How to edit HDR video on a Mac — without washed-out colors
Ever trimmed an iPhone clip and got back a grey, washed-out version with blown highlights? That's the HDR problem: iPhones record Dolby Vision / HLG by default, and most free editors mangle it. Here's how to edit HDR video on a Mac with correct colors, entirely offline.
Why HDR video comes out grey
HDR video stores brightness and color in a wider range (bt2020, PQ/HLG transfer) than standard video. When an editor squeezes those pixels into a normal file without tone mapping — and then mislabels the color metadata — every player interprets them wrong. The result is the classic washed-out look: flat contrast, grey blacks, blown-out skies. It's not your footage; it's the tool.
The fix: an editor that tone-maps automatically
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Open Crisp
Grab the free Crisp app for Mac. Everything runs on-device — nothing is uploaded.
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Drop in your HDR clip
Drag the iPhone (or any HLG / HDR10 / bt2020) video in. Crisp reads the color metadata and detects HDR automatically — there's no setting to configure or get wrong.
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Edit like any other clip
Trim it, reframe it to 9:16 for Reels, change its speed, apply a color look, or auto-cut a montage — Crisp tone-maps the HDR to standard colors correctly inside the same pass.
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Export
The output is properly converted and properly tagged, so it looks right in QuickTime, on the web, and on every phone — no grey cast, no blown highlights.
Measured, not promised
We test this with color statistics: running an HDR clip through a naive (no-tonemap) pipeline collapses its color saturation to roughly a quarter of the original — visibly grey. Crisp's color-managed pipeline retains the large majority of it and tags the file correctly. The same conversion runs in every editing lane, including mixed HDR + SDR montages.
What works with HDR today
| Lane | HDR source support |
|---|---|
| Trim · Reframe · Speed · Rotate | Yes — auto tone-mapped |
| Color looks (cinematic, warm…) | Yes — converted before grading |
| Montage (incl. mixed HDR + SDR clips) | Yes — per-clip tone map |
| AI upscale (Enhance / Max) | Not yet — convert to SDR first (roadmap) |
Why on-device matters here
- No re-upload roulette. Cloud tools often transcode HDR badly on their servers; Crisp converts locally where you can verify the result.
- Private & free to try. Your footage never leaves your Mac; HDR handling is in the free tier, watermark-free.
- Correct metadata. The export is tagged for what the pixels actually are — the half of the problem most tools forget.
Fix your washed-out HDR clips
Free to try on your Mac. Automatic HDR handling — no settings, no watermark, nothing leaves your device.
Download Crisp for MacApple Silicon · macOS 12+ · Notarized
FAQ
Why does my iPhone video look grey after editing?
It's HDR (Dolby Vision/HLG) being squeezed into a standard file without tone mapping. Use an editor that converts properly — Crisp does it automatically.
Do I need to change any iPhone settings?
No. Keep recording HDR; Crisp detects and handles it. (If you prefer, you can disable HDR video in iPhone Settings → Camera, but you lose the extra dynamic range.)
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