cinema display evaluation plan & test protocol

ASCNEXTGENERATIONCINEMADISPLAY

CINEMADISPLAYEVALUATIONPLAN&TESTPROTOCOLSeptember1,2016

This document was produced by the Next Generation Cinema Display (NGCD) subcommittee of the ASC Technology Committee. The ASC Technology Committee is chaired by Curtis Clark, ASC. The NGCD subcommittee is co-chaired by Michael Karagosian, Eric Rodli, and Steve Schklair.

1 OBJECTIVE

Ashigherperformancecinemaprojectorsandactivescreensemerge,itisimportanttoidentifywherevalueiscreatedfromthefilmmakers'spoint-of-view,independentofthetechnology.TheCinemaDisplayEvaluationPlanandTestProtocolrepresentsthefirststeptowardsthisgoal,definingamethodforthevisualevaluationofparametersthatcharacterizenextgenerationcinemaprojectionandactivescreens.

Theparameterschosenforthistestareoneswhichhaveamajorimpactonimagequality,centeringondeeperblacks,practicalprimariesforwidercolorgamut,effectivecontrastratios,andoptimalpeakwhitelevelsforhighdynamicrangecinema.

PhaseOneofthisworkwillfocusonunderstandinghowdifferentparametervaluesimpacttheperceptionofimagequality,establishingabaselineforfurthertesting.Theoutputofthisworkwillbeareport,describedfurtherinSection4.7

PhaseTwoofthisworkwilltargetanoptimizedversionofthetestprotocolutilizinglicensablecontentforusebytechnologyprovidersandotherstakeholdersworldwide.ThePhaseTwoworkmayincludetheinfluenceofframeratewithbrighterimages,butthiswillnotbeincludedinPhaseOne.ThisdocumentisonlyconcernedwithPhaseOne.

ASCNGCDCinemaDisplayEvaluationPlan&TestProtocol Page2of12

2 TERMINOLOGY

2.1 Luminance

Describestheamountoflightthatisemittedorreflectedfromthescreen.Measuredincandelapersquaremeter(cd/m2),sometimesreferredtoas“nits.”

2.2 Brightness

Anattributeofvisualperceptioninwhichasourceappearstoemitagivenamountoflight.Thisisnotmeasureableinthecommonsenseandshouldnotbeconfusedwithluminance.

2.3 PeakWhite

ThegreatestachievablewhiteluminanceasmeasuredfromtheSmallWhitePatchTestPattern,Section5.2.1Chart#1.

2.4 DisplayWhite

Thehighestachievablemodulatedwhiteonaprojectedimageordisplay.

2.5 DynamicRange

Theratioofmaximumtominimumluminanceoftheprojectionsystemordisplay.

2.6 SequentialContrast

Theratiooftheseparatelymeasuredwhitestwhitetodarkestdarkoftheprojectedimageordisplay.

2.7 SimultaneousContrast

TheratioofthemeasuredwhitestwhitetodarkestdarkoftheprojectedimageordisplayusingtheMultipointContrastTestPattern,Section5.2.1Chart#29.

2.8 ColorGamut

Definedbywhitepoint,colorprimarylocationsandtheblackpoint.ColorgamutsinusetodayincludeRec.709,DCIP3,andRec.2020.Inthisdocument,theterm“nearRec.2020”meanswithinato-be-determinedtoleranceoftheRec.2020colorgamut.(AvisualrepresentationofachromaticitydiagramgamutisprovidedinAnnexA.)


2.9 Pointer’sGamut

Thecolorgamutofreflectedsurfacecolorsfoundinnature,publishedbyMichaelR.Pointerin1980.(http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/col.5080050308/abstract)TheRec.2020gamutcoversPointer’sgamut.TheDCIP3gamutcoversmostofPointer’sgamut,butislackingincyan.(AvisualrepresentationofgamutisprovidedinAnnexA.)

2.10 DisplayBlack

Thelowestachievablemodulatedblackonaprojectedimageordisplay.

2.11 SignalBlack

Thelowestcodevaluerepresentingablackpixel.

2.12 Mid-GreyReflectance

Anaveragemid-greyinanexposedscene.(Nominally18%,asappliedinthetestchartsofSection5.2).

