
How we see HDR
Are you seeing what I'm seeing?
In this month's blog we unpack the miracle of colour, and explain how we're bringing incredible HDR colour to everybody, regardless of their studio setup and equipment
We're all familiar with the idea that the colours we see might not be the colours that others see. Indeed, it's frequently this realization about colour that is the catalyst for teenagers everywhere suddenly understanding the concept of solipsism - the idea that the only thing we can be truly sure of in this world is the existence of a self'. Which inevitably leads to them suddenly deciding to wear only black and carry a beaten-up copy of Bertram Russel's History of Western Philosophy' with them everywhere.
But the idea that I don't see the same kind' of green as you do goes even further than the inability for us to compare the experience of our eyes - questioning whether our sensors work in the same way. Because in reality, there are some colours that we literally aren't seeing: we don't have the colour cones to pick them up. Instead, they are our brain's best guess at what is happening. It's effectively the ol' grey sponge filling in the gaps where information is missing.
This happens with quite a few colours - you can see in the helpful chart below. Green s - yep, the brain knows what's going on there. Everything in-between is just your brain shrugging and saying meh, this'll do'.
Think Pink
The extent to which the brain is making up things becomes particularly pronounced with magenta. See, we're often used to seeing colours in a wheel, but in reality they exist on a spectrum based on wavelength - and as you probably know, if you extend the sides of that spectrum you don't get more colours, you get other exciting things like microwaves or gamma waves. So magenta is our brain's best attempt to circle the square and bridge the gap between the furthest edges of red and violet. It's a truly theoretical colour. This differs from - say - yellow, which does exist on the light spectrum, but which we don't have the cones to see. So our brains just made something up. But speak to a Goldfish, and they really are seeing' yellow, because they've got the right kind of cones for it.
And even if we could see' any of these colours, our poor old brain is just doing best guess work anyway, because it can't be bothered to work with the sheer volume of data hitting it every second (2*10 photons per seconds, which for those that don't like maths, is really quite a lot). So it just grabs a sample of that and averages things out. It might be lazy, but it certainly seems pretty effective (which Bill Gates would certainly approve of, declaring famously: Ask a lazy person to do a hard job. Because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it.
Why this sudden colour obsession? HDR, of course
All of this is to say that given that our eyes are actually kind of primitive when it comes to dealing with concepts of colour, it's quite remarkable that we experience such a vibrant, colour-rich world.
And of course technology has had a hard time trying to play catch up with the remarkable things that our brains have been doing in large part because they are limited to dealing with the reality' of electromagnetic waves, rather than having the luxury of making things up like our brain does.
But the progress has been significant. The last black and white broadcast was in 1967. 50 years later and we now have HDR; a technology that has significantly extended the range of luminosity in which differentiation can be achieved - in essence meaning that areas which once would have been marked only by washed-out bright light or dark shadow now display greater detail. The net result is a deeper, richer and more vibrant image. Something that far better replicates our own experience of the world.
With technological progress comes empty pockets
Of course it's great that we've made this progress within the broadcast industry, and audiences are benefitting hugely. But as with any technological progression, there's a constant concern for implementers relating to the cost of implementation - particularly in an industry where change and progress can be fast-paced. Just as you've kitted out the studio to deal with one thing, the next big thing has rolled around and you're stuck with legacy systems and no more money in the upgrade account to keep up.
It's this concern that has always been at the root of our IP evangelism. One of the most significant benefits of IP-based broadcast and production systems is their immense amount of flexibility and their future-proof nature: they're ready to tackle and accommodate pretty much any new developing standard or technology. And our VB440 aims to sit at the heart of all this - facilitating the highest levels of production, whether in a fixed studio, a remote OB van, or a distributed network of individual operators, whilst constantly evolving to accommodate new standards; JPEG XS, immersive audio, and now HDR.
HDR - anywhere, anytime, anyhow
Indeed, in the field of HDR, we've managed to pull off a pretty clever trick that means that studios can work with HDR outputs without needing the immense investment associated with upgrading their monitors and hardware to accommodate its specific demands.
In essence, what we've managed to do is create a visual preview of HDR outputs that can be displayed on any browser and monitor - even, or perhaps especially - those which are not specifically HDR compatible. This is achieved by converting the specific coding of the HDR image into the sRGB colourspace of the browser, thus effectively mimicking' a localised preview of what the HDR output will be like for audiences.
T
Most recent headlines
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
02/07/2025
Hege Wik and Odin appear in FOLKTALES by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institut...
02/07/2025
(Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival)
By Patty Consolazio
This one's for any person who's ever felt put down, left out, marginaliz...
02/07/2025
Calrec expands ecosystem at NAB 2025 giving broadcasters access to dynamic workflows and ultimate flexibility Helping broadcasters meet the shifting needs of me...
02/07/2025
NEW YORK Paramount Global has agreed to pay $16 million to settle a lawsuit by President Donald Trump, ending a long-running legal saga that could clear the way...
02/07/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has approved the transfer of licenses for five TV stations from Sinclair to Rincon Broadcasting, which announce...
02/07/2025
As the media industry faces an uncertain business climate and rapidly changing consumer habits, TV Tech's most popular stories from the first six months of ...
02/07/2025
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. New data shows that U.S. homes now own an average of two smart TVs, with Samsung and LG dominating the market but Roku and FireTV continue to g...
02/07/2025
LOS ANGELES Funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management have acquired FilmRise, an independent digital streaming content distributor, and merged it with Shout! ...
