage, before you buy. Find it on the demo product page linked in the Demo Version tab above.
Do I need DaVinci Resolve Studio?
Yes. HDR Toolkit is a DCTL collection, and DCTL plug-ins run only in DaVinci Resolve Studio — they aren't supported in the free edition. Requires DaVinci Resolve Studio 20.1 or later.
Is it a one-time purchase or a subscription?
A one-time purchase with free updates — no subscription.
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