Color Space Once and For All

[Carlbattreall]

Hi everyone, Carl up here in Alaska. I spend much of my time in a snow cave so please excuse my ignorance on this subject. I am usually just behind the camera, I rarely get to go beyond filming but now I am doing some of my own projects.

Okay I am trying to finally get a hold of which color space goes with which media, I know they're many flavors of RGB and YUV but just for simplicity lets just keep it generic.

Here's my list:
1. Capture Formats:
RGB
RAW Video (I know RAW isn't a codec, its just RAW data)
RAW Stills

YUV
All video cameras? Both HD and SD.
Are there any non raw capture codecs that capture RGB?

2. Editing Codecs
RGB
RAW Video files

YUV
Everything else?

3. Output Codecs and viewing devices
Here is where I get confused?

So lets start with viewing devices
RGB
Computer Monitors
Digital Projection?
HDTV? (both)

YUV
Broadcast Monitors
Analog TV
Digital TV
HDTV? (both)

So I use Cineform AVI as my output my codec DVD, Bluray and for transfer to tape.

But what if I had to burn it to tape and its going to be projected? What about going to film, does RGB or YUV translate better? And what about projection via computer or computer to HDTV?

And what format is being used for digital projection in the theater anyways?Are they projecting from tape? Seems silly, but I guess the industry is a little slow.

Sorry about all the questions, hopefully someone else on the forums can use this information to.

Carl

[Ryan M.]

Digital projection at most theaters, if I have this correct, is usually from some proprietary "media block", or it sent via satellite or fiber and stored on a server. Other places might have a deck hooked up to a projector, but I'd say its rare given the expense of anything other than a DVD or BluRay player. I'd suppose you could rent an HDCAM (SR) deck and print your master to tape ($$) and hook it up if they had an option.

As for color space, I'll go a bit more in depth later as my lunch break is comming to an end, but typical HDV is 4:2:0, DVCProHD is 4:2:2, HDCAM is 3:1:1, and HDCAM SR can be up to 4:4:4.

[JonathanF]

Digital projection at most theaters, if I have this correct, is usually from some proprietary "media block", or it sent via satellite or fiber and stored on a server. Other places might have a deck hooked up to a projector, but I'd say its rare given the expense of anything other than a DVD or BluRay player. I'd suppose you could rent an HDCAM (SR) deck and print your master to tape ($$) and hook it up if they had an option.

The color gamut for digital projection in commercial theatres is DCI P3.


As for color space, I'll go a bit more in depth later as my lunch break is comming to an end, but typical HDV is 4:2:0, DVCProHD is 4:2:2, HDCAM is 3:1:1, and HDCAM SR can be up to 4:4:4.

Whether it's 4:4:4 or 4:2:0 is irrelevant, the color gamut is rec709.

If you are mastering for HD broadcast you should be working in rec709. Otherwise there is a 601 YUV gamut you should use for SD, but these days not many people bother, they just do that in an SD transfer from your HD master.

There is currently no settings (in the camera or the sdk) for working with DCI P3 gamut, it's been requested here (http://reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?t=39302). Some people are transcoding to DPX and then work with monitors or projection systems calibrated to P3 or work from exr linear source and work in a DCI P3 calibrated space.

If you are outputting to film you should be working with one of the log gamuts.

Does that answer your question?

[Ryan M.]

I was only referring to the ratios according to a few HD formats, I didn't feel like into gamut, I was nearing the end of my lunch break at work.