Welcome to the home of PhotoJoseph's monster HDR education library. This is a large work in progress, and this page will be updated often. Enjoy digging into the deep, deep world of HDR!

Getting Started with HDR for YouTube

There are chapter markers in the video above

Slides from the above course

Hardware — Featuring… your bank account

• Cameras
  • LUMIX S1H
  • LUMIX S5
  • LUMIX S1 (requires SFU2 upgrade)
  • LUMIX BGH1
  • LUMIX GH5 II
  • LUMIX GH5
  • LUMIX GH5S
  • LUMIX G9
• Monitoring
  • Apple Pro Display XDR ($4999… $6999)
    • iMac Pro, MacBook Pro… high NIT value; closer to 1,000, the better
  • (iPhone X, iPad Pro)
  • ATOMOS Neon 17” ($3499)
  • ATOMOS Neon 24” ($6499)
  • LG CX OLED TV ($1500+)
• Interface
  • Blackmagic UltraStudio Monitor 3G (HD only) ($115)
  • Blackmagic UltraStudio 4K Mini ($995)
  • Blackmagic DeckLink Mini Monitor 4K (PCIe Card) ($195)
  • AJA T-TAP Pro ($795)
  • AJA Io 4K Plus ($2495)

Shooting — Featuring LUMIX Cameras

• 10-bit Log
• HLG… sort of
• Codecs
  • Internal H.264 or HEVC
  • ProRes
  • RAW

Editing — Featuring Final Cut Pro

• Wide Gamut Library
• Rec. 2020 PQ Project
• Log to HDR (grading)…
  • Color Space Override to PQ
  • Camera LUT
  • Manual

Encoding — Featuring Compressor

• ProRes 422 from FCP
  • Don’t use “Send to Compressor”! Potential audio problems if you do.
• Custom QuickTime HEVC Preset
  • Codec: HEVC
  • Encoder Type: Faster
  • Profile: 10-Bit Color
  • Audio: Pass Through
• TIP: Use this for SDR, too!

HDR to SDR LUT — Featuring DaVinci Resolve

• Important Project Settings (Gear menu)
  • Color Management > Color Space & Transform (should be here by default default)
    • Color Science: DaVinci YRBG
    • Timeline color space: Rec.709 Gamma 2.4
• If external monitoring…
  • Project Settings (gear menu) > Master Settings >
    • Video monitoring
      • UHD 2160p 29.97 (or whatever your video is)
      • SDI Configuration: SDI Single Link (unless your interface is dual link)
  • Preferences (DaVinci Resolve menu > Preferences)
    • > Video and Audio I/O
      • For playback use: (set to your video interface)
• Open Video Scopes
• Drag and drop footage into Resolve (let it reset size & framerate)
• Drag to Timeline; go to Color page
• Add Serial Node
• Add Resolve FX Color > Color Space Transform to second node
  • Input Color Space: Rec2020
  • Input Gamma: ST2084 1000 nit
  • Output Color Space: Rec.709
  • Output Gamma: Gamma 2.4
• Node 1: Adjust color (LUT compliant only!)
  • YES: Curves and Primaries
    • YRGB curves
    • Lift / Gamma / Gain color wheels
    • Most primaries OK
    • Not highlights & shadows
  • NO: Secondaries
• Generate 33 Point LUT
• TIP: Do a B&W SDR Test!

Embed LUT — Featuring Terminal (Command Line)

• Download YouTubeHDR / hdr_metadata tool from GitHub https://github.com/youtubehdr/hdr_metadata
• TIP: Also watch Aaron Hinton's fast-paced tutorial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6RHMgZl6D0
• Save my command (terminal code below) to a text file
• Move downloaded hdr_metadata-master folder to ~/ (Home) folder
• Move custom LUT and HEVC files to ~/ (Home) folder
• Rename files to HDR_To_SDR_LUT (plus extension)
• Paste code into Terminal, hit return

The Terminal Code

~/hdr_metadata-master/macos/mkvmerge.app/Contents/MacOS/mkvmerge -o HDR_To_SDR_LUT.mkv\
      --colour-matrix 0:9 \
      --colour-range 0:1 \
      --colour-transfer-characteristics 0:16 \
      --colour-primaries 0:9 \
      --max-content-light 0:1000 \
      --max-frame-light 0:300 \
      --max-luminance 0:1000 \
      --min-luminance 0:0.01 \
      --chromaticity-coordinates 0:0.68,0.32,0.265,0.690,0.15,0.06 \
      --white-colour-coordinates 0:0.3127,0.3290 \
      --attachment-mime-type application/x-cube \
      --attach-file HDR_To_SDR_LUT.cube \
      HDR_To_SDR_LUT.mov

Reference

• Share a High Dynamic Range (HDR) Final Cut Pro X video to YouTube — https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208283
• Mystery Box: HDR Video Part 3: HDR Video Terms Explained — https://www.mysterybox.us/blog/2016/10/19/hdr-video-part-3-hdr-video-ter…
• YouTube’s HDR Upload Requirements — https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/7126552?hl=en-GB
• How to use Metadata tool https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6RHMgZl6D0
• My LG TV 55C9 is 724 nits https://www.flatpanelshd.com/review.php?subaction=showfull&id=1559035462
• Color calibration settings for LG TV https://www.cnet.com/forums/discussions/lg-oled65c9p-2019-oled-tv-pictur…
• LG 55” C9 https://www.lg.com/us/tvs/lg-OLED55C9PUA-oled-4k-tv
• GoFanco Prophecy Splitter https://www.gofanco.com/4k-hdr-1x4-splitter-pro-hdrsplit4p.html
• Very technical HDR explanation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGzojyjL7Zo&list=PL4xt37zaK8Ztp2wMRuBVak…
• Video on how to make your own HDR to SDR LUT, including some free LUTs do download. Also includes instructions using Resolve to make your own LUT.  https://youtu.be/x6RHMgZl6D0
• Apparently this does HDR as well but only in 1080p https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1578063-REG/blackmagic_design_ult…
• https://www.lightspace.lightillusion.com/uhdtv.html excellent HDR info