Dolby Vision Profile 5 vs 8.1 on Mac

Dolby Vision is not one format. It is a family of profiles, and the two you will meet most often in files on a Mac are Profile 5 and Profile 8.1. Knowing which one you have explains almost every “it works in one app but not another” mystery.

What every Dolby Vision file contains

A Dolby Vision video is a normal HEVC picture (the base layer) plus a stream of dynamic metadata called the RPU. The RPU describes, scene by scene and frame by frame, how to reshape and map the picture for the display in front of you. The profile decides what the base layer looks like on its own.

Profile 5: Dolby Vision only

In Profile 5 the base layer is encoded in IPT-PQ-c2, a colour space designed for Dolby Vision. There is no HDR10 or SDR picture inside. A player has to apply the RPU reshaping to turn it into a viewable image. If it does not, the IPT values are read as ordinary video and the result is a strong green and magenta cast. Profile 5 is common in streaming-style encodes and in many sample files, which is why so many people hit it.

If you are seeing that cast now, why Dolby Vision looks green or purple on Mac walks through the fix.

Profile 8.1: HDR10 underneath

In Profile 8.1 the base layer is a standard HDR10 picture (BT.2020, PQ). The RPU refines it. A player that understands Dolby Vision applies the refinement; a player that does not simply shows the HDR10 picture, which is usually close to right. That backwards compatibility is the whole point of Profile 8.1, and it is common in files converted from UHD Blu-ray.

Side by side

• Base layer: Profile 5 is IPT-PQ-c2; Profile 8.1 is HDR10.
• Without Dolby Vision processing: Profile 5 is tinted green and purple; Profile 8.1 looks like HDR10.
• What the player must do: Profile 5 needs the RPU reshaping applied every frame; Profile 8.1 benefits from it but survives without it.
• How to spot it: dvhe.05 or “Profile 5” versus dvhe.08 or “Profile 8.1” in MediaInfo.

What about Profile 7?

Profile 7 is the dual-layer format used on UHD Blu-ray discs, with a separate enhancement layer. It is a different problem from Profiles 5 and 8.1, and Stoic does not claim Profile 7 support.

How Stoic handles both

Stoic supports Dolby Vision Profiles 5 and 8.1 in local files on Apple silicon Macs with macOS 26 or later. It applies the RPU reshaping frame by frame, uses the scene peak from the film’s own metadata when it tone maps, and maps the result to your display’s current HDR headroom. Its inspector shows the profile, the colour matrix (IPT-PQ-c2 for Profile 5) and whether the reshaping was applied. In our tests the Profile 5 output stayed within a worst-case ΔPQ of 0.0008 of the authored source; the benchmarks page has the details.

Wondering about your current player? See does VLC support Dolby Vision and does IINA play Dolby Vision.