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HDR QR Code

Show a QR code on the brightest white your display can produce, so it scans in sunlight and from across a room.

Encoded live as you type. Runs in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.

Preview

Your QR code will appear here.

This display reports a standard range, so the code shows with ordinary white and still scans normally.

Error correction

Higher levels stay readable when the code is partly obscured, at the cost of a denser pattern.

How to show a QR code on screen at maximum brightness

  1. Enter the link or text

    Type or paste the address, message, or any text you want the code to carry. It encodes as you type.

  2. Set the error correction

    Leave it at medium for most uses, or raise it if the screen may be partly obscured or reflecting.

  3. Show it fullscreen

    Press Show fullscreen to fill the display with the code on the brightest white the screen can produce.

  4. Hold it up to the scanner

    Point the other device at the screen. Press Esc when the code has been read.

Why use this tool

The light half is the display at full stretch

Instead of painting white behind the code, the light modules are the brightest white the screen can emit, which widens the contrast a camera sees.

Scans in difficult light

The extra brightness helps when a screen is competing with sunlight, a bright room, or a scan from several metres away.

Four error correction levels

From 7% up to 30% recovery, so a code can still be read when part of it is covered or reflecting.

Sharp at any size

Modules snap to whole device pixels, so the pattern stays crisp rather than smeared on high density displays.

Works on any display

Screens without a high dynamic range show the same code on ordinary white and scan normally.

Nothing leaves your browser

The code is generated on your device. Neither the link nor the text is uploaded.

About this tool

A QR code is read by contrast. A camera has to separate the dark modules from the light ones, and every bit of extra separation helps when conditions are poor: direct sun on a phone screen, a scanner held far away, a code shown on a dim laptop in a bright room.

This tool widens that gap from the light side. Rather than drawing white behind the code, it leaves the light modules transparent over the brightest white the display can produce. On a screen that supports a high dynamic range, that is meaningfully brighter than the white of an ordinary web page, so the code stands out further from the dark modules drawn over it. Everything sits on a near black field in fullscreen so the code is the only bright thing the camera has to find.

The four module of clear space around the code is kept, which is what the specification asks for and what scanners use to locate a code at all. Error correction runs from low to high: higher levels survive part of the code being covered or washed out by a reflection, at the cost of a denser pattern that needs a slightly closer scan.

This is for showing a code on a screen, not for printing one. Brightness cannot be captured in an exported image, so there is no download here. For a code you intend to save, print, or put in a document, use the standard QR code generator, which exports PNG and SVG and handles WiFi, contact, and email payloads. To check whether your screen can reach past plain white in the first place, try the HDR display test.

Frequently asked questions

How is this different from a normal QR code?
The pattern is identical and any scanner reads it the same way. The difference is how the light half is produced: it is the display reaching past ordinary white rather than a painted white background, which increases the contrast a camera has to work with.
Why is there no download button?
The brightness comes from the display, not from the image, so an exported file would just be an ordinary QR code and the label would be misleading. Use the standard QR code generator when you need a PNG or SVG to keep.
Will it scan on a screen without a high dynamic range?
Yes. On a standard display the code shows on ordinary white and scans exactly as any on-screen QR code does. The extra brightness is a bonus where the display supports it, not a requirement.
What error correction level should I use?
Medium suits most cases. Raise it toward high if the screen may be partly obscured, held at an angle, or catching a reflection. Higher levels pack more modules into the same area, so the code may need a slightly closer or steadier scan.
Is my link uploaded anywhere?
No. The code is generated in your browser and nothing about the content is sent to a server.
Where does the bright white come from?
The technique is from Superwhite by dtinth, which found that a tiny video clip asking for high dynamic range headroom renders a white far brighter than a web page can otherwise produce. See github.com/dtinth/superwhite for the original.

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