dolby-vision-white-paper10-V2

1DolbyVision™fortheHome2WHATISDOLBYVISION?DolbyVision™transformsthewayyouexperiencemovies,TVshows,andgameswithincrediblebrightness,contrast,andcolorthatbringentertainmenttolifebeforeyoureyes.ByfullyleveragingthemaximumpotentialofnewcinemaprojectiontechnologyandnewTVs’displaycapabilities,DolbyVisiondelivershigh-dynamic-range(HDR)andwide-color-gamutcontent.Theresultisarefined,lifelikeimagethatwillmakeyouforgetyouarelookingatascreen.Currentconsumervideodeliveryandcinemastandardsarebasedonthelimitationsofoldtechnologiesandrequirealteringtheoriginalcontentbeforeitcanbereproducedforplayback—dramaticallyreducingtherangeofcolors,brightness,andcontrastfromthatcapturedbymoderncameras.DolbyVisionchangesthat,givingcreativeteamstheconfidencethatimageswillbereproducedfaithfullyonTVs,PCs,andmobiledevicesthatfeatureDolbyVision.DolbyVisionisanaturalcomplementtoDolbyAtmos®.Itgivesmovie,television,andgamecreatorsthetoolstheyneedtocreateexperiencesthatpreservethecreativeintentandletconsumersexperiencetrulyimmersivecontentwithoutcompromise.Formanufacturersoftelevisions,gameconsoles,personalcomputers,andmobiledevices,DolbyVisionunlocksthefullcapabilitiesoftheirhardwareandcreatesapremiumexperiencethatcanincreaseuseandenjoymentoftheseproducts.3DOLBYVISION:ROOTEDINTHESCIENCEOFTHEHUMANVISUALSYSTEMTherearethreewaystoimprovepicturequalityformovies,TVshows,games,anduser-generatedcontent:•Morepixels:4K,8K,andbeyond•Higherframerate(HFR)•Betterpixels(highdynamicrangeandwidercolorgamut):DolbyVision4Ktelevisionshave“morepixels,”andnewerstandardsforUHDTValsoincludehighframerates,butthesestandardsdon’tmakeeachpixelabletobetterrepresentthefullrangeofbrightnessweseeinreality.DolbyVisionistheDolbyLaboratoriessolutiontomeetthischallenge.Thenaturalworldhasamuchbroaderrangeofcolorandbrightnessthancurrentbroadcast,Blu-ray™,andcinemasystemssupport.Forexample,justinthesimpleflowershownhere,brightnessrangesfrom145nitsforthebackgroundallthewayto14,700nitsfortheyellowpartofthepetal.(Note:Anitisaunitusedtomeasurebrightnessandisequivalenttoacandelapersquaremeter.)ThecurrentTVandBlu-raystandardslimitmaximumbrightnessto100nitsandminimumbrightnessto0.117nits,whilealsolimitingtherangeofcolors(orcolorgamut)thatcanbedisplayed.TheseandotherlimitstomodernHDTVstandardsarealegacyofthecathoderaytube(CRT).4HOWMUCHDYNAMICRANGEDOWENEED?TheDolbyimagingresearchteamranasetofexperimentswithordinaryviewerstoanswerthisquestion.Theresearcherstestedwhatviewerspreferredforblacklevel,diffusewhitelevel,andhighlightlevel.Theydeterminedthatasystemthatcouldreproducearangeof0to10,000nitssatisfied90percentofviewersaskedtopickanidealrange.Oneoftheothercriticalproblemswiththecurrentbrightnessandcolor-rangerestrictionscomesfromhowanactualTVrepresentscolor.Thediagramatleftbelowshowsthecolorsthetypicaleyecansee,thecolorsthatcurrentHDstandardscanrepresentandtheadditionalcolorsmadevisiblebyDolbyVision.Butthisdoesn’trepresenteverything—toreallysee,youmustalsolookattherangeofbrightness,thecolorvolume.ThegraphontherightshowcasesthecolorvolumeandtheincreaseincolorvolumeprovidedbyDolbyVision.5ATVdisplayisanadditivecolorsystem—red,green,andblue—meaningthatthebrightestpixeliswhite,madeupoffullbrightnessofeachoftheprimarycolors.Theproblemwithrestrictingmaximumbrightnessto100nits(asinTVandBlu-ray)isthatthebrighterthecolor,thecloseritbecomestowhite,sobrightcolorsbecomelesssaturated.Forexample,thebrightestsaturatedblueonanordinarydisplayisamere7nits,soablueskywillneverbeasbrightandsaturatedasitshouldbe.WiththemaximumDolbyVisionbrightnessof4,000nitsusingtoday’smonitorcapabilitiesandupto10,000nitsinthefuture,acontentcreatorhastherangetorepresentaskythatistrulybrightandsaturated,makingitseemmorenatural.WHYDOLBYVISION?Movieandtelevisiondirectorstellstories;gamedesignerscreateimmersive,engaginggameexperiences.Oneoftherealchallengesforallthesecreatorsliesinthelimitationsofthemedium.DolbyhasworkedcloselywithHollywoodstudios,cinemas,andconsumerequipmentmakersoverthelast50yearstomakethestoriesandexperiencesasengagingaspossible—firstwithnoisereduction,then5.1surroundand7.1surround,andnowwithDolbyVisionandDolbyAtmos.DolbyVisiongivesthedirectorandcolorist(orthegameprogrammerandthelightingandeffectsdesigner)thetoolstheyneedtoaccuratelyrepresentthevibrantcolors,brighthighlights,anddetailedshadowsthathelpdrawtheviewerintothescene.6WHATTHECONTENTCREATORSEESISWHATTHEVIEWERGETSThelimitationsintoday’ssystemcomesasanaturalresultofthelimitationsofcurrentTVandBlu-raystandards.ThemaximumbrightnessforbroadcastTVorBlu-raydiscsis100nits.ButmodernTVsoftenhave300to500nitsmaximumbrightness,soTVmanufacturersstretchthebrightnessofthecontenttotrytousethecapabilitiesofthedisplay.Thisdistortstheimages.Andbecauseeachmanufacturerstretchestheoutputdifferently,everyviewerwillexperienceamovie,TVshow,orgameinadifferentandunpredictableway.DolbyVisionsolvesthisproblem.Contentcreatorscolor-gradetheircontentusingDolbyVisioncompatiblereferencemonitors,whichhavedramaticallyhigherdynamicrangeandwidercolorgamut,toensurethehighest-fidelitymastering.Th