Last week we reported about AMD renaming FreeSync 2 towards FreeSync 2 HDR. FreeSync (the original one) and FreeSync 2 often get confused and actually have very little to do with each other. 

During an interview, a spokesperson of AMD made this news info public. If a monitor received a FreeSync 2 certification, it must support at least HDR600, 99 percent of BT.709 and 90 percent of the DCI P3 color spectrum.  It is also mentioned there's a requirement on minimum response time, albeit a figure is not disclosed.

It also started a discussion whether or not Display HDR600 is the new standard for the certification process, as AMD earlier on allowed HDR400 (the numbers are nits 400 and 600, indicative of the panel peak HDR brightness levels). Yesterday evening an email from AMD arrived, sharing their insights to the media (and to clarify things a bit deeper). 

-- AMD -- When DisplayHDR 400 was defined, it was clear from the start that the FreeSync 2 requirements for color gamut, max brightness and contrast ratio set a higher bar than DisplayHDR 400. AMD is not lowering the bar for FreeSync 2 HDR to align with DisplayHDR 400. We’re clarifying that a display that meets the requirements for DisplayHDR 600, or higher, could meet the color gamut, max brightness and contrast ratio requirements of FreeSync 2 HDR. FreeSync 2 HDR also has additional requirements for gaming and usability in areas not covered by VESA’s DisplayHDR specifications.

We want to ensure at least 2x the perceivable color gamut and dynamic range than an SDR display as we stated from the initial announcement of the FreeSync 2 program. DisplayHDR 600 minimum specifications align with this objective, DisplayHDR 400 minimum specifications do not. It is possible for a display to meet the FreeSync 2 HDR requirements but fail the DisplayHDR 600 minimums. Such a display may have the DisplayHDR 400 logo and the FreeSync 2 HDR logo, but it would be exceeding the minimum requirements of DisplayHDR 400. 

We recently reviewed the Samsung C32HG70 FreeSync 2 HDR600 monitor, check out that review right here.