Cromorama Simplifies Color Management and Quality Control for Live Productions with the ORION-CONVERT Pipeline and AJA ColorBox
Brie Clayton December 10, 2024
0 Comments
Well-executed productions come off seamlessly to audiences, regardless of the delivery format, but their underpinning is complex. Today, crews often work with a host of high dynamic range (HDR) and standard dynamic range (SDR) cameras and equipment, each with its own color science. Achieving a consistent look often requires crews to be able to color match production cameras and easily convert between SDR and HDR standards. However, broadcasters can still encounter quality control (QC) issues, where the feed they output looks off and adjustments must be made. European HDR and color management consultancy firm and software developer Cromorama is streamlining this process with its ORION-CONVERT color pipeline, which is built into AJA's ColorBox and OG-ColorBox color management and conversion solutions. Cromorama's aim is to make color management more accessible for clients like the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) while also supporting QC demands.
ORION-CONVERT's backstory Cromorama CEO and CTO Pablo Garcia developed ORION-CONVERT with a vision to give professionals more creative and technical control over color management capabilities. He didn't want them to worry as much about the math, especially as lighting conditions change. To this end, his team designs all Cromorama software with the philosophy that clients should be able to easily adapt.
We're a company that's all about improving color iteration, and the ORION-CONVERT algorithm originated out of a need we saw amongst clients, Garcia explained. Before Cromorama, there wasn't an easy way to execute high quality conversions between HDR and SDR with the level of control we wanted. This gap in the toolset was especially noticeable when we were preparing for a major 2020 international sporting event on behalf of a client, so we envisioned a piece of code and started fine tuning it.
That effort, said Garcia, led to the development of ORION-CONVERT , an intuitive engine with a unique two-stage compression process for full color management from display to display, SDR to/from HLG and PQ. The Cromorama team regularly deploys the software to serve clients globally, as it provides film production, broadcast, and research and development (R&D) services; it's also a core technology behind NBCU LUTs. They see ORION-CONVERT , AJA ColorBox, and AJA OG-ColorBox breaking down color management barriers.
The color management learning curve used to be steep, especially in broadcast, but we've reached an inflection point. ORION-CONVERT in AJA ColorBox and OG-ColorBox, a platform that's well targeted to live production demands, provides more control over SDR and HDR transforms, so it's easier to adapt to various scenarios in the field, Garcia noted. Both hardware solutions are also so valuable for QC purposes because I know I can trust them. If a broadcaster encounters an issue with their feed, I can run it through a ColorBox or OG-ColorBox and quickly uncover the issue with the original signal so they can fix it.
A closer look at the technology behind a major live sports championship production Since its founding over four years ago, Cromorama has worked closely with sports organizations, providing HDR and color management consultancy services. When its team began preparations in 2022 to support the UEFA EURO 2024 championship production, they benchmark tested a wide range of HDR production gear to achieve the desired visual outcome. Tests included solutions like AJA ColorBox and FS-HDR, as well as camera and graphics kit from other manufacturers. By the end of the process, UEFA had certified ColorBox as an approved production device.
Cromorama extensively leveraged the solution throughout the tournament venues for color conversion, QC, and testing needs. As QC Supervisor, Garcia oversaw two QC operators and the whole tournament production. He was quickly notified if any broadcasters encountered signal issues, such as picture quality or artifacts, and troubleshooted to identify the issue. This entailed passing their signal through a ColorBox on his desk, identifying the approved conversion path, analyzing whether there were artifacts, and finding the source of the problem in the chain.
I know that with ColorBox, the LUT is technically correct, so if there's an issue, it's often with the signal itself or a problem the broadcaster's in-house gear has created, and ColorBox helps me figure that out. Coupled with ORION-CONVERT, it's THE standard for color conversion, Garcia explained.