02/07/2025
WASHINGTON The Advanced Television Systems Committee named Luiz Fausto vice president of standards development, succeeding ATSC vice president Jerry Whitaker, w...
02/07/2025
Boston Conservatory and the Sphinx Organization Join Forces to Make Classical Ed...
02/07/2025
02 Jul 2025
VEON Raises USD 200 Million in Private Bond Placement Dubai, July 1, 2025: VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq: VEON), a global digital operator ( VEON ), announces ...
02/07/2025
Brand new factual series follows mechanic and self-taught engineer Dom Chinea as he makes the move of his life to the far west of Cornwall
UKTV today announces...
02/07/2025
Progressive realism: Aurora on taking up the broadcast reins for World RX alongs...
02/07/2025
Great speed: New host broadcaster Aurora on getting the World RX 2025 season pro...
02/07/2025
Seat of its pants: Aurora boxes clever and looks ahead for the FIA as new host b...
02/07/2025
UEFA Women's Euro 2025: EBU, BBC Sport and Sunset Vine talk coverage plans, ...
02/07/2025
UEFA Women's Euro 2025: Women's Super League launches new content series...
02/07/2025
UEFA Women's Euro 2025: Ignite puts fans and players front and centre with t...
02/07/2025
Storytelling in the Live Game Broadcast: ESPN Director Jimmy Platt Breaks Down t...
02/07/2025
CONCACAF's Miguel Angel Garcia on the Gold Cup's Enhanced 2025 Productio...
02/07/2025
Rohde & Schwarz acquires ZES ZIMMER Electronic Systems GmbH and expands its T&M ...
02/07/2025
Wuppertal July 2, 2025
Riedel Communications Launches RefSuite Ecosystem for S...
02/07/2025
Andrew will serve as Chair of ABC alongside his role at NED, APL Media, where he supports the executive team with strategic insight and global expansion plans. ...
02/07/2025
Black Forest Labs, one of the world's leading AI research labs, just changed the game for image generation.
The lab's FLUX.1 image models have earned g...
01/07/2025
The launch of Code of Silence, coupled with the Britains Got Talent semi final, gave ITV its best Sunday night of 2025.
The first episode of the new crime dr...
01/07/2025
ITV and Mammoth Screen have announced the start of filming for Betrayal, a gripp...
01/07/2025
L3Harris Technologies has delivered its second Bombardier Global 6500 missionize...
01/07/2025
MELBOURNE, Fla., July 1, 2025 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) will release its second quarter 2025 financial results before the market opens on Thursday, Ju...
01/07/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
01/07/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has rejected license challenges to three full-power Baltimore TV stations, renewing the licenses for Chesapeake...
01/07/2025
Dalet has released a new update to its Dalet Flex media workflow platform, introducing powerful new capabilities to its flagship platform....
01/07/2025
NEWARK, N.J. With the FIFA Club World Cup final rapidly approaching and the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup now less than a year away, interest in soccer in th...
01/07/2025
COW Job Listing: Laser Engraved Logo
Brie Clayton July 1, 2025
0 Comments
Laser engraved logo
July 1, 2025Steffie Beltt's Mi Amor Music Video Cr...
01/07/2025
LeGrow.Studio Builds Broadcast Hub for ePro League
Brie Clayton July 1, 2025
0 Comments
TEM Constellation HD and BlackmagicURSA Broadcast G2 drive liv...
01/07/2025
Beeble launches SwitchLight 2.0, bringing AI-powered relighting to any footage
Brie Clayton July 1, 2025
0 Comments
New AI model delivers full-scene p...
01/07/2025
Steffie Beltt's Mi Amor Music Video Created with Blackmagic Design
Brie Clayton July 1, 2025
0 Comments
Blackmagic PYXIS 6K digital film camera...
01/07/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement and Media Bureaus have entered into a consent decree with Sinclair to resolve a variety of in...
01/07/2025
DENVER Low-power television (LPTV) station owners looking to navigate the complexities of selling their assets in todays dynamic media environment are invited t...
01/07/2025
NASA announced today that live programming from its NASA+ channel will be available on Netflix starting sometime this summer....
01/07/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr has appointed Katie McAuliffe to serve as policy advisor in his office....
01/07/2025
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. Alphabet's GFiber, the broadband provider formerly known as Google Fiber, has announced that it recently worked with Nokia to demonstr...
01/07/2025
NEW YORK, N.Y. DoubleVerify (DV) has announced the launch of DV Authentic Attention for Social. The product will first launch with Snap, the owner of Snapchat....
01/07/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has rejected license challenges to three full-power Baltimore TV stations and agreed to renew the license for C...
01/07/2025
Compact new converter lets users capture live NDI and streaming sources into software over a USB interface
Video interface and IP workflow innovator Magewell ...
01/07/2025
Disguise, the award-winning tech company driving visuals for Broadway and West End hits including Redwood, Stranger Things: The First Shadow and Disney's Fr...
01/07/2025
Vocal-processing plug-in joins NOIZ Hub series
Launched in 2024, KIT Plugins' NOIZ Hub series was created with the aim of providing a range of professio...
01/07/2025
New self-paced learning programme announced
Mastering.com have announced the availability of a new online course designed to cover the fundamentals of maste...
01/07/2025
Historic appointment ushers in unified leadership for WRAL-TV, New Media, and Digital Solutions
RALEIGH, N.C. - 6-27-25 - Capitol Broadcasting Company is prou...