i had been coloring my new show in 10bit (its 2016 for godsakes)
but when it came time to deliver the show i was informed that this network wants an 8bit DnX145 show!!!
needless to say...the contrast & saturation that looks beautiful in 10bit was crushed into what looked like a composite broadcast
i am now scrambling to revisit the next ep BEFORE we deliver a 2nd stinker...
any ideas on expediting this?? (i dont really have the time to go over the entire ep shot for shot again to pull sat/contrast & bring up the bottom)
shoot me now
thanks
drj
In the US, broadcast has always been 8 bit. Not to mention compressed via MPEG2 4:2:0 in varying data rate.
Is the difference that big version DNX145 and DNX220. I know there is but not as dramatic as you imply.
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i may be overreacting a bit, but the diff from the bay vs broadcast was substantial (imo)
thats why i said it "looked composite" - blacks were crushed & subsequently the chroma looked oversaturated
might not help that i was watching it on an older HDcrt monitor (which is a bit muddy to begin with)
ive done so many shows that make it to air seamlessly, but on this network - it left a bit to be desired.
meh - carrying on...EP was happy.
My guess it has more to do with the highly compressed MPEG2 4:2:0 that is so common in US broadcast and less so with being 8 bit DNX 145.
I read once that Comcast and Time Warner transmit digit HD at 9-11 Mb/s. Yes, megabits. OTA networks like NBC and ABC is higher. I think around 18 Mb/s (unless you are watching via cable).
There shouldn't have been any difference in contrast or saturation. Is it possible your master was exported with the wrong color levels (legal vs full)?
def a victim of compression...always an awkward discussion later "it looked great in online" so on & so on...
age old dilemma. thanks for the info!
the show left my bay SAME AS SOURCE - DIRECT OUT...after the network got a hold of it...who knows.
the color levels may be a culprit...looked great in here though!
This sounds more like an RGB vs. 709 thing.
Going from 10 to 8 bit should only show up in things like banding in gradations. (Blue sky or graphics for example)
Compression should not change luminance levels. Crushed blacks means remapping levels so back to my first assumption.
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10 bit to 8 bit should at worst introduce quantising issues (banding) Levels shoudl change sat shouldn't change. Hue may change slightly.
I'd guess its a levels issue. Even SAS allows RGB or 601/709 option and that flagging may be mis read down the line.
I'd send them some bars as a test and see what they end up like...
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that may be the REAL issue (RGB vs 709)...cuz the show looks fine in the bay.
saw ep 1 on DVR (later) and it looked fine...but last night ep 2 aired and it looked awful.
same song 2nd verse...blacks were crushed & the chroma was over the top.
need more info before i start coloring the next ep FLAT & unsaturated...shyte.
Yeah it's gotta be rgb vs 709
gotta be, right?
and i even use the SAFE COLOR limiter (chopped in a little bit) - JUST FOR SAFETY!
E.P. saw the SAME ep on DVR & said it looked fine.
later i saw the same ep on DVR also (downstairs TV) ...and it looked fine. maybe upstairs TV is off?
(doubtful, cuz everything else looks good)
is there be a diff btwn broadcast ver, dvr version, and/or cable service provider?
Dont think so...cuz only 1 digital file is delivered to the network.
(arg!!) pulling hair out
Years ago I was doing a series that was airing on TBS. The client watched at home and said the blacks were washed out. I am working with scopes and a reference monitor so I know the digibeta we are delivering is fine. So I watch the show the next week and the yes, the blacks are lifted. But.... when it goes to commercial, (I always use commerials as a baseband as they are usually high quality and a number one priority for broadcasters) and the blacks in the commercials are equally lifted.So I talk to the client who has a different cable provider, and she asks some other friends with various other providers and everyone sees the same thing. So it was TBS. The client complained and found out others had complained to TBS also. Then the clietn told me (I was pissed) that "We make this show for ourselves, we can't worry about what happens to it down the line." About 6 months later the blacks on TBS started looking correct. The point is, there are so many points in the chain for things to go wrong all we can do is make sure our product is the best it can be. And make it for yourself. If you and your client are happy with it, it's all good.
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