He added, ColorBox was a natural fit for a project like this because it's such an intuitive device that makes color management and QC simpler and more accessible. With ColorBox, you can easily complete SDR and HDR transforms and make adjustments. When we're working with clients, ColorBox also has such a fast protocol, especially when combined with tools like our Ennio Desktop application, which is great. I can see it processing video in near-real time, and the dynamic LUT mode in ColorBox is bonkers fast! I'm also excited to test out the latest ColorBox ACES implementation.
Charting the journey ahead Since ORION-CONVERT's rollout, Cromorama has continued to advance its technology with ease-of-use top of mind so that users don't have to be color scientists or specialists to figure out how to use it. Some of its latest innovations include an ORION-CONVERT plugin for a popular creative application that's used for nonlinear editing in television production, as well as Ennio, a color management orchestration desktop application.
Looking ahead, the company plans to continue this tr
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...
30/08/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has adopted its FY 2025 Regulatory Fees Order that establishes the regulatory fee rates for the broadcast stati...
29/08/2025
Australian Red Cross and SBS launch training to help workplaces in the fight aga...
29/08/2025
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
29/08/2025
L3Harris Technologies has concentrated decades of expertise across the entire enterprise to develop affordable and reliable best-of-breed solutions to rapidly c...
29/08/2025
BURBANK, Calif. The CW Network and the Pac-12 Conference have announced a new media rights deal that will extend their broadcast partnership beginning with the ...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK Gracenote has released a new analysis of its global video dataset showing that the number of FAST channels grew nearly 14% from Q1 2025 and 76% since 2...
29/08/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. Harmonic has announced a series of improvements to its live sports streaming solution that the company said will improve fan engagement, protec...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES Fox Corp. and YouTube TV last night announced a renewal of the full portfolio of Fox networks, including Fox News Channel, Fox Business...
29/08/2025
Budapest, Hungary, August 2025 - The integration of Microsoft Teams Rooms (MTR) with Lightware's Taurus universal matrix switchers delivers a new level of f...
29/08/2025
Frequency, the engine behind many of the world's best-known streaming television channels, today announced it will launch Studio Live, a next-generation uni...
29/08/2025
In an era when AI and cyber resilience are essential, Scality will mark the 10th anniversary of Scality Day on October 16, 2025 in Paris. This flagship global e...
29/08/2025
Disguise's In-House Creative and Technical Teams Pre-Visualised, Programmed and Delivered Content for the Experience, All Powered by EX 3+
Technology solu...
29/08/2025
Disguise will be demonstrating the latest workflows for TV, film and live events on a number of partner booths at the show
Disguise, the industry-leading tech...
29/08/2025
STOCKHOLM, Sweden Accedo will showcase Accedo Compose, its AI agent-powered modular orchestration layer that assists streaming providers in transitioning client...
29/08/2025
LOS ANGELES Cineverse has announced that it is working with Xperi to bring four of its streaming channels to automobiles for the first time as part of the DTS A...
29/08/2025
DALLAS & ATLANTA Gray Media has announced an agreement with the sports streaming service Victory+ to simulcast 17 Dallas Stars NHL games in 15 television market...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK AND CULVER CITY Comcast NBCUniversal and Amazon have announced new and extended distribution agreements that will expand the content available on their...
29/08/2025
FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif. RED Digital Cinema will feature its Cine-Broadcast Module supporting live broadcast workflows during IBC2025, Sept. 12-15, at the RAI Ams...
29/08/2025
29 Aug 2025
Kyivstar Rings Opening Bell at Nasdaq Marking Landmark Listing and ...
29/08/2025
More than half of all NFL games live on Sky for the first timeFriday 29 August 2025
Sky Sports has announced a new three-year deal with the NFL, extending its ...
29/08/2025
Back to All News
RIV4LRIES: The Trailer of the New Series With Samuele Carrino ...
29/08/2025
Get ready for an inspiring and emotional insight into the world of competitive Irish dancing with My Story: Tomi Champion of the World airing on RT 2 this monda...