2.13 Mid-GreyDisplayReferencePoint

Thechosendisplayluminanceofamid-greyreflectance.[Inthefilmsystem,thiswasnominallyequivalenttoaVisualDensityof1.0asdisplayed:4.8nitsfornormalcinema(10%of48nitscenterluminanceperSMPTEST431-1);10nitsfornormalvideo(10%of100nitspersection4.3ofST2080-1"Television:ReferenceWhiteLuminanceLevelandChromaticityforHDTV").]


3 OVERVIEW

3.1 TestPremise

Thetestisdesignedtoexaminethevisual“value”ofperformanceparametersforanextgenerationcinemaplatform.Imageswillbemasteredsuchthatvisualcharacteristicsmeetthetestsetofparameters,andthencomparedforanoticeabledifferenceinqualityasperceivedbyagroupofprofessionals.Thetestmustincludemotionpicturecontent.

3.2 TestOverview

Thetestisdesignedtosubjectivelydeterminethecomparativecreativevalueoftheparametersassetforthinthetestmatrix.Agroupofexpertcreativeswillbethetestsubjects.

Aseriesoftestimages,includingstillimages,dynamicscenesandadjacentscenesatdifferentparameterlevels,willbeemployed.Theimagecharacteristicsrequiredbythetestmatrixwillbeeither“bakedin”tothecontentthroughtheapplicationoflimitsinpost-production,orthroughadjustmentofthecharacteristicsofacapableprojector.Thepreferredmethodistoapplylimitstothecontentduringpost-production.

Onceproduced,thetestcontentimagecharacteristicswillbemeasuredanddocumented.Testpatternswillbemeasuredasseenonscreentoestablishwhatviewersactuallysee.

Preferably,alltestswillbeconductedinasinglefacilitytoeliminateanydifferentialimpactonmeasurementsduetoenvironmentalfactors.Thetestfacilitywillalsobemeasuredforroomambientlightlevelandreflectionfromthescreen.

3.3 RecommendedParametersforTesting

TheStudyGrouprecommendsthefollowinginitialrangesoftestparameters,basedonabalanceofperformanceandcurrentunderstandingofmanufacturingfeasibility,thedesiretocoverPointer’sgamut,andmindfuloftheperformanceofKodak2393VisionPremierfilmprint.Thevaluesinthechartsbelowrepresentaninitialhypothesisofvisuallysignificantparameters.Highervaluesforparametersmaybeincludedifpreliminarytestingsuggestsstrongpreferencesandtheprojectiontechnology,screensize,andachievablecontrastallowit.


ParametersforTestMatrix

PeakLuminance(48nitscurrentDCI)

Low Medium High

48 100 200

Contrast(2000:1currentDCI)

Low Medium High

5000:1 10000:1 20000:1

ColorGamut(P3currentDCI)

P3

NearRec2020

BlackLuminanceCalculation

PeakLuminance

48 100 200

DynamicRange Black(nits)

2000 0.024 0.050 0.100

5000 0.0096 0.020 0.040

10000 0.0048 0.010 0.020

20000 0.0024 0.005 0.010

Note:greyedboxesmaynotbeincludedintestparameters

FunctionalParameters

FrameRate 24fps

ImageResolution 4K(2kIfonlyversionavailable)

Format 2DOnly


4 TESTPLAN

4.1 Venue

AtheatreorlabwiththecapabilitytomanagethevariablesdescribedinSection4.2,with:

a. Screensizeatleast20’wide.b. Whitescreen-matteideal(gain=1.0),butcanconsiderhighergain,“realworld”

screens.c. Seatingforanadequatenumberofobserverswithintherangeof1.5to3.5screen

heightsd. UniformityoflightonscreenmustmeetorexceedtheReviewRoompercentagesof

SMPTEST431-1Table1.

4.2 RoomCharacterization

a. AmbientReflectionfromenvironmentmeasuredoffthescreen,measuredwithprojector“off”–roomlightingcontrollablesothat1/10,000to1/50,000ofpeakbrightnesscanbeachieved.

b. RoomReflectionRatio-lightoriginatingonscreenandredirectedbacktothescreenbytheroom.

4.3 ProjectorCharacterization

a. MeasureprojectorusingallofthetestcontentinSection5.2b. SetScreenLuminance–controllablefrom48nitsto200nitspeak.c. CalculateSequentialContrastcontrollablein“projectedonly”imagefrom2000:1to

20,000:1.d. PlotColorChromaticities(examineprojectorcapableof“nearRec2020”–theactual

gamutoftheimagecontentwillbemanagedinthedigitalfile.)

