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Glossary

Rec. 2020

The ultra-wide color space defined for UHD TV and HDR. Covers about 76% of the visible color spectrum — far wider than DCI-P3 (54%) or sRGB (35%). No 2026 consumer display covers 100%.

Rec. 2020 (ITU-R BT.2020) is the target for UHD broadcast and HDR streaming. Its primaries sit at the edges of the visible spectrum, requiring laser-pure light sources.

Practical coverage in 2026

  • QD-OLED / Mini-LED top tier — 80–90% Rec. 2020.
  • Mid-tier OLED / QLED — 70–80%.
  • Standard IPS — 50–65%.

Why 100% is impossible (today)

Hitting 100% Rec. 2020 requires monochromatic laser primaries; no LED or OLED emitter is that pure. Laser TVs come closest but introduce speckle and cost.

For HDR content authored to Rec. 2020, a display covering ~85% is excellent. Below 70%, the most saturated highlights clip back to a smaller gamut.

Buyer context

How to use Rec. 2020 in a real comparison

The ultra-wide color space defined for UHD TV and HDR. Covers about 76% of the visible color spectrum — far wider than DCI-P3 (54%) or sRGB (35%). No 2026 consumer display covers 100%. In practice, this is most useful as one part of a decision rather than a standalone quality badge. Compare it alongside the workload, room, ecosystem, budget, and ownership constraints that apply to you; the strongest published figure is not automatically the best outcome for every buyer.

What to check next

Open a product page and check the stated value, configuration, price, and related trade-offs before treating this term as decisive. It is especially relevant in .

Avoid the one-number trap

Manufacturers can describe the same capability under different conditions. Compare like-for-like variants, check the unit and test condition where available, and use a head-to-head page to see whether a measurable difference is material for your own use.

vsMars presents structured catalog values to make trade-offs legible. The linked product and spec pages are the right place to inspect the underlying values before buying.

Where this matters

Categories that use rec. 2020

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