The number one resource for information about HDR technology, workflows, tutorials, news and opinion.
Update (macOS Tahoe 26): As of the latest version of macOS, Apple has officially added the Calibrite Display Plus HL to its list of supported meters for calibrating reference modes on Apple XDR displays (Pro Display XDR, Studio Display, MacBook Pro) using the built-in Pro Display Calibrator. My original advice to avoid the Display Pro... Continue Reading →
HDTVTest got their mitts on Sony's soon to be released flagship QD OLED TV, capable of 1,350 nits on a 10% window and 240 nits full screen. Because Vincent was unable to connect to the same Internet network at Sony UK's office with his own laptop, he wasn't able to calibrate the A95L using the... Continue Reading →
“I think cinematographers have always advocated for a better experience for the audience, whether it’s fast film stocks with tighter grain, better projection technology, or higher quality digital-capture and display technologies. HDR is just another step in that direction.” Erik Messerschmidt At NAB 2023, Carolyn Giardina, tech editor of the Hollywood Reporter, sat down with... Continue Reading →
It's been six long years since the UHD Alliance announced their specifications for Ultra HD Premium requiring devices be able to display no less than 90% of the DCI-P3 color space - in area, not volume. Likewise, the EBU published User Requirements for Video Monitors in Television Production, which proposed now outmoded 2-D diagrams for evaluating color... Continue Reading →
Cullen Kelly's offering a free Fuji 3510 film emulation LUT for use with ACES and DaVinci Wide Gamut. We can't honestly say we're really fond of the flat, yellowish-green look, but it might work for one of your projects - and free HDR compatible LUTs aren't exactly falling out of the sky!
As HDR video becomes increasingly mainstream, the push for wider color gamuts has led to debates over the practicality of using Rec.2020 as a mastering standard. Experts caution that Rec.2020’s wide color gamut is impractical for real-world use. From energy inefficiency and metameric failure to challenges in gamut mapping and a lack of compliant displays,... Continue Reading →
HDR Video Shooters will primarily be interested in the Core Looks, which are divided into three different collections: the C100, C200 and C300. The C100 group is comprised of film emulations based on measurements of real film stocks or film processes. All of the C100 profiles produce a rich color palette with deeply saturated colors,... Continue Reading →
You might say that Christopher Nolan’s a huge fan of HDR. During his acceptance speech upon receiving the DEG Vanguard Award during the 4K Ultra HD Summit at Los Angeles’ Skirball Cultural Center in 2018, Nolan recounted how home viewing has impacted the structure of his films and shared his enthusiasm for 4K Ultra HD... Continue Reading →
postPerspective's Randi Altman interviewed Marvel Studios’ Senior Finishing Colorist Matt Watson during a virtual roundtable. Randi Altman: Do you often create LUTs for a project? How does that help? Matt Watson: Yes, we create show LUTs for every project. To be specific, we design our looks within the ACES framework as LMTs, which represent the visual... Continue Reading →
This twitter account has a number of illustrations of colors that can't be reproduced by HDTV (designated in gray). Photo: dot-color.com
In this excellent seminar, FilmLight's Daniele Siragusano discusses future-proof color management strategies optimized for multi-delivery (SDR and HDR). He's also the first to point out (to the best of our knowledge, anyway), how diffuse white level affects our perception of color. https://vimeo.com/298131298
In A Review of 3D-LUT Performance in 10-Bit and 12-Bit HDR BT.2100 PQ, published in the SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal in March 2020, JD Vandenberg and Stefano Andriani concluded that HDR requires larger LUTs to achieve error-free interpolation comparable to those used for SDR, writing: "Tetrahedral interpolation outperformed all other interpolations for both SDR and HDR... Continue Reading →
One of the biggest issues facing HDR is not so much that flagship TVs by Samsung, Panasonic, LG and Sony aren’t able to display stunning picture quality, but that ordinary people don’t watch movies and TV shows in a room with 5 nits surround luminance, 6500 K bias lighting and walls sitting back 20 feet... Continue Reading →
Just a few highlights from Dolby's webinar Changes to Dolby Vision Licensing New Guidance on Setting the Mastering Display New Recommendations Regarding Full & Video Levels Dolby Vision License In the Legacy Program, components (Trims License, eCMU License and Professional Tools) were bundled together for $2,500 for a period of 12 months. The new program... Continue Reading →
We've written elsewhere that the majority of HDR narrative work has a diffuse white level much lower than that recommended by the ITU and that it's a constantly shifting target. This may frustrate those desperate for hard and fast rules, but this approach has a number of advantages, not the least of which is that... Continue Reading →
“There are filmmakers who I work with whose answer is identical: 'I want the HDR to be identical to the SDR. I want it to have the same dynamic range. I want it to have the same color gamut. I want nothing whatsoever to change. All I want to change is the deliverable itself because... Continue Reading →
Nate McFarlin, currently Senior Content Engineer at Dolby Laboratories, talking about Canon's lineup of production monitors when he was still a Senior Quality Engineer Specialist at Canon USA: "Whenever we announce the next monitor with even higher brightness, there's a whole horde of people that are always extremely excited because now they have so much... Continue Reading →
Graeme Nattress was kind enough to answer some questions we had about highlight roll-off in RED's Output Transform LUT. According to the Red.com website, ‘very soft’ highlight roll-off compresses highlights the least, while 'hard' compresses highlights the most. But 'very soft' makes HDR footage resemble SDR and ‘hard’ allows highlights to sparkle. So, what exactly... Continue Reading →
We still can't recommend using a Resolve Color Managed workflow with RED's IPP2 output DRT because it causes lifted blacks that can be seen in the title cards that precede and follow videos made in this manner. This doesn't happen when using RED's output transform LUT in a node-based color managed workflow, which is what... Continue Reading →
The Daejeon Chronicles 