4.4 ContentComposition(seeSection5.0)

a. Collectscenes,images,andsecurepermissionsandtestinglicensesasneeded.b. Motionscenesexercisingdarkandbrightscenecutswithlargeluminancevariation.c. Colorfulscenesexaminingdarkandbrightcolors.d. Motionsceneswithcontrasttestpatchesembeddedformeasurement.e. Testimagescreatedasneeded.

4.5 ContentMastering

a. Mastercontentforeachofthetestmatrixparameters.b. Measureandrecordactualtestmatrixparametersoftestpatterns.c. Evaluateperformanceandnoteinteractionofparametersthroughoutthecolorgrading

process.


4.6 Review

a. ConductevaluationinanInteractivefashion,whereexpertviewersassembleanddiscusswhattheyseeasitishappening.

b. Assessthevisualvalueanddiminishingreturnswithvaryingparameters.c. Comparisonofimageswhereneededtoshowanoticeabledifferenceinimagequality.

4.7 Report

a. Recommendnumbersforluminanceanddynamicrange,withadequatereviewastohowtherecommendationwasreached.

b. Recommendapractical“nearRec2020”colorgamut,withadequatereviewastohowtherecommendationwasreached.VariationaltestingofdifferentprimariesmaybeconsideredinPhase2.

c. SummarizeviewerpreferencesandeffectsonthePhase2TestPlan


5 TESTCONTENT

5.1 MOTIONPICTURECONTENT

Asuiteofmotionpicturetestcontentisenvisionedtotestthecreativepotentialofvisualperformanceparameters.Thecontentwouldbetestedwithacolorgradingsuitein-line.Ideally,anexpertcoloristwillgradefilesforasmallsetofparametersdefinedinthetestplan,eg.,100nits,5:000:1contrast,P3colorgamut,and200nits,10:000:1contrast,“nearRec2020”colorgamut.

Totheextentpossible,thetestcontentshouldhavethecharacteristicsdescribedinthissection.

5.1.1 CaptureTechnologies

Film,35mmand65mmKodakVision3Digital(fornewmaterial,highqualitydigitalsourcespreferredsuchasRedWeapon,SonyF65,ARRIAlexa65,orPanavision4K)

5.1.2 SceneTypes

LiveActionVFXIntensiveAnimation

5.1.3 TechnicalAspects

Native4Kresolutionpreferred(2Kresolutioniftheonlyversionavailable)16bitOpenEXRorTIFFfiles(ACESencouraged)10bitor16-bitDPXfiles2D(onlyinPhaseOne)

5.1.4 VisualAttributes

Itisdesirablethatscenecontentcontainthefollowingcharacteristics:

Largedynamicrangeinsingleframe:e.g.insidedarkroomwithbrightdaylightoutsidewindowVerydarkscenewithlow-leveldetailBrightoutdoorscenewithhighlightdetailRapidlychangingscenes,brighttodarkwithdetailLowcontrastscene:e.g.graycatingrayfogSkintones:e.g.beautyshotsBrightsaturatedcolorswithpossibilityofextendingbeyondP3gamutDarksaturatedcolors


5.1.5 Creative&BusinessConsiderations

Viewersincludetrainedimageevaluators,includingrespectedandrecognizedcinematographers,colorists,directors,andrepresentativesofthemajorstudios.

5.1.6 RepresentativeExamplesofContentforViewing

VisualCharacteristics Title Source Technical Creative/Business

BrightWhites Oblivion SonyF65 4KDI

Dist:UniversalDir:JosephKosinskiDP:ClaudioMiranda

DarkScenes Se7en Film

Dist:NewLineDP:DavidFicherDP:DariusKhondji

Daytimesnowwithdarkhorses&stagecoachInteriorcabinatnightwithfurs,leathers&wooddetails

TheHatefulEight 65mmVision3Ultra70mmPanavisionprintsavailable

Dist.WeinsteinDir.TarantinoDP.RobertRichardson

NightexchangeonbridgeInteriorhangarwithviewtorunway

BridgeofSpies 35mmVision3 4KDIDist.Fox/Prod.Amblin&SKGDir.SpielbergDP.JanuszKaminski

HeavyVFXandColorcombinations

CaptainAmerica/GuardiansoftbeGalaxy

Alexa&VFX 2KDIDist.Disney/Prod.MarvelDir.RussoBros/JamesGunnDP.TrentOpaloch/BenDavis

Widevarietyofcolors KungFuPanda3 Animation 2D&3D? Dist.Fox/Prod.Dreamworks

Exec.JeffreyKatzenberg

Widecolorgamutpossibility:

