Deep Color xvYCC Questions

[Wayde]

Regarding Deep Color - are there any displays capable of it available today?

I'm seeing stuff like this literature for this Sony Bravia LCD display that says:

(includes hdmi v1.3 features such as x.v. color and Deep Color)

But that's not telling me that the set itself is capable of displaying 30-bit color depth - just that HDMI 1.3 is capable of it.

If this HDTV isn't displaying "deep color" this product description is very misleading!

Please, correct me if I'm wrong - I'm making a series of assumptions based on some research but I want to make sure I have connected the dots.

If you had a display capable of accepting Deep Color xvYCC through HDMI 1.3...

A/ The set would also need Deep Color processing with high end video processors which would probably be named in a spec list.

B/ Your playback device (HD DVD or Blu-ray player) would need to be capable of reading and bitstreaming Deep Color. I've never seen one that made that claim.

C/ Lastly you'd need media written with the deep color specification in mind. I am not certain that your average Blu-ray disc 1080P@24fps even has that kind of color depth on disc.

I'm curios if these assumptions are correct.

If so is it safe to assume we're years away from Deep Color ever being a reality and anyone in the market for HDMI 1.3 gear - deep color probably shouldn't even be a consideration because of all the other interdependencies.

It's my suspicion that if you bought this Sony Bravia HDTV linked above it will never display a 30-bit color depth. Despite its HDMI 1.3 input being capable of accepting a deep color video signal - the HDTV can do nothing about.

Thanks in advance if anyone can speak on this topic.

[lcaillo]

The sony can process the signal if it was available. What is not discussed is the fact that it is highly unlikely that we will ever see any of this used in a large way in production or transmission. Having a wider color gamut is nothing new, being able to process the signal is, but it is no more useful nor meaningful.

Manufacturers, including Sony, would get more out of their sets if they just installed true color management systems rather than features that will never be used. It would not sell as many sets, however, because as they have learned, marketing gimmicks like this work.

[Wayde]

thanks for the answer. I like your opinion and would definitely agree.

What exactly does true color management do ? My HDTV has that option and I always keep it on, but I have no idea what it's really doing.

[lcaillo]

A color management system should allow for adjustment of the primary and secondary colors to allow one to match them to the color space used for the video system, both in saturation and relative to the other colors. Which set do you have?

[Wayde]

It's a panasonic Viera plasma, the PZ700 line. It's 1080P. There is a setting called color managment that the owners manual recommended using all of the time.

[lcaillo]

This set does not allow adjustment of the primaries and secondaries, as far as I know.

[Wayde]

As much as I love the set, I have no clue what its color management is doing. It doesnt' appear to do anything but I haven't employed it in any color test used on a calibration disc. I'll have to get my hands on a blu-ray calibration and get to this pronto.

[Blaser]

The upcoming Sony BD players S350 and S550 will support x.v. color.

[lcaillo]

Until there is software that uses it, the ability to display it is still useless.

[lcaillo]

Wayde wrote:

As much as I love the set, I have no clue what its color management is doing. It doesnt' appear to do anything but I haven't employed it in any color test used on a calibration disc. I'll have to get my hands on a blu-ray calibration and get to this pronto.

According to the user instructions, color management on these sets "Enhances green and blue color reproduction, especially outdoor scenes."

[Wayde]

I'm sure it's a pleasant effect I have been enjoying all along. The TV is great like I say, I have no complaints.

[Wayde]

blaser wrote:

The upcoming Sony BD players S350 and S550 will support x.v. color.

I noticed that when I checked the press releases about these new BD players. I thought about this conversation.

I guess Blu-ray discs will have to be released with "deep color" or it won't have it. It'll be like an audio format or a resolution. There are many links in the chain to these new technologies.