This IS the Avid L2: [Avid-L2] Re: HDR workflow

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

[Avid-L2] Re: HDR workflow

I am sorry that I couldn't watch that event. I am keenly interested in these developments. If you don't mind, I have a couple of follow-up questions. I'll try to keep it simple, and if the answers are too complicated -- I will understand:

Let's assume for moment that you don't have access to either the Sony BVM OLED or the Dolby 4k monitor.

And let's also assume that you are "ok" with grading with a consumer Vizio Dolby Vision monitor (which is also NIT-limited) -- or some other manufacturer's future VS10-compliant HDR screen. VS10 supports single- and dual-layer Dolby Vision as well as Baseline HDR10 (which is the UHD Blu-ray and UHD Alliance specification).

1. Is it currently possible to use the Media Composer BaseLight Plugin (not the full product) to grade HDR?

2. Does Media Composer currently support single- or dual-layer Dolby Vision, or Baseline HDR10 metadata?

3. How does the HDR metadata get exported along with the media -- and what file formats will we be using to export HDR programs?

4. Are there currently any reasonably-priced software tools that allow HDR media to be mastered onto new Ultra Blu-ray discs?

5. Are there currently any Avid or 3rd Party Media Composer I/O interfaces that support HDMI 2.0a and the various HDR flavors?

6. In addition to Vizio, Dolby inked licensing deals at CES with Royal Philips, Technicolor, LG Electronics, TCL and Funai. Do you see the industry coalescing around the Dolby Vision standard -- or do you think companies like Sony and Samsung will continue to promote proprietary HDR formats?

7. What is your personal opinion regarding when the existing chaos will settle into a predictable workflow -- 1-year, 2-years?

Thanks and sorry for all of the questions.

---In Avid-L2@yahoogroups.com, <tcurren@...> wrote :

Hi Mike,

We just had an HDR event at Editors' Lounge. What I can tell you now is that there isn't a "workflow" for HDR yet. We are in the alpha stages with this stuff. There are multiple "standards."

The only shipping reference monitor is Sony's BVM OLED and it only hits 1K nits when Dolby wants 4K nits. While Dolby has a 4K nits monitor, they aren't selling it. Unless you are the size of a Warner Brothers or Technicolor, you can't get your hands on one of them. Otherwise, you are going to be using a Vizio consumer TV to color correct.

Filmlight worked directly with Dolby to create their DolbyVision workflow, so that is your current best option if you need to get one done and can get the Dolby monitor.

Dolby has their own box to do an "automatic" conversion from your HDR color pass to an SDR (Standard Dynamic Range, or what we have now) that has minimal adjustability for fixing things. I personally think we will be doing two color passes as you are going to develop a different aesthetic for HDR correction. Why?...

Adding the much brighter white point really adds to the impact of the picture. Right now, if there is a glint off a car window on a bright day with a blown out sky, you would probably put the sky at 100 IRE and that is also where the now clipped glint would live. In HDR, a white sky at maximum IRE (4K nits or 40 times brighter than current TVs) would give you a sunburn and force you to wear sunglasses to watch TV. So maybe the sky (which will probably not be blown out in HDR) might be at 80% and the glint on the car goes to 100%. So where do you put the face in that? And how does a box automatically adjust for that creative choice? Problematic at best.

So as I said in the beginning of this post, we are in the wild wild west of developing HDR workflows, standards, and aesthetics. That said, this is the first real improvement to our final product that I have not only been excited about, but truly see the value in during my professional career.

__._,_.___

Posted by: blafarm@yahoo.com

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