At the National Association of Broadcasters convention next week FilmLight will present high dynamic range mastering and grading, featuring the new Dolby Vision technology on Baselight’s color grading system.
Even though most TV shows and movies are recorded using camera technology that captures the colors and brightness of real life, much of that richness is lost by the time viewers get to watch. This is because current TV and cinema color grading standards are based on the limitations of old technologies and require that the original video content be altered—dramatically reducing the range of colors, brightness and contrast—before it can be reproduced for transmission and playback.
“Our goal was to give creative teams the freedom to use the full gamut of colors, peak brightness and local contrast, with the confidence that those will be reproduced faithfully on televisions that feature Dolby Vision,” said Roland Vlaicu, senior director, broadcast imaging, Dolby Laboratories. “That’s why we designed it as an end-to-end solution, from content creation to distribution and playback.”
As a result, Baselight colorists can now create grades, more confident that they will be carried faithfully all the way to the viewer. FilmLight is a critical piece of the Dolby Vision ecosystem puzzle, which is already receiving support from A-list Hollywood directors and executives at major studios, TV manufacturers and operators worldwide.
“We have worked very closely with the Dolby engineers on the integration of their technology with Baselight,” said Wolfgang Lempp, CEO and co-founder of FilmLight. “Everyone who has seen it recognizes that this is an exciting opportunity, and I know that the highly creative professionals who rely on Baselight day in, day out will make the most of it.
“Baselight is a highly flexible system, and the comprehensive support for color transforms and different color representation at every step has helped the integration of Dolby Vision, pushing the quality and performance even further,” he added. “I am looking forward to the NAB display where Baselight will be in its element, creating remarkable and pristine images in a perfect environment.”
The HDR grading presentation will take place on the Dolby booth at NAB Show, SU1702. Baselight can also be seen in collaborative presentations with The Foundry (SL6329), Codex (C6048), and Sony (C11001) at NAB.
Dolby Lab Notes blog posts on Dolby Vision:
http://blog.dolby.com/2013/12/tv-bright-enough/
http://blog.dolby.com/2013/12/tv-missing-colors/
http://blog.dolby.com/2013/12/tvs-missing-colors-infographic/
FilmLight http://www.filmlight.ltd.uk