
Dolby Is Optimistic About HDR Growth as Fox Sports Preps for HDR Super Bowl Coverage Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos help improve next-gen productions for high-profile events By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Tuesday, January 31, 2023 - 10:43 am
Print This Story
One of the companies at the center of the HDR revolution is Dolby Laboratories: both Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos are designed to deliver improved next-generation experiences to consumers. And, with Fox delivering NFL Playoff games and Super Bowl LVII in HDR, such high-exposure events are making a difference.
HDR is really taking off, says Carlos Watanabe, director, pay TV and streaming, Dolby. Fox also delivered all the FIFA World Cup games and selected college basketball, college football, and MLB games in HDR. Hopefully, that will stimulate other broadcasters and a lot of producers to deliver more content in HDR. We know that is happening, because we have been talking to some of them and they are all studying it and getting their workflow ready.
Dolby Vision encoding is designed to expand the HDR viewing experience with more-dynamic images.
HDR discussions can typically devolve into an alphabet soup of production and distribution formats. Dolby Vision sits in the latter camp, adding metadata on top of the HDR signal to maximize picture quality.
Dolby Vision is agnostic to the production format and resolution, Watanabe explains. We insert the frame-by-frame metadata that describes the video on the transmission encoder. Comcast, say, would receive an HDR source and convert it into PQ HDR10 with the Dolby Vision metadata. That is what goes out to the consumer. It's just another step to the encoder; they don't have to add another external box.
He notes that the process is fairly straightforward: The Dolby Vision Live Distribution Processing analyzes every frame and generates metadata describing that particular frame. When the signal reaches a Dolby Vision-enabled display, it will use the image metadata to map the signal to the capability of that particular display, optimizing the experience for the consumer. With static metadata, you just send specific mapping information for a generic display type. With dynamic metadata (i.e., Dolby Vision), the display dynamically creates its own customized mappings. It doesn't matter if the panel costs $400 or $2,000; Dolby Vision will deliver a consistent and best image for that particular display.
Looking ahead to the rest of 2023, Watanabe is optimistic that, by the time the next NFL regular season starts, there will be at least two broadcasters delivering HDR.
One big question regarding HDR is its delivery via over-the-air TV stations. According to the FCC, ATSC 3.0 is available in 68 markets and reaches half of all homes. There is still work to be done in terms of ATSC 3.0 deployment, but its ability to deliver 4K and HDR content along with immersive audio over-the-air is something to keep an eye out for in the coming year.
Just as important as the content is the availability of HDR in lower-cost 4K sets. It's coming down to mainstream TVs, says Watanabe. One can find Dolby Vision TVs for as low as $299, and there are plenty of choices in the $400-$700 range. Consumers need to be educated about it.
Efforts like the NFL Playoffs in HDR are the kind of content expansion necessary to give the education process a reason to begin in earnest. We're bullish on HDR, he says. We're very confident that we're going to be seeing much more content in Dolby Vision, in both live sports and VOD.
And then there is the continuing revolution around spatial audio and Dolby Atmos. With plenty of TVs, sound bars, and mobile devices capable of delivering an experience beyond 5.1, the improved images are being matched with an improved sonic landscape.
Beyond the traditional living-room devices, notes Watanabe, the Apple iPhone and Samsung smartphones have Dolby Atmos, and it is great they are promoting spatial-audio music services.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
13/07/2026
The Braves opted to keep production in-house rather than hand it off to MLB...
13/07/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, including new deals, departures, and assignments compiled from press releases and repo...
13/07/2026
Eurovision Sport is making live athletics more accessible to fans than ever befo...
13/07/2026
The Milwaukee Bucks will return to full-season over-the-air television for the 2...
13/07/2026
SMPTE has announced an expanded education pathway for media technology professio...
13/07/2026
Vizrt has announced that its graphics technology was used by broadcast design agency Girraphic for Netflix's debut MVP MMA event, broadcast live from the In...
13/07/2026
ARRI has announced an agreement to sell its global rental activities in Europe, the United Kingdom, and North America to H2 Equity Partners through a management...
13/07/2026
DAZN has announced a partnership with Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) to bring PBC fight nights to DAZN subscribers globally. The partnership begins Saturday, Ju...
13/07/2026
TikTok and WSC Sports have announced a strategic partnership that gives sports r...
