Sony Levels video FX

BobMoyer wrote on 5/5/2015, 12:00 PM
I realize this topic has been discussed numerous times and I have read the various comments. However, I do not totally understand its usage. For me, I record in 1920x1080x60p (AVCHD), and render to either of two Vegas templates: 1) m2v-Bluray 1920x1080x60i, or 2) mp4-MainConcept avc/aac for YouTube.

I usually select the Levels preset "Studio RGB to Computer RGB" just because it seems to make the colors more vivid on my screen and to my eyes (they are very old eyes). I have come to believe, according to the forum posts that I should not be doing this. Is there a definitive answer to this? Thanks for any guidance you can furnish.

Bob

Comments

john_dennis wrote on 5/5/2015, 1:50 PM
"[I]... according to the forum posts that I should not be doing this.[/I]"

You should not be expanding the levels to computer RGB if you are rendering for [i]Blu-ray[/I] or youtube. If you were submitting for broadcast, your submittal would likely be rejected based on what I've read on the forum from those that do and from the levels that I observe from ATSC broadcasts that I capture for time-shifting.

Here is a screen shot of a popular network TV series showing the levels well within the Studio RGB range. I find the colors on these shows to be quite vivid (maybe too vivid).

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/40618156/2015-05-05%20Levels/Broadcast%20Levels.png

Here is a screenshot of the levels in a commercial [i]Blu-ray[/I].

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/40618156/2015-05-05%20Levels/Blu-ray%20Levels.png
videoITguy wrote on 5/5/2015, 2:48 PM
Your question is a whole lot about your eyes, your preferences, and what you are comparing on output - be that internal preview window or redirected output to a calibrated external display. But in the technical sense the post by John_Dennis is right on.

I always recommend if your distribution is one-off Blu-ray (rather than commercial replication) then the best thing to do is set-up review of your Blu-ray assembly and authoring on the output side ----IS to have a ready evaluation system which consists of a good monitor connected thru HDMI from a newer Blu-ray set-top.

So you create your workflow in the SCS tools, setup some kind of technical standards to which you can compare one timeline against another, then produce your Blu-ray one-off, carry it over to the evaluation system and evaluate it there.
BobMoyer wrote on 5/5/2015, 3:53 PM
Thank you both, John_Dennis in particular for the explanation and screenshots.

Bob
VidMus wrote on 5/5/2015, 10:18 PM
If you want a 'high contrast' look, then you could use the levels to expand the video with "Studio RGB to Computer RGB" and then use the "Broadcast Filter" to 'trim' the video so as to keep the video from going below 16 and above 235.

The details in the brightest and darkest areas will most likely be lost but if the video looks the way you want it to look then that is fine.

Sometimes one bends and/or breaks the rules to get the 'look' they want.

A better way to get the 'high contrast' look without loosing the details in the dark and bright areas is to use the color curves but that takes a bit more work and the results might be difficult to achieve. After all, how many stops of video can one squeeze into such a small space? How many stops of video are supposed to be there?

I wish they would stop catering to the dead-weight of the older technologies and open up the video range to be from 0 to 255 and stop all of this non-sense! Meanwhile, have fun cramming the video into the narrower range. :(

LOL, I know that 0 to 255 is not a whole lot more range than 16 to 235 but every bit more helps.

How many people are still using an old CRT now days? I still have my old 27" Samsung HD CRT TV that works perfectly. It weighs a ton!