Comparison

HollyView vs Northlight DP

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

HollyView

This app facilitates real-time wireless video transmission for monitoring and analysis. It allows users to doodle on images, record and share videos, and manage device firmware and diagnostics.

Highlights
  • Real-time monitoring
  • Image analysis
  • Photo doodling
  • Video recording
  • Firmware updates
  • Device diagnostics
Features
Read full description

HollyView is a wireless video transmission app by Shenzhen Hollyland Technology, enabling real-time monitoring, image analysis, photo doodling and sharing, video recording and sharing, firmware updates, and device diagnostics.

About

Northlight DP

Features
Read full description

Northlight predicts how your lights will actually render on camera — before you roll. If you light people for a living — cinematographers, gaffers, DPs, camera operators, and serious content creators — you know the guesswork. A fixture's box-spec Kelvin is a claim, mixed sources fight each other, and you burn set time on white-balance tests instead of shooting. Northlight replaces the guesswork with real color science: tell it your fixtures, your camera, and the look you want at the subject, and it solves how every source renders at your camera's white balance — then hands you the exact Kelvin and tint to set on each light and the white balance to set on the camera. It's a planning instrument, not a control surface. Northlight computes the targets; you dial them into your own gear by hand. Nothing to connect, no accounts, no subscriptions. — Design the look Place your fixtures on a top-down plan around your subject, set each one's color and intensity, and dial the look you want at the face. Northlight solves it live: the combined color at the subject, the key-to-fill contrast ratio, and the illuminance, with warm/cool and gel-equivalent read-outs. A master level fader and a subject color dial push the whole look while your ratios hold. — Calibrate with your phone A fixture's nominal Kelvin is a claim; a measurement is the truth. In the Measure tab, point your iPhone at a grey card under a light and Northlight reads how it really renders — median-aggregated across frames, held steady by a stability gate — and records it against that fixture. From then on your predictions match the gear you actually own, not the marketing spec. — See it rendered On ray-tracing-capable Apple silicon, a path-traced preview shows a head lit by your exact setup: real perspective from your camera's spot, your chosen lens, a skin tone or neutral clay reference, bounce cards and negative fill, windows and room bounce. Read the modeling and the color cast before you're on set. Every other feature works without ray-tracing hardware. — Three ways to balance Camera-locked holds your white balance and re-dials your bi-color sources to reach the look. Follows-subject anchors the camera to the mix at the face. Explore sweeps every lever at once. Pick the instrument that fits your intent. — Yours, everywhere Your fixture and camera libraries and every saved look sync across iPhone, iPad, and Mac over iCloud, automatically, in your own iCloud account. No account to create, no sign-in, no ads, no analytics, no data collection. The camera is used only on your device to meter a grey card — no images ever leave it. Northlight opens on a ready-made Demo look, so you can start experimenting immediately. Northlight is an independent product and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to any manufacturer named in the app. Product names are used for identification and compatibility reference only, and catalog values are published nominal specifications — measure your own units for accuracy.

Screenshots

HollyView4 screens
Northlight DP4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Northlight DP at every 2 weeks against HollyView's monthly. HollyView's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

HollyView ships an update monthly, Northlight DP every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
HollyView versus Northlight DP: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHollyViewNorthlight DP
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.4 (74 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews14.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings74 — better—
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS13.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size162 MB6 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer深圳市昊一源科技有限公司Matthew Grdinic

Bugs and requests

HollyView

Reported bugs

40 issues
  • App not recognizing phone/iPad connection
  • No feed when manually connecting
  • App only works on older devices
  • Black screen on iPad/Mac
  • App won't connect after update
Show 35 more
  • Firmware update fails
  • Constant glitching and freezing
  • WiFi issues
  • Record button placement issue on iPhone SE
  • New interface is clunky
  • Cannot import LUTs
  • App requires precise location
  • No stream on iPhone 14
  • M1 MBP not supported
  • Stream address abnormal error
  • Invisible text in stream setup
  • App goes back to connect page
  • Black screen after connecting
  • Prompted to join HLD_null network
  • Showing 'check input' error
  • Random inbuilt LUT bug
  • Screen goes black when applying installed LUTs
  • App crashes and reboots iPad
  • App quits randomly and reboots iPad
  • Struggles with distance outdoors
  • Prompts in Chinese characters
  • Black bar over video stream
  • App not working on iPhone 11 Pro Max
  • App only shows signal strength, blank screen
  • No internet connection error in WiFi option
  • Check input source error on iPhone
  • Resolution is 480p not 1080p
  • App crashes constantly
  • WiFi disconnects and app crashes
  • Scanning QR code leads to system settings
  • Manual code entry doesn't work
  • Fix LTE WiFi issue
  • App cannot connect when location/cellular disabled
  • LUTs have strange purple coloring
  • Laggy on iPad

Requested features

7 requests
  • Make auto brightness optional
  • Hide iOS application bar
  • True display out support
  • Add remember serial number feature
  • Allow deleting preset LUTs
Show 2 more
  • De-squeeze option
  • Add advanced functions like LUTS or contrast

Northlight DP

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

HollyView

No in-app purchases

None

Northlight DP

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is HollyView free?
HollyView is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Northlight DP free?
Northlight DP is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do HollyView or Northlight DP have ads?
Neither HollyView nor Northlight DP shows ads.
Which is updated more often, HollyView or Northlight DP?
HollyView ships an update monthly, and Northlight DP every 2 weeks. Most recently, HollyView was updated on October 22, 2026 and Northlight DP on October 7, 2026.

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