MakeHDR — press kit
===================


READ THIS FIRST
---------------

Open the *-hdr.jpg files on an HDR display with the screen brightness at about
50-70%, not at 100%.

This sounds backwards and it is the single thing most people get wrong. A gain
map works by pushing highlights ABOVE paper white. At full brightness the
display has already spent its headroom, so there is nowhere left to go and the
effect largely disappears. Turn the brightness down and the photo comes alive.

Each scene ships as a pair:

  *-sdr.jpg   an ordinary JPEG — the "before"
  *-hdr.jpg   the same pixels plus an ISO 21496-1 gain map — the "after"

The two files in a pair have the same base image. Measured, the average RGB
levels differ by less than 0.1 of a level — that is JPEG recompression noise,
not an edit. Nothing was brightened, saturated or graded. On an SDR screen the
pair looks identical, and that is the point: the difference lives entirely in
the gain map.


WHAT MAKEHDR DOES
-----------------

You hand it a JPEG you already have. It writes an ISO 21496-1 gain map into the
file — the standard behind Apple's Adaptive HDR. On an HDR display the
highlights go past paper white. On anything else it stays an ordinary JPEG that
opens everywhere.

Video works the same way: it re-encodes through VideoToolbox to 10-bit BT.2020
with PQ or HLG, with no resolution cap. A browser cannot do that part.

Nothing is generated and nothing is uploaded. It is a deterministic calculation
over the luminance already in the file, running entirely on device. That second
part is why the first users showed up: real estate photographers handle photos
of houses that are not listed yet, and every other converter is a website you
upload to.


THE LIMITATION, UP FRONT
------------------------

On an SDR screen the output looks identical to the input. That is the
compatibility guarantee, not a bug.

And if a highlight is already clipped in the source JPEG, there is no detail
left to recover — the gain map does not invent any. It lifts what is there, and
a blown-out area stays flat. This is a delivery format, not a rescue tool.

Any before/after you see rendered on a web page, including the screenshots in
the App Store listing, is a simulation. The files in this kit are the real
thing.


ABOUT THE SAMPLE IMAGES
-----------------------

The three source images in this kit are AI-generated, and then converted by
MakeHDR exactly the way a photograph would be. Saying so up front because it
matters in two directions:

- The conversion itself uses no AI. It is fixed arithmetic out of ISO 21496-1
  over the luminance already in the file. What MakeHDR does not use AI for is
  building the gain map; where the input pixels came from is irrelevant to it.
- Because they are synthetic, these files carry no model release and no stock
  licence. You can publish them as they are, with no strings and nothing to
  clear with anyone.

If you would rather test it on real photography, the free tier is unlimited and
needs no account — point it at your own library at https://makehdr.com/app and
make your own before/after.


FACTS
-----

Name           MakeHDR
Developer      Eliecer Valerio Salas, solo developer, Costa Rica
Platforms      Universal iPhone / iPad / Mac, plus visionOS
Requires       iOS 26 / macOS 26
App Store      https://apps.apple.com/app/id6792379506
App ID         6792379506
Web app        https://makehdr.com/app  (runs in the browser, no account needed)
Press kit      https://makehdr.com/press
Contact        support@makehdr.com

Pricing        Free tier: unlimited photos and video, batch and ZIP included,
                 with a watermark burned into the export. No account required.
               Pro monthly:  $12.99
               Pro annual:   $99.99  (about $8.33/month)
               Founding Lifetime: $149.99 one time, capped at 300 seats for the
                 whole launch — not per day, not a rolling window.


FILES IN THIS KIT
-----------------

interior-window-sdr.jpg / -hdr.jpg
  Architectural interior. The window is several stops brighter than the room and
  still holds detail; the glass table and polished concrete carry speculars.

night-street-sdr.jpg / -hdr.jpg
  Wet night street. Point light sources with visible cores, long reflections on
  the asphalt, deep shadows that keep detail.

sunrise-valley-sdr.jpg / -hdr.jpg
  Backlit landscape. Sun just above the ridge, clouds lit from within, thousands
  of dew speculars in the foreground.

makehdr-logo.png
  Logo, 1024px, transparent background.