Overview

Modern surveillance environments—airports, banks, highways, retail stores—often present challenging lighting conditions. Bright sunlight streaming through glass doors, headlights at night, or shadows in warehouses can render critical details invisible. Wide Dynamic Range (WDR) technology solves this problem by balancing very bright and very dark areas within the same scene, ensuring that both are visible simultaneously.

What is Wide Dynamic Range?
Dynamic range is the ratio between the brightest and darkest parts of a scene a camera can capture simultaneously, typically expressed in decibels (dB).

Standard cameras: ~60 dB
WDR cameras: 100–120 dB or more

A higher dynamic range means the camera can preserve detail in both extremes—bright skies and dark corners—without overexposure or underexposure.

ACTi's top WDR cameras provide the dynamic range up to 150dB !

WDR Technologies and Methods
DIGITAL WDR
Software-based image correction. Adjusts brightness and contrast digitally. Cost-effective but limited in extreme conditions.

TRUE WDR (Multi-Exposure WDR)
Hardware-based solution. Captures multiple exposures (short for highlights, long for shadows) and combines them. Produces balanced images in real time. Superior to Digital WDR, widely adopted in professional surveillance.

SENSOR-LEVEL INNOVATIONS
Backside-illuminated (BSI) sensors improve light sensitivity. Dual-gain readout enhances capture in high-contrast scenes. Increasing trend toward 120 dB+ WDR sensors.

Performance Metrics
Dynamic Range (dB): Higher is better (e.g., 120 dB > 100 dB).

Frame Rate Impact: Some WDR modes reduce FPS—important in fast-moving environments.

Color Fidelity: High-quality WDR preserves natural colors even in mixed lighting.

Noise Levels: Balancing exposures without introducing excessive noise is key.

ACTi WDR Levels
For the convenience, ACTi has divided the WDR dB scale into 4 ranges, respectively named as Basic WDR, Advanced WDR, Superior WDR, Extreme WDR (the best!) for easy recognition and comparison.

Benefits for End Users
Evidence reliability: Clear faces, plates, and objects in challenging scenes.

Operational efficiency: Fewer blind spots, reduced monitoring errors.

Cost savings: Avoids need for additional cameras/lighting in problematic areas.

Summary
Wide Dynamic Range technology has become a cornerstone of professional surveillance, ensuring visibility in environments with extreme lighting contrasts. For decision makers, WDR delivers not only better security outcomes but also long-term operational and financial value.

Applications

Banks & Retail
Cameras facing entrances/glass doors can capture faces clearly against sunlight.

Traffic Monitoring
License plate recognition at night despite headlights and streetlights.

Warehouses & Factories
Accurate surveillance in dim interiors with bright skylights.

Airports & Train Stations
Clear visibility of travelers moving from outdoor to indoor areas.

Solutions

Since WDR is fully managed inside the camera, it does not affect any of the VMS solutions. You can use WDR cameras with any of the VMS products.