Yeah, you can still do a bad SDR downconvert with Dolby Vision though. Depends on the quality of the operator.
SOURCE: Uh me, i’ve done some SDR trims that could’ve used more work.
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fair enough 
Who cares about the sdr anyhow lets all abandon it in 2022!
Good data!
I feel the same way when we made the switch to HD. Instead of fixing bad compression and pixellation in the distribution, they upped the resolution. Result: gorgeous HD banding and pixellation. Now we’re still at the same point. HDR and all but we still have to put up the same artifacts… they’re fixing things that ain’t broke imho
I remember thinking about this when working on a Dolby Vision theatrical intro w/ all the engineers & technicians from Dolby in one of their theaters, telling us about all the brightness they can now achieve in the theatre, saturation, black levels, nits, etc… They had “re-graded” a few features and played excerpts back for us.
The first thing that came to mind when walking away was: “With great power comes great responsibility” 
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This was more of a trend in photography 2010, and really this isn’t HDRI, it’s tonemapping… something folks were just figuring out at the time.
Bad taste is really just a general consensus and shifts temporally so fuck it, do what makes you happy because chances are if you do it long enough, you’ll be a la mode again.
Haha, you’re probably right. I’ve come to liken this “tone mapping for dramatic effect” trend as the acid wash of photography
All I can say is you need to separate the term HDR with bad look dev. And the trick with HDR is that even though you have all that extra range doesn’t mean you need to use it. Well executed HDR is far superior in my mind.
It would be great if TV manufacturers & SVOD/Broadcasters looked towards better pixels rather than more pixels. 12 bit displays would be incredible. Even 10 but displays are a massive leap from most of the 8bit material you end up watching.
I have to share an anecdote though, one show I worked on had the best HDR grade I have seen because it was used subtly. When we delivered to the distributor though, it was about a nanometer away from being rejected as it wasn’t HDR enough. It’s like those great VFX shots that get ruined when the client can’t see what they are paying for so want to make it bigger.
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yes! a couple more bits would go a long way in getting rid of those gnarly banded vignettes
Used with artistry and finesse, HDR is a game-changing advance in image display. Used heavy-handed, not so much.
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