News and Reviews....

    High Dynamic Range  October 2015 

 By Robert Lieto

    High Dynamic Range is poised to ignite Ultra HD sales both figuratively and literally and UHD (ultra-High definition) Blue-Ray players will give new life to "hard" media.  These are the views of the folks in TV technology. Everyone is "Bullish" on 4K and opens the door for 8K resolution. Last month the CEA (Consumer Electronics Association) set standard for HDR-Compatable Displays specification for UHD makers. The makers must adhere to the baseline compatibility and interoperability with any/all the various HDR formats and UHD Bluerays. Once the baseline standards are adhered to, UHD TV makers will be free to add any of their own HDR touches and maybe perhaps approach the heretofore unapproachable REC. 2020 specifications, or wide color gamut (WCG) enhancements to create the competitive differences.

What defines an HDR TV ? Well it relates to the differences in Contrast ratio which will deliver brighter highlights and much deeper blacks without washing out details. It will also deliver a much wider color gamut then conventional displays. You will notice a big difference in price between the HDR sets and conventional specification TVs.... so beware or consult a specialist like Custom Audio-Video Systems of North Haven, Connecticut to be certain you are getting the most from your purchase. Custom Audio-Video Systems has access to all major brands and orders specifically for the installed location and use. We take into consideration all relevant parameters and sometimes requires a visit to the location. This is what denotes true custom installation but assures your purchase is correct for use and performance.

CEA's Video Division Board approved the following definition:  A TV, monitor or project may be referred to as a HDR Compatable Display if it meets the following minimum attributes:

                    1. It includes at least one interface that supports HDR signaling as defined in CEA-861-F, as extended by CEA-861.3

                    2. Receives and processes static HDR metadata compliant with CEA-861.3 for uncompressed video.

                    3. Receives and processes HDR10 Media Profile from IP, HDMI or other video delivery sources: additionally, other media profiles may be supported

                    4. Applies an appropriate Electro-Optical Transfer Function, before rendering the image

These characteristics for HDR interoperability were developed in collaboration between CEA and its display manufacturer members with leading content providers and distributors. CEA has also implemented a variety of promotional efforts to help educate consumers and retailers about the new display technology.

The speed at which this HDR designation was delivered was somewhat of a surprise. The UHD Alliance has been active in developing further details for the standards in this area of technology.  As of today, LG, Panasonic and Samsung have presented plans for their first UHD Blu-Ray decks either by Christmas 2015 or CES 2016 (January 2016) and predicted UHD sales will be in the area of 7 million units which is 4 times last years'  USA sales. Globally, GIK predicts that 28.4 million UHD TVs will be sold worldwide this year, a 178 percent year-over-year jump fueled mostly by eager Chinese buyers.

   

Older UHDs and even 2K (1080) sets won't get left behind in the coming HDR revolution. The head of the Blue-Ray Disc association said his company will deliver HDR via firmware (discs) to update current non-HDR capabilities to the set which means a plain 2K HDTV playing a UHD Blu-ray with HDR will look demonstrably better.

There is 4K content starting to stream from NETFLIX and others with HDR and soon UHD Blu-ray with HDR. Everyone is in agreement the biggest boost will come from broadcast with HDR.

Comment .....   Broadcasters could be waiting for the 2016 Olympics to show off their HDR addition. We will have to wait and see.

Any comments or questions, just give us a call (203) 234-1303 or an email to "customaudio@sbcglobal.net".

Past Articles on Subject:

The Benefit of 4K  August  2014

The Death of Plasma  July  2014

OLED $$ to Go Down  Dec.  2012

World's Largest OLED    Jan. 2012

Quantum Dots  Dec. 2011

Not all HDTV Created Equal   Nov  2009

Sony OLED  Sept 2007

FLAT PANEL BIZ    July 2007

1080P and Beyond  April 2007

Here Comes NED   Nov 2005

Here Comes SED  Sept 2004

Waiting For OLEDS  June 2004

FLEXIBLE TV    July 2002