New release: HDRmaster 8K with HDR inspector and dynamic metadata

FF Pictures launched HDRmaster 8K, a new standalone software toolset for Microsoft Windows 8 and 10 with several innovative features for performing quality analysis and essential metadata tasks in HDR productions with up to 8K (7680×4320 pixels) resolution. HDRmaster 8K is the successor of HDRmaster v2 which is already in use by Ultra-HD Blu-ray facilities, post-production houses, studios and manufacturers worldwide.

Why this HDR Tool Set is needed

To deliver the highest possible quality to the HDR consumer device, proper management of metadata and signal levels is essential. Mismanagement not only leads to compromised images but also decreases encoding efficiency, causing wasted bandwidth and unnecessary compression artifacts.

“It is quite easy for mastered and distributed HDR content to have improper or missing metadata,” noted Florian Friedrich, CEO of FF Pictures and key architect of HDRmaster 8K.  “There are only a few tools out there that can do this kind of analysis and quality checking on HDR content, but at a high price. Our HDRmaster 8K software suite provides the highest level of features and tools at an incredibly affordable price.  We hope this makes it a no-brainer for professionals to buy this toolset and take it for a test drive. So far, the responses of our customers have been overwhelmingly positive.”

HDRmaster 8K is designed to allow anyone in the industry to check in detail if the HDR delivery files carry proper HDR levels and metadata. This includes tools to measure and visualize issues like signal clippings in luminance range or color gamut. While experts will be thrilled with the wide range of features, even non-experts can use this tool immediately thanks to a brand new feature called “HDR Inspector”. This preset is designed to automatically perform all needed tasks at the push of one button. This includes the unique feature of creating suggested static and dynamic metadata based on image analysis.

With the arrival of 8K displays on the market and HDR being the cutting edge of video productions today, it’s time to validate and optimize all aspects of video quality.  HDRmaster 8K cannot only serve the needs of 4K production and distribution; it is ready for 8K as well!

“HDRmaster 8K is the tool I always wanted to have for double-checking my own work, allowing me to deliver premium HDR contents to our customers,” continued Friedrich. “When I demoed some of the functions of the software earlier this year during the QLED and Advanced Display Summit in Hollywood, I got very positive feedback from HDR experts of all kinds in the industry. The only criticism I heard was that the product seems to be too inexpensive for what it is doing – that’s the kind of criticism I love. Based on some of the other feedback we got, a significant number of features have been added since this very first demo of the software, including support for 8K.”

Analyzers and Modules

There’s a total of 10 independent analyzers and modules within HDRmaster 8K, each one to fulfill an essential task:

• HDR Inspector (automated analysis and calculations for Quality Control and static/dynamic metadata)
• Metadata & Signal Levels (MaxCLL and MaxFALL analysis, allowing to compare real signal and nominal values)
• Statistics (advanced frame statistics for different metrics on luminance distribution)
• Chromaticity Diagram (CIE 1976 and CIE 1931 diagram representation of the content)
• Color Analyzer (RAW and decoded values including Luminance values and Chroma coordinates for selected pixels)
• Histogram (RGB or Luminance histograms, linear or logarithmic scale)
• Heatmap (False color representation of the luminance, MaxRGB, chroma or hue values)
• Oscilloscope (Pixel profile for lines or in between cursors to show detailed gradations)
• Test Pattern Q/C (detailed analysis of test patches in a digital leader (delivered with HDRmaster) with pass/fail results)
• Dynamic Metadata (creating and editing of HDR10+ dynamic metadata, including graphical representation and automated suggestions for values and the ability to write it to .JSON or .MP4 files)

Input Formats

A growing number of input formats are currently supported by HDRmaster 8K. Most importantly, the software is designed to check and process encoded files for distribution to end consumers (.MP4, .TS, .HEVC, .H265, .H264). This includes video files for Ultra HD Blu-ray authoring but also supports image sequences which are commonly used prior to encoding (TIFF, DNG, DPX, Open EXR).

Dynamic Metadata

FF Pictures GmbH is an official adopter of the HDR10+ technology (see hdr10plus.org/current-adopters/). “As a tool provider and content creator for HDR10+, we’ve also created test videos for internal group evaluations of the technology and are proud to deliver the first tool of its kind with a graphical representation of the metadata and tools to add and edit the dynamic metadata in existing content. It’s also our mission to support this valuable standard in all of its flavors, keeping our tools up-to-date with the latest developments.” said Friedrich. “I can’t wait to see more and more end-consumers starting to understand how valuable such dynamic metadata can be for improved image quality.”

Use cases

HDRmaster can be used in a lot of different scenarios, starting with educational purposes for understanding HDR, detailed analysis of HDR-content or authoring facilities. Some customers use it to perform automated quality control for OTT-providers (OTT=over the top / video-on-demand). Some of HDRmasters features, like .txt and .xml reports, have been added explicitly to ease post-production tasks and delivery to studios and video platforms.

“HDRmaster is a really nifty tool to add and edit advanced metadata. It also provides valuable information regarding H.264/H.265 video streams and has greatly increased our workflow efficiency. It is highly recommended.“

—Bhanu Srikanth

Jargon Technologies (Maker of Indigo Ultra, next-generation Blu-ray authoring technology)

“HDRMaster has been a part of our toolset for mastering Ultra HD Blu-ray movie titles for a while now, so we’re delighted with the additions to this new release. With a wide variety of HDR display devices operating with varying peak luminance levels, tone mapping curves and color gamut tracking behavior, the HDRMaster suite lets us perform an in-depth analysis of the content we’re handling, so we can better understand how it will appear on a multitude of displays. In addition to the newly added Luminance Heatmap and Chromaticity Diagram modes, the metadata validation, MaxFALL/MaxCLL calculation and support for HDR10+ make it essential for facilities involved in the production and distribution of HDR video. “

—David Mackenzie

Fidelity in Motion (Ultra HD Blu-ray authoring facility based in New York City)

In addition to supporting HDR according to SMPTE ST.2084, HDRmaster also supports SDR transfer functions with adjustable peak and gamma, as well as Hybrid-Log-Gamma / HLG, where only some flags in the video files, but no additional static or dynamic metadata are required.

When using HDRmaster 8K as a centralized tool, many tasks can be performed using the command line interface. This includes applying metadata and all elements of the HDR Inspector.

Price and availability

HDRmaster 8K is available now as a single license or as part of the HDRmaster Toolset. The Toolset includes a series of plug-ins for Davinci Resolve, Adobe Premiere and Adobe After Effects. The HDRmaster 8K standalone application costs 499 Euros per workstation. The HDRmaster Toolset costs 799 Euro per workstation with a maintenance price of 199 Euros after the first year. All prices are exclusive VAT.

Purchase links with direct download:

About FF Pictures

FF Pictures is headquartered in the area of Munich, Germany. The company specializes in HDR related services and solutions for the post-production industry as well as CE-manufacturers. The creation of UHD/HDR Test- and Demo-contents and education programs put the company into an ideal position of creating the tools clearly needed by the post-production industry and industry experts. FF Pictures CEO Florian Friedrich plays an active role in defining new standards for many video- and display-related topics throughout standardization organizations and industry consortiums.