In Broadcast - August 2016 - 76

www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 6 - Issue 8 | August 2016

InUSA

HDR Is Here To Stay A Good Thing For Viewers
compatibility with legacy displays by
more closely matching the previously
established television transfer curves.
The Recommendation also outlines a
offers a new set of tools
simple conversion process
professionals can use to
between the two HDR-TV
make bright and colourful
options.
scenes really pop, and at
The ITU-R Recommendation
the same time, bring out
BT.2100 also allows TV
more detail in dark scenes.
producers to choose from
Many of the major
three levels of detail or
standards organisations,
resolution: HDTV (1920 by
like SMPTE and the ITU
1080), and UHDTV '4K' (3840
have certified HDR as part
by 2160) and '8K' (7680 by
of their latest specs for
4320) - all of which use the
shooting high-resolution
progressive imaging system
HDR acquisition allows programme producers to deliver more
video.
The
Consumer
picture information than the human eye can see with standard with extended colour gamut
dynamic range, commonly used today and range of frame-rates
Electronics
Association
created UHD Alliance has also and multimedia systems," said in ITU's UHDTV Recommendation
mandated HDR as part of its "UHD François Rancy, Director of the ITU BT.2020.
Premium" specification, giving it Radiocommunication
Bureau.
He
Andy Quested, Chairman of ITU-R
equal selling/buying importance to 4K congratulated
Yukihiro
Nishida, Working Party 6C (WP 6C), which
resolution. It now has to be included if Chairman of ITU-R Study Group 6, for developed the new standard, said TV
manufacturers want their equipment this major achievement.
programme producers need a much
to carry the UHD Premium label.
The ITU-R UHDTV Recommendation wider range of options in order to
In announcing its new specification BT.2020, approved in October 2015, meet the expectations of the different
for HDR TV in July, the International represented the continuous evolution platforms they must supply, and this
Telecommunication Union (ITU) said of television since it was invented in need for flexibility is addressed within
it had been working on the spec for the 1930s, transforming the dim black the framework of the new ITU-R
three years with the goal of adding and white screen into an ultra-high Recommendation.
texture and colour to enhance realism definition colour picture on large flat
in television broadcasting. The new panel displays. This latest ITU-R HDR- Staying Power
standard enhances the quality of TV Recommendation BT.2100 gives
What's clear is that HDR is a
imaging for HD, 4K, 8K and even viewers an enhanced visual experience technology with staying power. This
virtual reality.
with added realism.
is not 3DTV. Producers and DPs will
"High Dynamic Range Television will
The HDR-TV Recommendation allows learn to take advantage of its power in
bring a whole new viewing experience TV programmes to take full advantage a variety of different ways in order to
to audiences around the world," said of the new and much brighter display meet the expectations of the different
Houlin Zhao, ITU Secretary-General. technologies. The ITU said HDR-TV platforms they must supply. Different
"TV programming will be enhanced makes outdoor sunlit scenes appear settings can be applied for different
with brighter pictures that add sparkle brighter and more natural. It enhances delivery platforms.
to entertainment and realism to news dimly lit interior and night scenes,
The signs are everywhere that HDR
coverage."
revealing more detail in darker areas, is here to stay, despite whatever
The ITU's new spec builds on the giving TV producers the ability to resolution the industry favours at the
superior colour fidelity of ITU's UHD reveal texture and subtle colours that moment. Professional production
Television (UHDTV) Recommendation are usually lost with existing Standard equipment manufacturers have begun
BT.2020. ITU's Radiocommunication Dynamic Range TV.
to introduce new equipment with
Sector (ITU-R) said it has developed the
The
HDR-TV
Recommendation HDR capabilities. At the NAB Show
new standard - or recommendation actually describes two options for this year Sony unveiled a new 4K
- in collaboration with experts from producing High Dynamic Range TV (8x High Speed) camera, three new
the television industry, broadcasting images. The Perceptual Quantization video production switchers, and a
organisations
and
regulatory (PQ) specification achieves a very new client monitor that all support
institutions within its Study Group 6.
wide range of brightness levels using HDR content. In addition, streaming
"High Dynamic Range Television a transfer function that is finely tuned services like Netflix and Amazon
represents an important step towards to match the human visual system Prime have expanded their respective
the virtual-reality quality of experience and the Hybrid Log-Gamma (HLG) infrastructures and are already
to be delivered by future broadcasting specification, which offers a degree of broadcasting in HDR.

Contributing Editor and Columnist Michael Grotticelli reckons the proof
of High Dynamic Range (HDR) imagery is all in the viewing...

hile many initially debated the
rewards of adding HDR imagery
to their 4K television productions,
others have been quietly experimenting
with it and seeing the promised results
with their own eyes.
The best way to look at it is to say:
while 4K is about quadrupling the
number of pixels in a picture and
making video appear more lifelike,
HDR is about the broader range of
colours and wider contrast of the
picture that provide more realistic
looking images.
Shots with a large dynamic range
can give a production a high-end,
cinematic feel, with truer colours,
whiter whites, and darker shadows -
sometimes called a greater contrast
between light and dark - that can be
accurately displayed with the latest
generation of 4K TV sets that increase
the dynamic range of the displayed
image by reducing the minimum black
level.
Basically, viewers see a more
appealing picture that doesn't
necessarily benefit from a higher
resolution. That's right - several tests
have shown that viewers prefer a
lower resolution image captured with
a larger dynamic range, than one
with twice or four times as many lines
of horizontal resolution and a more
limited dynamic range.
Unfortunately
HDR
isn't
just
something that TV set manufacturers
have conjured up to sell more
product. TV broadcasters also have to
produce content in HDR in order for
the technology to make it to viewers
and several are working on that now.
Indeed, ABC, ESPN and NBC have all
shot tests and content distributors like
Amazon Prime, the BBC and Netflix
are experimenting with it as well.
Advancing Standard
Some have called HDR a big leap
forward in colour, contrast, and
brightness; as significant as the
addition of surround sound, or
the introduction of HD and 4K. It

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