The number one resource for information about HDR technology, workflows, tutorials, news and opinion.
We just compared the 16" MacBook Pro (2021) to the LG CX with this test video by Florian Friedrich and it was quite an eye-opener! The difference in color volume is similar to comparing Samsung's QLED to the LG C1 OLED in the header picture and the one below (Sony BVM-HX310 mastering monitor, center). Why... Continue Reading →
Subjective tests reported by the BBC investigated viewer tolerance to sudden changes in overall brightness for HDR television, using the mean pixel display luminance as a measure of brightness as described in [2]. This measure has been shown to correlate well with subjective ratings of the overall brightness, but there may occasionally be a scene... Continue Reading →
Discussions surrounding the brightness levels of HDR often talk about brightness as if there were some fixed, immutable number beyond which the picture becomes unwatchable (for many, that number is 48 nits!), whereas studies conducted by Dolby and DCI both showed conclusively that viewers overwhelmingly prefer brighter picture levels than are currently available in home... Continue Reading →
In this post, we look at how to deal with overly bright highlights. Whatever speed limit you decide on for your project, pay close attention to how rolling off highlights affects the texture, detail and vividness of the image. Download the original clips here. https://youtu.be/BuyX4s-rsUE The strongest highlights are 638 nits and the laptop display... Continue Reading →
There has never been a push for or a requirement by any of the major Hollywood studios or leading streaming content providers that HDR shows hit a peak luminance of 1,000 nits. In the case of digital projection or direct view displays, there’s never been a requirement that movies hit system peak brightness either. “It... Continue Reading →
Clipped highlights that can be rolled off in SDR are unsightly in HDR. HDR is more prone to unsightly banding artifacts. Streaming bitrates must be higher to avoid blocking artifacts. Noise becomes much more of a nuisance in the shadows. Overstauration can make your picture look like cheap camcorder footage. The higher local contrast of... Continue Reading →
During Eric Weidt’s presentation (FilmLight’s Colour On Stage), where he discussed his collaboration with David Fincher on Mindhunter, the colorist talked about how the overhead neon tubes in the shot of a couple shopping at a grocer’s were overpowering, which is why he ended up decreasing the intensity, but that the extended brightness of HDR... Continue Reading →
All Quiet On the Western Front (Netflix) had a couple of powerful scenes on the battlefield at night, the small fires burning on the distant horizon, flares in the sky (VFX) and the glint of soldiers’ helmets in the blackness created a very strong impression. As did the brightness of daylight as a few surviving... Continue Reading →
During a live stream, Cullen Kelly said that 1,000-nit specular highlights are unpleasant to look at and that windows should be closer to middle gray. Do you agree? Can intense specular highlights serve an expressive purpose? "HDR is fairly new, and as typically happens with new technologies, we have impartial parties really, really pushing for... Continue Reading →
Match the quotes to the DP “[HDR is] a dream for any cinematographer, any creator of images... I think every cinematographer will have an interest in high dynamic range, because it’s the way that we want to capture images, so later we can do whatever we want in [digital color grading]. We need all the... Continue Reading →
According to this study, when seated at the minimum viewing distance, 4X as many zones are required for an 85" 8K TV as compared to a 55" 4K TV; but when seated at the optimum viewing distance (at which the display occupies a 40° field of view)), the number of zones remains the same for... Continue Reading →
Forum member, EOSHD https://youtu.be/wEf8FmPMJxM It appears that many in the online community obstinately refer to ETTR as overexposure, which it is not. Overexposure is pushing highlights too far, to the point of clipping, at which point they are unrecoverable. Exposing to the right maximizes dynamic range while minimizing noise in the shadows.
Unlike 99% of productions, Korean War drama Devotion was conceived, monitored and shot in HDR, the show LUT and dailies were HDR, the hero grade was HDR - and it looks simply gorgeous. Photo: Netflix Photo: Netflix Photo: Netflix Photo: Netflix
The Barten Ramp is calculated from P. G. J. Barten’s 1999 Contrast Sensitivity Function (CSF), a model that supposedly incorporated most of the important variables in the ability of the HVS to detect contouring in digital display systems. Note this is modeled rather than measured data and the model is based on data that predates... Continue Reading →
“The PQ system was developed by Dolby, a company whose main focus is on the cinema while the HLG system was developed jointly by BBC and NHK, two organizations whose main focus is on television… Television is probably better served by the HLG system that was designed from the ground up by television engineers for... Continue Reading →
Grass Valley White Paper diagram of the Barten ramp showing the susceptibility to banding of different HDR curves. We can see that full range offers only a very slight advantage over narrow range in guarding against banding artifacts. Photo: Grass Valley
Frankly, we'd rather not know. Below, screenshots from a few outstanding examples of HDR filmmaking and one screen grab from a promotional video shot by Erik Messerschmidt for the ARRI Alexa 35. Photo: ARRI. Encounters 'The Swing', DP Erik Messerschmidt Photo: Netflix. 'Devotion', DP Erik Messerschmidt Photo: Netflix. 'The Hand of God', DP Daria D'Antonio... Continue Reading →
Shane Mario Ruggieri, in his podcast with Mixing Light, said that not all cameras with high dynamic range can capture very saturated, accurate colors at high luminance levels. The diagrams illustrate the light gathering ability of a few cinema cameras capable of recording between 11 and 12 stops of dynamic range (Imatest). The OG Sony... Continue Reading →
What cameras do you normally come across when you're working in HDR? Is there any specific camera that's worked really well for you? Are there cameras that are problematic? "I remember something that Bill B., the guy who put me in the business, he told me something when I asked him what camera I should... Continue Reading →
“With both PQ and HLG, if video content is displayed at the same brightness and in the same viewing conditions as those in which it was produced, it will look the same as it did on the production monitor. The creative intent will be maintained. Indeed, under these conditions PQ and HLG deliver identical looking... Continue Reading →
The Daejeon Chronicles 