As useful as the Broadcast colors filter is for finalizing legal video, it does have the unfortunate effect of crushing the lights and darks to a single max/min value. That is, any color outside the legal range is simply "truncated" to the end point; there is no gradual limiting. Roughly corresponding to the limiter vs. compressor in the audio world.
In doing some experimentation, I find that I can produce a better looking result if I tweek the video with the Color Curves filter instead. IOW, with the color curves I can simply adjust the end points to eliminate the extreme lights and darks. This (seems to?) prevent the illegal colors, and it allows detail to remain in the lights and darks that would have been removed with the Broadcast filter.
1) Caveat: I'm no expert in the various color spectrum issues, but from what I've read I think the legal broadcast color issue is more complicated than simply preventing the extreme "end-points". Naively, from the viewpoint of the color spectrum, the end-point truncation is like applying a triangular filter (or cutting off the end of the triangle), but the legal broadcast color spectrum is more like a truncated triangle with curved sides. Am I right? If so, does the Broadcast filter handle this? If so, then I should use a Color Curve then add a Broadcast filter downstream as extra security.
2) One can think of a some useful Color Curve presets. (a) Keep the curve linear and just adjust the endpoints - move the dark (lower-left) point up, and move the light (upper-right) point down. But this would also reduce the contrast of the entire picture. (b) Keep the same dark and light points as (a), but use an S-curve instead. This will maintain the contrast for most of the colors and only "compress" the contrast at the end-points. (c) Keep the same dark and light points as (a), and "step-change/ramp" the curve, adding 2 additional points on the 45 degree diagonal horizontally aligned with the end points. This is identical to the Broadcast colors filter, with the caveat in (1).
I'm mostly interested in the preset (b), since it gives the most pleasing results in general, although its usually only the starting point since I can never resist an extra tweak or two. Regardless, I need to figure out how to accurately set the end-points. Unlike Photoshop, the Vegas Color Curves filter doesn't show the digital values of the colors as I move my mouse around. I could eyeball the vectorscope/waveform while I adjust the curve, but I'm too much of a dope to really understand broadcast video, so I'll probably screw up :-) (I don't even understand all the presets on the Boadcast colors filter.)
It occurs to me that this Color Curves filter(s) preset would be useful to all Vegas users, either added to the standard Vegas package or available for download from some 3rd party site. Has anyone done this...who knows what they're doing:-? If not, could anyone recommend a link to educates me how to do it properly and is willing to proof my results?
In doing some experimentation, I find that I can produce a better looking result if I tweek the video with the Color Curves filter instead. IOW, with the color curves I can simply adjust the end points to eliminate the extreme lights and darks. This (seems to?) prevent the illegal colors, and it allows detail to remain in the lights and darks that would have been removed with the Broadcast filter.
1) Caveat: I'm no expert in the various color spectrum issues, but from what I've read I think the legal broadcast color issue is more complicated than simply preventing the extreme "end-points". Naively, from the viewpoint of the color spectrum, the end-point truncation is like applying a triangular filter (or cutting off the end of the triangle), but the legal broadcast color spectrum is more like a truncated triangle with curved sides. Am I right? If so, does the Broadcast filter handle this? If so, then I should use a Color Curve then add a Broadcast filter downstream as extra security.
2) One can think of a some useful Color Curve presets. (a) Keep the curve linear and just adjust the endpoints - move the dark (lower-left) point up, and move the light (upper-right) point down. But this would also reduce the contrast of the entire picture. (b) Keep the same dark and light points as (a), but use an S-curve instead. This will maintain the contrast for most of the colors and only "compress" the contrast at the end-points. (c) Keep the same dark and light points as (a), and "step-change/ramp" the curve, adding 2 additional points on the 45 degree diagonal horizontally aligned with the end points. This is identical to the Broadcast colors filter, with the caveat in (1).
I'm mostly interested in the preset (b), since it gives the most pleasing results in general, although its usually only the starting point since I can never resist an extra tweak or two. Regardless, I need to figure out how to accurately set the end-points. Unlike Photoshop, the Vegas Color Curves filter doesn't show the digital values of the colors as I move my mouse around. I could eyeball the vectorscope/waveform while I adjust the curve, but I'm too much of a dope to really understand broadcast video, so I'll probably screw up :-) (I don't even understand all the presets on the Boadcast colors filter.)
It occurs to me that this Color Curves filter(s) preset would be useful to all Vegas users, either added to the standard Vegas package or available for download from some 3rd party site. Has anyone done this...who knows what they're doing:-? If not, could anyone recommend a link to educates me how to do it properly and is willing to proof my results?