Cobalt Digital converters first in US to offer Technicolor HDR ITM technology

Cobalt Digital today announced that it is the first US manufacturer selected to license Technicolor’s High Dynamic Range (HDR) Intelligent Tone Management (ITM) technology for the broadcast television environment.

Cobalt will make the Technicolor HDR ITM feature optionally available on its new series of 12G/6G/3G/HD/SD-SDI 4K cards for the openGear platform and on its BBG-1000 series of standalone units. The HDR license will also be available for certain versions of Cobalt’s 9902-UDX card, which are installed in hundreds of locations worldwide. This upgrade path not only adds value to customers’ Cobalt investment but also unlocks the potential to remonetise content for HDR distribution using existing hardware, the company claimed.

“We are delighted that a company as prestigious as Technicolor has selected us to represent its contribution to HDR viewing. The reputation established by Technicolor’s technology over 100 years is second to none,” said Bob McAlpine, CEO, Cobalt Digital. “The licenses with Cobalt products, which have earned their own stellar reputation for quality and reliability, will be professionally managed through Technicolor’s partner program. Over the past 20 years, Cobalt has developed many problem-solving products that help customers get their jobs done, and combining Technicolor’s HDR ITM processing with Cobalt’s latest 12G/6G/3G/HD/SD-SDI 4K up/down/cross-conversion platform is going to make a lot of engineers happy.”

Technicolor’s ITM SDR-to-HDR process manages brighter lights and darker shadows to deliver sharper, more realistic images for the most compelling immersive entertainment experiences. Technicolor HDR ITM offers an immediate opportunity to unlock the millions of hours of existing SDR content and release it into an HDR world. Technicolor ITM analyses video content in real time, enabling adjustments of luminance in the shadows as well as in midtones and highlights by leveraging Technicolor’s colour science and colour grading plug-ins. This provides broadcasters with an unparalleled level of control, allowing them to expand content to a wider space and higher dynamic range while being as true as possible to the creative intent of the original content.

“This announcement contributes to Technicolor’s ongoing mission to bring the best and most immersive cinematic-quality experience to consumers around the world,” said Kirk Barker, senior vice president, emerging products, at Technicolor. “Cobalt Digital is a key player in enabling live sports production. By embedding Technicolor’s HDR technology into Cobalt Digital products, consumers are now able to experience in stunning HDR content originally captured, produced, and distributed in SDR.”

Cobalt will begin offering the optional Technicolor HDR ITM feature in the fourth quarter of 2017.