VICENT TEOH:
@Geoff D: The OPPO 203 doesn't have any internal apps, so how are you comparing SDR vs HDR versions of the Mandalorian? If you are downloading episodes (is there any legal way of doing this?), then how can you be sure that the SDR version is indeed the original source file, and hasn't been tampered with by the uploader?
Adam and I have been doing our analysis at source, and will hopefully present more findings that support our assertion that Mandalorian's "HDR" is more akin to SDR than HDR.
@Penton-Man: Re subdued HDR grade being the creative intent, all I'm going to say is this. I have frequently criticised TVs that have low peak brightness for not delivering true HDR; I have repeatedly asserted that domestic projectors have no way of achieving meaningful HDR due to low light output (relative to direct-view displays); so why should I suddenly refrain from criticising HDR content that does not deliver impactful HDR, that appears to be just an elementary SDR conversion?
Unlike some colourists and armchair experts who deal only with £30k+ OLED/ dual LCD mastering monitors, perhaps with a consumer OLED as client reference monitor, I see all kinds of displays - budget, midrange, high-end - in my line of work. And the practice of using an HDR container to deliver SDR-esque creative intent just results in a poor viewing experience.
The creative community need to start understanding that on non-OLED displays, HDR is a zero-sum game. If you send an HDR metadata to an HDR-capable television, HDR mode is triggered, almost always irreversibly. Backlight goes up to maximum, and consequently blacks brightens up, clouding and flashlighting become more apparent, there's more blooming, colours become more washed out, power consumption goes up. Why should a viewer suffer these shortcomings to get an SDR-like experience, when they can watch in SDR without these shortcomings in the first place?
The gold-standard HDR mastering monitors in Hollywood are at least 1000 nits in peak brightness. Netflix specifies at least 1000 nits peak brightness for Dolby Vision/ HDR grading monitors. Ultra HD Premium certification (as pointless as it is) requires 1000 nits peak brightness from LCDs; 540 nits from OLEDs. Why is it that we place such demands on the hardware side; yet are willing to turn a blind eye to the software side (i.e. content), conveniently sweeping subdued HDR grade and "fake HDR" conversion under the carpet of "creative intent"? It's all the more frustrating when you see fabulous HDR grades of older films such as Wizard of Oz, The Shining, Alien and the original Blade Runner.
Someone emailed me saying that Schindler's List is not "fake colour". Yeah, but then watching a black-and-white film in SDR doesn't worsen the blacks, backlight uniformity, blooming, colour fidelity and power consumption on a transmissive display. Unlike watching a show with 300-400 nits peak and paper white <80 nits in HDR.
Warmest regards
Vincent
Desde esta página se hacen eco de los comentarios vertidos por HDTVTEST (Vicent Teoh) sobre el "falso" HDR de The Mandalorian
Y aquí Alexis Van Hurkman discrepa profundamente de la críticas vertidas por HDTVTEST sobre el gradin HDR de The Mandalorian
Getting back to the Mandalorian, when I read the Ars Technica post about the HDR grading in The Mandalorian being “fake HDR,” I chuckled.