UHD SDR Productions

General Information

The following describes the technical framework conditions for UHD SDR productions with regard to the minimum requirements for source material and grading. The goal of UHD is to create an appealing and high-quality audiovisual overall experience for the viewer, which can be delivered equally across as many end devices and distribution channels as possible. These guidelines are not intended to influence the creative process or the look of a production, but merely to provide the necessary framework and guidance.

Upscaling SD or HD material to UHD resolution, as well as (cross) conversion of HDR formats, should be avoided and is only permitted in exceptional cases (e.g. when using archival material) with suitable professional software, and must be agreed upon in advance.

In general, grading should result in a high-quality overall impression and visually support the dramaturgy. The approved delivery formats must be clarified with the responsible License Content Coordinator.

Requirements

UHD SDR productions must meet the following basic requirements:

• Use of at least native UHD material (3840 × 2160)
• Recording with as little compression as possible and at least 10-bit quantization
• For grading, the highest-quality source material must be used (ideally RAW or logarithmic)
• Grading must be performed on a BT.709-compatible display
• Signal levels must be set according to BT.709 and EBU R 103
• If the UHD SDR material originates from a Dolby Vision master or another UHD HDR format, it must be ensured that the BT.709 version exhibits a color impression similar to the original