13/07/2026
Two new Ross products -Brushback: Full Count and CapGo - are debuting at Citizens Bank Park All-Star festivities...
13/07/2026
MSG Networks' was given exclusive access during the Knicks' unforgettabl...
13/07/2026
LOS ANGELES, July 13, 2026 - Sundance Institute today announced the 10 producers selected to participate in its annual Producers Labs taking place July 13-18 fo...
13/07/2026
Adds new intelligent Mix Assistant feature
With their product range now featuring numerous processors across two distinct line-ups, the M-Series and T-Serie...
13/07/2026
Plug-ins for heavy music
Avalanche Tones is the brainchild of Ava Toton, a 17-year-old musician and developer who says her goal is to make the lives of gui...
13/07/2026
Popular sustain effect overhauled
Latvia-based innovators Gamechanger Audio have just launched a new and improved version of their popular sustainer unit. B...
13/07/2026
Millions tuned in for quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup 2026 on SBS
13 July, 2026
Media releases
Norway v England attracted a Total TV reach of 3.7 mil...
13/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/07/2026
Composer and Producer Andy Dollerson has built a career by blending his electroacoustic training with hands on production work for independent artists and filmm...
13/07/2026
The next release of the widely used video player VLC 3.0.24 will incorporate full support for RIST, including main profile and some support for advanced profile...
13/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/07/2026
Providing sound reinforcement for a live televised casting show ranks among the most demanding tasks in event technology: the house sound and the broadcast feed...
13/07/2026
Committed to its fans first guiding principle, the genre-defying Savannah Bananas baseball team has placed Calrec at the heart of its growing broadcast story. A...
13/07/2026
At IBC2026, Intinor will demonstrate its latest developments and present a practical path for broadcasters transitioning to IP workflows. The showcase focuses o...
13/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/07/2026
Celebrating Two Decades of ICG and League Football Education This year marks 20 years of working with League Football Education (LFE) the charity responsible ...
13/07/2026
Silver for Arvato Systems at the 2026 Service Provider Award
Award in the AI as a Service Provider category recognizes AI expertise and innovative strength
...
13/07/2026
RT News is pleased to announce the appointment of Joe Mag Raollaigh as the new Managing Editor of Nuacht, the Irish Language News and Current Affairs service a...
12/07/2026
Offers six-channels and built-in effects
Korg's latest release introduces a new analogue mixer that's been designed to act as a hub for live electro...
12/07/2026
COW Jobs: Video Production Specialist, Indie Game - Remote
Brie Clayton July 12, 2026
0 Comments
Video Production Specialist (Indie Game)
May 29, 20...
11/07/2026
(L-R) Bruce McKenzie, Mimi Rogers, Cemre Paksoy, Georgia Bernstein, El onore Hendricks, and Colleen Rose Trundy attend the Night Nurse premiere during the 202...
11/07/2026
Promises a vividness and depth rarely found in software
Switzerland-based Handcrafted Audio's latest creation is an interesting hybrid instrument that...
11/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/07/2026
Boston Conservatory at Berklee Awards Grants to Five Alumni, Supporting Work in ...
11/07/2026
Berklee Alumni and Faculty Recognized with 2026 Emmy Nominations The 27 nominees include Trey Parker (South Park) and seven-time Emmy winner Pablo Mungu a of ...
10/07/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
10/07/2026
FUJIFILM North America Corporation has announced the FUJINON GF19-35mmT3.5 PZ OIS WR, a cinema power zoom lens for the GFX System with native G Mount. The lens ...
10/07/2026
Dalet has announced a new Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex, expanding AI capabilities, workflow automation, and integration with Dalia, Dalet'...
10/07/2026
Blackmagic Design has released Fairlight Live, a free software-based broadcast audio mixer for Mac and Windows, available for download now. Simultaneously, the ...
10/07/2026
FloSports and the USA South Athletic Conference have announced an exclusive medi...
10/07/2026
Daktronics has manufactured and installed an LED video display at Field of Dream...
10/07/2026
Registration is now open for NAB Show New York 2026, taking place October 21-22 ...
10/07/2026
Sphere Entertainment Co. and the Formula 1 Heineken Las Vegas Grand Prix have an...
10/07/2026
CBS Sports and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) have announced a media rights partnership covering the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 and the AFC U23 Asi...