Cobalt Digital’s New Image Processor Provides Users With Simultaneous HDR/SDR Production

Cobalt Digital’s new 9904-UDX-4K up/down/cross converter and image processor for openGear frames is now shipping. Already installed in a select group of trucks and studio facilities, the dual-slot card provides an ideal hardware platform for Technicolor High Dynamic Range Intelligent Tone Management (ITM) software. This enables the use of current SDR infrastructure, reducing the need for new camera purchases and other capital expenditures to produce HDR footage.

The 9904-UDX-4K provides clean and accurate SDR-to-HDR and HDR-to-SDR conversion. Using the Technicolor conversion process (SL-HDR technology) generates a single layer video stream to distribute SDR with dynamic metadata, allowing for inverse conversion back to the original HDR. When a network service provider transmits the SDR feed, it will automatically deliver a full HDR experience to compatible TVs and set-top boxes.

For HD and 4K live sports, the 9904-UDX-4K allows production truck operators to seamlessly create SDR signals from HDR sources. Plus, legacy SDR sources such as cameras, servers, and graphics systems can be converted for HDR productions. As a result, the 9904-UDX-4K eliminates the need for sports productions to use separate SDR and HDR cameras and processing paths.

“Using existing HD and 4K equipment to deliver HDR content – instead of separate truck and camera crews – is a much more affordable way to produce live sports for multiple delivery platforms,” says Chris Shaw, Cobalt executive vice president of sales and marketing. “Cobalt’s 9904-UDX-4K, coupled with Technicolor’s technology, helps broadcasters keep operating expenses low and future-proof their equipment investment.”

Technicolor HDR ITM technology manages brighter lights and darker shadows to deliver sharper, more realistic images in real time. While it allows manual adjustments on the fly and the use of preset profiles, its dynamic adjustment capability enables an operator who may not be an HDR specialist to achieve outstanding results.

The 9904-UDX-4K offers diverse input choices, including 12G-SDI on every I/O and quad-link 4K, and includes frame synchronizer and scaling as standard features to allow for a wide range of output formats. It also converts a variety of signals for use in live production. Other features include audio embedding/de-embedding, options for full RGB color correction, and 3D-LUT that provide a 33 cube LUT for color mapping and grading.