SMPTE ST 2086

SMPTE = The Society of Motion Picture Television Engineers

ST = Standard?

2086 = HDR static metada

"Mastering Display Color Volume Metadata Supporting High Luminance and Wide Color Gamut Images" describes static data such as MaxFALL (Maximum Frame Average Light Level) and MaxCLL (Maximum Content Light Level). 

MaxCLL = Maximum Content Light Level - the value in nits of the brightest pixel in the entire clip.

MaxFALL = Maximum Frame Average Luminance Level - value in nits of any single frame. MaxFALL is generally smaller than MaxCLL, and is a parameter used by the display to prevent damage if a frame exceeds its safe handling capability — OLED pixels, for example, can burn out if run at maximum intensity for a long period of time.

example file: The Grand Tour - Seamen

Color range: Limited

Color primaries: BT. 2020

Transfer characteristics: PQ

Matrix coefficients: BT. 2020 non-constant

Mastering display color primaries: Display P3

Mastering display luminance - min: 0.0001 cd/m2, max: 1000 cd/m2

Maximum Content Light Level: 999 cd/m2

Maximum Frame-Average Light Level: 215 cd/m2

Codec configuration box: hvcC

HDR Format: SMPTE ST 2094 App 4, Version 0 (HDR10+)

Handbrake Video Toolbox & Apple T2

Video Toolbox i.e. leveraging the dedicated T2 hardware security chip in the new Mac computers is tempting. No fan noise, 10x or faster rendering times and an untouched CPU that can now be dedicated to other tasks. So why don’t we all take advantage of the T2 processor? Well if you deliver HDR footage, then you are out of luck.

The Video Toolbox video encoder strips HDR PQ and HLG metadata from the file, resulting in an SDR file that’s lacking contrast and saturation as well as the correct (9-16-9) and (9-18-9) Transfer Function NCLC tags respectively.

Thunderbolt 3 eGPU @ 5 Gb Max Bandwidth/sec

EDIT: After reaching out to Sonnet Tech, they recommend that this is only a representation issue and that the box is indeed correctly connected at 40 Gb/s.

macOS 10.15.3 - MacBook Pro 16-inch 2019

5 Gb/s but why not 40 Gb/s?

Thunderbolt 3 specs out 40 Gb/s over a USB-C connection, yet under Activity Monitor we only see 5 Gb/s.

System Information

PCIe x16 lanes show up in System Information with the eGPU, which is correct - but through Thunderbolt 3 only x4 lanes are accessible per specification so it’s difficult to know what the true bandwidth is between the computer and the eGPU enclosure.

Sony a7R IV Resolution comparison

Squarespace does not support uploading photos at anything near the 19,008 x 12,672 resolution that the pixel-shifted a7R IV sensor can provide. The comparative illustration below will have to suffice.

note how minuscule Full HD 1080p is

Sony A7R IV

Let’s get some of these specs out the door:

15 Stops Dynamic Range

61 MP (9504 x 6336) - Full Frame - Exmor R CMOS Sensor

240 MP Pixel-Shift Multi Shot

$3500 available July 18, 2019

5.5-stop 5-axis in-body Image Stabilization

BIONZ X Image Processor & Front-End LSI

567-Point Phase-Detection Autofocus

10 FPS still shooting

Dual UHS-II SD card slots

For the record: Hasselblad claims 14 stops of dynamic range from the Medium Format X1D II 50C, so for Sony to state 15 stops from a smaller Full Frame sensor is quite the remark. Or in other words; more pixels shoe horned into a smaller area.

Hasselblad: 50 MP in 44 x 33 mm

Sony: 61 MP in 36 x 24 mm

Not to be overlooked during Sony’s press release: The ECM-B1M digital microphone. Digital microphone? Yes! Meaning instead of an analogue signal processed by the on-board analog preamp (microphone-in), the signal goes straight to the camera CPU for recording to the SD card. One less step in the processing chain + no need to worry about microphone cable manufacturing quality. $350 available July 18 from B&H.

Video

4K UHD 3840x2160p 23.976 / 29.97

100 Mb/s H.264 Slog2/3 and HLG

4K from 20 MP 6K Oversampling crop of Full Frame sensor (same area/resolution as shooting with a6500 APS-C camera)

Read between the lines: The greatest video attraction of the a6500 ($1100) is that it uses the entire APS-C sensor to shoot 4K from Oversampled 20 MP 6K. Now you get that exact same footage while shooting video with the A7R IV since it takes precisely that crop from the middle of the 61 MP sensor. Yes the A7R IV is 3x the price but now you have one camera in the bag that executes both maximum resolution stills and excellent Super 35mm 4K video.

Unfortunately HDMI out is still 8-bit 4:2:2, but oh well life goes on. This is especially unfortunate since HLG is supported in camera yet said format is all but standardized as 10-bit H.265.