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Dolby Provides HDR Update

Dolby showed off elements of its HDR production workflow at NAB 2015 as well as content playing on the new HDR TVs from Vizio. These TVs were announced at CES 2014 and are late to arrive – and, in fact, are still not available to purchase.

There are two models in the UHD Reference Series at 65” and 120” that incorporate Dolby Vision HDR technology. These were also revealed in a NY event that Matthew Brennesholtz covered and described (Vizio to Bring Dolby Vision to Home Theater). At this event the color space was not specified, but Dolby told us it was P3. The TVs will decode HDR content compressed with HEVC or AVC.

Dolby also showed its HDR pipeline behind a glass windowed area. This included examples of color grading using the Pulsar Rec. 709 100 cd/m² reference display next to a 2000 or 4000 cd/m² HDR monitor (see photo). The 2000 cd/m² monitors will also be used in editing bays. Dolby is working with partners to bring these monitors to market, and news could be coming in a few months on that front.

Dolby HDR grading

The company also showed a live HDR workflow that started with a modified GrassValley camera. This was apparently adjusted to add the PQ encoding process at the camera, sending uncompressed data over a quad 3G SDI connection through a standard switch to an HDR monitor.