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You’ll get exclusive tips, news, trends, and reviews from your favorite S&V writers.AS SOMEONE WHO has spent the past two-plus decades writing about
and reviewing TVs, projectors, and associated gear, I have to say that the
addition of high dynamic range to video is among the more impressive
developments I’ve encountered. Not since high-definition TV took over
the airwaves back in 1999 and then made its way to Blu-ray (and HD
DVD) discs a few years later have video enthusiasts been treated to such
a massive leap in visual quality. Oh right, there was the launch of Blu-ray
3D back in 2010, a format that required a new player and TV, goggles,
and a 50 percent hit in screen brightness, but...oh, never mind.
What are the main benefits of HDR? Viewed on a capable and prop-
erly set up display, images have deeper and more detailed shadows
along with bright, eye-popping highlights. The effect is really not that far
off from 3D, except without the many downsides associated with that
format. Depending on the content, colors also take on a richer, more
robust appearance. Many people use the term “lifelike” to describe 4K/
HDR, and that’s not an exaggeration, since the dynamic range deliv-
ered by the HDR image ecosystem comes significantly closer to the
experience of our eyes directly apprehending the world than what was
available with previous video formats.
I mentioned above that reaping the benefits of HDR is dependent
on a capable and properly set up display. As you’ll discover reading
S&V contributing technical editor Kris Deering’s feature story on page
28, HDR image quality can be a moving target since HDR content gets
mastered at different maximum brightness levels, and the manner in
which LCD and OLED Ultra HDTVs from various manufacturers handle
that brightness range—using a process called tone mapping—can be
all over the (sorry, no way to avoid it) map. And the situation becomes
even more problematic with projectors since they have considerably
lower light output capability than a typical flat-panel display.
Because HDR does present something of a moving target, the TV
and projector reviews Sound & Vision has published in recent years
routinely mention how much work was involved in optimizing the display
for HDR viewing, and how it was necessary to tweak the seings on a
per-disc basis when watching Ultra HD movies and TV. In other words,
you shouldn’t expect a magic “HDR” preset to routinely provide a perfect
image with all programs when you press that buon on the remote. I’m
confident that over time the current wild west-like situation with HDR
will become more standardized. Until then, it’s imperative that TVs
and projectors provide enough setup flexibility so that calibrators and
amateur enthusiasts alike can tweak their displays for best performance.High Dynamic Range
for Everyone
PROG ROCK
BOOKENDS
Two music contributions by
Mike Mettler to this issue’s
Entertainment section
effectively serve as bookends
for the progressive rock genre.
On one side, we have the
rock/classical mashup of
England’s The Moody Blues, a
band noted for bringing the
Mellotron to the world’s
attention on 1968’s In Search
of the Lost Chord. On the
other side, there’s the prog-
metal of Rush, a Canadian trio
that pushed its longform sonic
explorations to the limit on
1978’s Hemispheres before
heading down a more pop-
rock road. Reading these
made me nostalgic for my
own music-listening past.
Hearing the stereo
soundscapes of The Moody
Blues at a neighbor’s house as
a kid served as an
introduction to higher-quality
hi-fi. Then, as a teen in the
early 80s, I caught Rush live
during their tour for Moving
Pictures, an album widely
acknowledged to be the
band’s best. Love it or hate it,
the prog rock genre left us
with some stellar recordings
during its 10-year run, a good
number of which have been
remixed for presentation in
5.1 surround sound with
impressive results.—AG(^10) [ April May 2019 [soundandvision.com