AliceThroughtheLookingGlass Alexa,F65 2KDI

Dist.Disney/ProdTimBurtonDir.JamesBobinDPStuartDryburgh

Darksaturatedcolors:Nightscene,goldeveningdress,cyanhighlights

Mission:Impossible-RogueNation

Alexa65&35mm Dist:Paramount/Prod.BadRobotDir.ChrisMcQuarrieDP.RobertElswit

Brightoutdoorscenes.Vividblues,golds

MadMax:FuryRoad Alexa 2KDIDist.WarnerBrosDir.GeorgeMillerDP.JohnSeale

Ultrarealism?Daytimewalkacrossthewire

TheWalk RedEpicDragon 6Kdigitalsource3D?

Dist.SonyDir.RobertZemeckisDP.DariusWolski

Softcontrast,rapidlychanginglight,highcontrastdetail

TheRevenant Alexa65,AlexaM 4KDIDist.FoxDir.AlexandroInarrituDP.EmmanuelLubezki

Beautyshots,skintones,subtlecolorrendition

FiftyShadesofGrey Alexa 2KDist.UniversalDir.SamTaylor-JohnsonDP.SeamusMcGarvey

HFR(phase2) AcademyNGCT Alexa,F65 2K&4K AMPASTest


5.2 TESTPATTERNS

Thepurposeofthetestpatternsuiteistocharacterizebymeasurementtheprojectorordisplayusedintesting.Thisincludestheevaluationofcolorandluminancelinearity,colorfidelityperformance,andcontrast.Thiscustomtestsuiteisdesignedforthree-componentRGBtestingandisnotintendedtoevaluatespatialprocessing.

A'small'patchsizereferstoasmallcirclelessthan3degreesofvisualangle,asseenbythemeasurementmeter,coveringatleastthe1degreemeasurementcircleofmostmeters.

5.2.1 TestChartListandDescriptions

ChartNumber Description

#1 Peakwhite,smallpatch

#2-#14 Greyseries/smallpatches

#15 FullFrameBlack(SignalBlack)

#15-#21 R,G,B,Y,C,M/fullsignalcolors,smallpatches

#22-#28 DarkColorsR,G,B,Y,C,M/5%ofsignalcolors,smallpatches

#29 MultipointContrast:blackandwhite

#30 RingContrast:blackandwhite

#31-37 ShadowContrastSeries

Charts#1-#21willbeconsistentwiththosedescribedinAnnexAofSMPTERP431-2ReferenceProjector.GreyandBlackMeasurementsshouldincludechromaticity.

Charts#22-#28,DarkColors,willbesimilarto#15-#21butatalevelofoutputluminancethatis5%ofthepeakluminanceofthecolor.

Chart#29,MultipointContrast,isintendedtoreplacetheuseofANSIContrastcharts.Itincludesaseriesofblackandwhitedotsthroughouttheframethatarethemeasurementpoints.Thetestchartsmaybeusedtocalculateuniformityandtheoverallsimultaneouscontrastinaframe.

Chart#30,RingContrast,consistsofaringofpeakwhiteonblack,andshouldproduceaconsistentandmeasurableflareluminanceatthecenteroftheframe.Theringis132pixelswidehavingaradiusof1040pixels,ina4Kframe.(1040pixelsradiusx132pixelswillproduce1%oftheframebrightnessatthecenteriftheflareishigh.)

Charts#31-#37,ShadowContrastSeries,aresimilartotheMultipointContrastChartbutwithpartialgreysdownto0.01%peakluminanceinplaceofawhitepatch(e.g.18%,10%,5%,2%,1%,0.5%,0.01%).


5.2.2MeasurementSetupandProcess

Themeasurementdeviceshouldbealignedwiththecenterofthescreenandshouldbecapableofdarkreadings.(i.e.aphotometerorspectroradiometer.

6 CONTRIBUTORS

ThisdocumentwaspreparedbytheNGCDStudyGroup,asubgroupoftheASCTechnologySubcommitteeonNextGenerationCinemaDisplay,whosemembersare:MattCowanJimHoustonMichaelKaragosianLorenNielsenEricRodli


7 ANNEXA

7.1 ColorGamuts

Figure1:ColorGamutsofcurrent“standards”,andthePointerRealWorldsurfacecolors.

Source:MattCowan,ETC

cinema display evaluation plan & test protocol

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