Spotify HDR video podcast: tone-mapped to SDR Rec.709

Spotify for Creators converts HDR uploads itself: its Video specs say HDR (Rec.2100) is tone-mapped to SDR Rec.709 and Rec.2020 is down-converted to a Rec.709 compatible colorspace. Sume trim documents no colour option, so you cannot choose the mapping there; an exact trim re-encodes to libx264 with yuv420p.

Spotify's rules are from its Video specs page; Sume's from Video trim, Video filter and Video inspect, read 2026-10-01.

What does Spotify accept for colour?

What does an exact Sume trim output?

precision: "exact" is a frame-accurate re-encode with libx264 and yuv420p. The docs do not describe any HDR handling or colour-tag behavior for that step, so do not assume the cut preserves or converts HDR in a particular way. Test one clip and look at the result.

Can I pass a colour or codec setting?

No. Fields such as codec or crf are refused with ffmpeg_fields_rejected. The video filter surface offers dim and crop ops plus an allowlisted filtergraph; the docs describe no tone-mapping or colour option there, so do not count on it for HDR.

How do I check what my source is?

Run video inspect first. When ready, the resource carries probe, the source facts, so you can see what you are about to cut before deciding whether Spotify's own conversion is acceptable. If it is, upload the cut as is; if you need control over the grade, do the tone-mapping in your grading tool and trim afterwards. For a related codec question see convert HEVC to H.264.