Architectural Considerations When Selecting a Neutral Form for Moving Images
Current thinking for the creation and distribution of moving images tends to lead to an unwarranted trust of mastering displays. If a mastering display (or projected image) and its ambient surround were to match the end use (as in 14 fl dark surround D-Cinema), then such trust is warranted. However, this is not typically the case in television, where the reference display and its ambient surround are unlikely to match the presentation viewing. Such variation in the presentation may also be part of future cinema presentation [e.g., with light-emitting diode (LED) walls]. This situation begs the question as to the nature of the image that would be mastered and distributed that could take into account the presentation variables in order to deliver a reasonable rendition of the mastered creative intent. Such a “neutral form” of the mastered image requires numerous considerations. We will examine the various candidate architectures for creating and utilizing a neutral form of moving images. We will also examine the meaning of “neutral,” which differs between measured neutrality (e.g., measured chromaticity invariance) versus appearance neutrality. Appearance neutrality might include such attributes as that the image looks as intended and is unbiased with respect to contrast and color (e.g., neutral gray appears neutral, and colors appear consistently natural). Although there are several viable choices for a neutral form, a strong case can be made for a graded scene-referred neutral form.
- Print ISSN
- 1545-0279
- Electronic ISSN
- 2160-2492
- Published
- 2019-07
- Content type
- Original Research
- Keywords
- Display-referred, high dynamic range (HDR), scene-referred, single master
- DOI
- 10.5594/JMI.2019.2910983