HDR...the future?

F

firehawk

Veteran
Do you guys see HDR video being the norm soon? It seems HDR photography is growing.
Clients may not understand what it is or how it works but they can see it looks different and certainly learn the buzz word and request it.
HD certainly is a commonplace term now and 4K is catching on.
So do you see HDR video in widespread demand soon and to what extent? Will grading of V-log, S-log etc be sufficient or will it be something else?
Dual ISO images blended?

Another idea to throw out there is if dramatic HDR images are the future will video become so graded that nothing even looks like real life anymore? Will people get used to seeing dramatically altered footage that they no longer want regular looking images so eventually all video becomes heavily altered to compete?
I can see corporate client A saying, "why doesn't our video doesn't look like theirs? We want our video to look like that"
Bride says, "I want my wedding to look like that" and is unhappy with natural looking images.

Share your thoughts :)
 
HDR in video is intended to make the video more realistic and not limited to the Rec.709 color space.
The increased dynamic range of display devices has enabled this technology.

It has nothing to do with HDR in photography where multiple exposures are stacked.
 
Film has long compressed the dynamic range of scene to screen. That is what film's S-curve is all about. Photographic paper has a dynamic range of five or six f-stops. So you have been looking at compressed brightness for a long time.

Do it too much, though, and it looks other-worldly, as we all have witnessed in photography that bills itself "HDR."
 
Cary Knoop said:
... It has nothing to do with HDR in photography where multiple exposures are stacked.
Click to expand...
Some video/hybrid cameras also use multiple exposures to get a few extra stops.

HDR in video is supposed to be 13+ stops but very few TV's are capable of it. Even 10, on a normally calibrated set, might be too bright for many.
 
DLD said:
HDR in video is supposed to be 13+ stops but very few TV's are capable of it. Even 10, on a normally calibrated set, might be too bright for many.
Click to expand...

The maximum DR for a "standard" NTSC REC 709 set is 7 F-stops, and it's going to look pretty bad sitting next to a HDR set displaying HDR content.

I expect within 3+ years every set you buy will be HDR because that is all that will be available.
 
TheDingo said:
The maximum DR for a "standard" NTSC REC 709 set is 7 F-stops, and it's going to look pretty bad sitting next to a HDR set displaying HDR content.

I expect within 3+ years every set you buy will be HDR because that is all that will be available.
Click to expand...
And it will be all that people want!
Once you have seen HDR you would not want to go back.

People who think it is too bright and say they will never buy it are either old or don't yet understand what HDR actually is.
 
Cary Knoop said:
And it will be all that people want!
Once you have seen HDR you would not want to go back.

People who think it is too bright and say they will never buy it are either old or don't yet understand what HDR actually is.
Click to expand...

That is what I'm wondering. Once more HDR content is out there and HDR TV sets, people get used to it and then we content producers have to produce it.
I'm trying to determine if current cameras, specifically Sony FS700R (with ext recorder) can accomplish this.
Can shooting log and grading get you there?
 
firehawk said:
That is what I'm wondering. Once more HDR content is out there and HDR TV sets, people get used to it and then we content producers have to produce it.
Click to expand...
Or better when content producers are ahead of the curve, as a lot of footage is going to be viewed in the future.

firehawk said:
I'm trying to determine if current cameras, specifically Sony FS700R (with ext recorder) can accomplish this.
Can shooting log and grading get you there?
Click to expand...
Yes.

I would advice using software that can color manage and allow you to grade for multiple destinations. For instance in Resolve you could grade in a wide color space instead of in Rec.709 and then for delivery 'plugin' any destination color space. Later you could simply create other versions with updated destination color spaces. This is also the concept that ACES takes to make delivery color space independent of the grading color space.
 
Wanted to chime in quickly:

HDR is: 10bit / expanded colour / expanded DR.
SDR is: 8 bit / rec.709 colour / 6-7 stops of DR depending on who you listen to.

HDR terminology is not interchangeable with HDR as used in the photo world. An HDR image doesn't have to be whaky saturated colours and shouldn't determine the look when shooting for anyone, so no we aren't about to see way out colour grading become the norm (more than it already is anyway). HDR can deliver minor tonality changes that SDR cannot such as those on skin etc. as well. The images match better true to life images than is currently available with the rec.709 spec.

What consumers get on tvs depends on what tv they actually buy. Ultra HD premium, is a specification that determines the minimum spec for HDR TVs. 1000 nit tvs allow for about 13+ stops DR - 2000 nit screens for 17.5 stops. By far and away the most common is 1000nit screens as the technology is still on the expensive end.

To OP, HDR will eventually be standard. There are standards now for delivery as well as the introduction of cameras recently with HLG built in. HLG being the standard introduced by the BBC and NHK for cameras to deliver HDR images direct to live broadcast. NHK want this for the 2020 olympics. Im not in Japan right now, so someone may chime in there, but it wouldnt surprise me if theyre already delivering content this way now. I will be there in a few months so I will be interested to see where theyre at.
 
There ought to be more news on live 4K/HDR broadcasts beginning with the 2018 Winter Olympics. The Koreans really want to show that what they can do will be superior to the what the Japanese can. Last weekend, at the US Open, the Fox camera showed a 4K footage but only in quick spots, when doing special features (on someone's swing, for example). I was watching bits on TV and I couldn't tell 4K from HD (too far from my set with my old eyes).
 
firehawk said:
Once more HDR content is out there and HDR TV sets, people get used to it and then we content producers have to produce it. I'm trying to determine if current cameras, specifically Sony FS700R (with ext recorder) can accomplish this. Can shooting log and grading get you there?
Click to expand...

"It is important to ensure that images are stored in the widest possible color space until the very final stages of the color pipeline. This is easily achieved by using ACES, which keeps images in a high dynamic range, wide color gamut space, and allows the user to simply select the Output Transform for the target viewing display." --- Netflix Originals: Production and Post-Production Requirements v2.1

It might be worth perusing Netflix's requirements in depth. They also talk about cameras that don't have ACES.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top