There are lots of questions we all have about Dolby Vision 2, the new HDR format announced yesterday.
After all, while the press release was long, it was packed with buzzwords and feature names but very little in the way of hard detail.
Naturally, the one question that's popping up in our inbox and on our forums more than any other is: "Will I need to buy a new TV to get Dolby Vision 2?"
Well, we have news, and it's not promising.
We've contacted Dolby itself and every major TV manufacturer with a load of questions about Dolby Vision 2, including that one.
And while most brands have said they will get back to us in time, one of them, Philips, has replied with a very interesting tidbit.
Here's what our Philips contact said:
"I can only confirm at this stage that Dolby Vision 2 will be included on sets from the Philips 2026 TV range, but I can’t identify which models yet – though I can confirm older sets cannot be updated to include Dolby Vision 2."
It is, of course, not surprising to learn that Philips will be adopting the new Dolby Vision format, as the brand has been a driving force in HDR ever since its inception.
What is perhaps a little more surprising – and certainly disappointing – is that Dolby Vision 2 seemingly won't be supported by TVs manufactured before 2026.
Now, it's important to note that this response officially applies only to Philips TVs, and it certainly doesn't mean for sure that other brands won't be able to add Dolby Vision 2 to TVs that are already on sale.
But, given how forward-looking Philips is in terms of TV technology, and how powerful its flagship TVs tend to be, my thinking is that if Philips can't add Dolby Vision 2 to its current models, it's unlikely that other brands will be able to.
I could well be wrong, and perhaps we'll get some pleasant surprise announcements at IFA 2025, which is kicking off in Berlin pretty much as we speak, but my expectation now is that if you want Dolby Vision 2, you will have to wait and buy a new TV in 2026.
If that turns out to be true, it's going to be a big disappointment to people who have recently forked out for a new TV, particularly a flagship OLED model.
But if you are one of those people, I would like to remind you that we currently know very, very little about Dolby Vision 2.
So far, we have just vague promises of better shadow detail, improved motion and more AI. None of that guarantees that Dolby Vision 2 will actually be good.
We also don't know how Dolby Vision 2 will be delivered. Will it be streamed, or on discs? And will you need new source hardware to play it?
What I'm saying is that Dolby Vision 2 might not turn out to be much of an upgrade (assuming it's an upgrade at all), and it could be a very long time before compatible content is available.
So don't fall out with your lovely current TV just yet. It was great before yesterday's announcement, and it's still great now.
That said, I wouldn't buy a fancy new TV this week. IFA will hopefully bring with it some more Dolby Vision 2 details, and then we can all decide on whether it might be worth waiting for.
We will bring you all of the Dolby Vision 2 news as we get it.
MORE:
Here's our Dolby Vision 2 news story
4 big questions we have about Dolby Vision 2
These are the best TVs you can buy right now