29/08/2025
RT has today announced that David McCullagh is to be the new presenter of RT Radio 1's flagship Today programme, which airs every weekday at 10am, replaci...
28/08/2025
By Kristin Feeley, Director, Documentary Film & Artist Programs
If you want to tell untold stories, if you want to give voice to the voiceless, you've got ...
28/08/2025
Directed by Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, Sundance Institute-supported Amer...
28/08/2025
Corridos have been a cornerstone of M sica Mexicana for generations, telling stories rooted in everyday life. Now, a new chapter is taking shape: motivational c...
28/08/2025
Los corridos han sido un pilar de la M sica Mexicana durante generaciones, contando historias enraizadas en la vida cotidiana. Ahora, un nuevo cap tulo est tom...
28/08/2025
Earlier this month, we promised our Verano Forever party would bring the heat, a...
28/08/2025
L3Harris will provide the Polish F-16V fleet with the Viper Shield electronic warfare system as part of an upgrade program....
28/08/2025
Bilbao, August 26, 2025 - AgileTV, an international television and video technol...
28/08/2025
Ken Wilkinson is an Emmy Awards nominated New York audio engineer who specialises in production sound mixing for film, commercial, episodic and documentary work...
28/08/2025
NEW YORK FuboTV today announced that it will launch Fubo Sports, a skinny bundle that focuses on sports with a subscription price of $56 monthly....
28/08/2025
NEVADA City, Calif. At IBC2025, Sept. 12-15 at the RAI Amsterdam, Telestream will debut its new Global Ingest strategy, introducing a next-generation ingest arc...
28/08/2025
Dr. Rhoda Bernard Releases Groundbreaking Debut Book on Accessible Arts Educatio...
28/08/2025
TAG Video Systems, the leader in software-based IP end-to-end workflow monitoring, deep probing, and real-time visualization, has named Oliver Gappa as Sales Di...
28/08/2025
AI-based voice enhancement will be among a series of innovations making their IBC 2025 debut on the DHD stand B46 in Hall 8 at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Cent...
28/08/2025
Telef nica Servicios Audiovisuales (TSA), the leading system integrator and service provider in the media sector in Spain, with the support of Appear, the globa...
28/08/2025
To fully immerse sailing fans in the world's biggest offshore yacht race, production company, Optical Media turned to LiveU's On-site Production solutio...
28/08/2025
Working with Calrec on its most recent overhaul, radio and television broadcaster, WNED has migrated to a fully IP infrastructure with multiple Type R consoles,...
28/08/2025
Cleeng, the Subscriber Retention Management (SRM ) inventor, has unveiled Cleeng Pro, the first-ever direct-to-consumer (D2C) subscription management platform t...
28/08/2025
Zixi, the industry leader in live broadcast-quality video over IP, today announced that French media distribution platform OKAST has selected Zixi to enable rel...
28/08/2025
Solution offers a streamlined, speaker-free architecture to optimize integration with premium external loudspeakers and advanced loudness metering
Nixer Pro Au...
28/08/2025
Cinegy, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, has announced a strategic partnership with Vision One Touch Film Production Services L.L...
28/08/2025
Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, will debut its new Global Ingest strategy at IBC2025, introducing a next-generation ingest architect...
28/08/2025
Tier 1 operator selects Broadpeak to power high-performance, unified CDN solution across Norway, Sweden and Finland
Broadpeak, a leader in streaming and moneti...
28/08/2025
Leading video software provider, Synamedia, today announced that 24 Frames Digital, one of India's leading live event streaming service providers, has chose...
28/08/2025
Meet VisualOn at IBC2025: See What's Next in AI-Powered Video Streaming Join VisualOn at IBC2025 and discover how our AI-driven Optimizer and advanced media...
Cromorama Simplifies Color Management and Quality Control for Live Productions with the ORION-CONVERT Pipeline and AJA ColorBox 
