Last year, several studios, content companies, and TV makers got together to form the UHD Alliance, with the aim to standardize the UHD experience for the home.
The group has finalized their specs, and has introduced a new Ultra HD Premium logo to identify devices, content, and services capable of delivering this premium experience. This logo is reserved for products and services that comply with performance metrics for resolution, high dynamic range (HDR), peak luminance, black levels, and wide color gamut among others. The specs also make recommendations for immersive audio and other features.
For those interested, here are the specs that cover the entertainment ecosystem in three categories:
Devices
- Image Resolution: 3,840 x 2,160
- Color Bit Depth: 10-bit signal
- Color Palette (Wide Color Gamut)
Signal Input: BT.2020 color representation
Display Reproduction: More than 90% of P3 colors - High Dynamic Range
SMPTE ST2084 EOTF
A combination of peak brightness and black level either:
More than 1,000 nits peak brightness and less than 0.05 nits black level or
More than 540 nits peak brightness and less than 0.0005 nits black level
Distribution
- Image Resolution: 3,840 x 2,160
- Color Bit Depth: Minimum 10-bit signal
- Color: BT.2020 color representation
- High Dynamic Range: SMPTE ST2084 EOTF
Content Master
- Image Resolution: 3,840 x 2,160
- Color Bit Depth: Minimum 10-bit signal
- Color: BT.2020 color representation
- High Dynamic Range: SMPTE ST2084 EOTF
The UHD Alliance recommends the following mastering display specifications:
- Display Reproduction: Minimum 100% of P3 colors
- Peak Brightness: More than 1,000 nits
- Black Level: Less than 0.03 nits
For TVs, LG, Panasonic, Samsung, and Sony are key members of the UHDA, so you can expect new flagship TVs from them to support the Ultra HD Premium spec. At the moment, we know that LG’s 2016 OLED TVs, Samsung’s 2016 SUHD TVs, Panasonic's DX900, Sharp's N9000, and Hisense's H10 series will be Ultra HD Premium certified.
Update, Jan 7: Updated info of models getting the Ultra HD Premium certification.
Source: Business Wire.
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