Dolby has a new video format that aims to change the way you see images displayed on a TV. The goal is to create images that look far more realistic that what current standards and technology allow. Based on what I saw during a demo at the Venetian during CES 2014, I would say the company has succeeded. The demo was not perfect, but it was good enough to show what that future of TV looks like.
A regular camera cannot capture what Dolby Vision can show
Actually, I had already seen Dolby Vision in the Vizio room—the technology is part of what makes the new Reference Series look so fantastic. Dolby's demonstration aimed to drill down into the specifics of what makes the technology special. However, there was one constant—the use of clips from the movie Oblivion. That made for a relatively easy comparison, and I was familiar with the movie from viewing it at home, so it served as a great reference.
The key to Dolby Vision is a new algorithm that works in a 12-bit space to provide a far greater dynamic range than what is available through current video systems.
Without getting too technical (I'll save that for a more in-depth post), I can tell you that Dolby Vision works—as long as the person grading the film or video understands that they need to take great care to make sure the program material looks right on the new display technology. If not, the results can actually look worse than traditional video. Done right, Dolby Vision makes you think you feel heat coming off the screen when you see flames. It's a somewhat disconcerting illusion—there is no actual heat—but it happened to a number of attendees, so I know I'm not crazy.
Vizio's 120-inch Reference Series UHDTV—pictured here—features Dolby Vision
Oblivion looked great on every Dolby Vision-equipped display I saw. The experimental display built by the company was the best of them all, which makes sense considering it used a 6000-LED backlight array. The demo also included a pair of Sharp Elite displays, one of which was tweaked to show Dolby Vision content, while the other showed standard-graded content. The difference was not as pronounced as it was with the Dolby-built monitor, but it showed how current displays already have capability that Dolby Vision can take advantage of.
As I mentioned, there were moments when Dolby Vision-graded content did not look as good as the standard Blu-ray master. That was the case during select scenes from The Great Gatsby, which is a fantastic-looking film by any account. However, on some scenes, the Dolby Vision version revealed too much shadow detail, losing contrast as a result, and the enhanced highlights could not make up for that. I don’t blame the technology, it's something so new that even experienced colorists are probably just beginning to learn the ropes. I love seeing bleeding-edge technology, and Dolby Vision is just that.
If you want to know exactly how good Dolby Vision looks, go find a Vizio Reference Series TV. It is the best implementation I saw, outside of Dolby's own experimental monitor. The Sharp Elite TVs Dolby used at its own demo were no match for Vizio's finest. The effect of Dolby Vision on the Vizios was two-fold: There was the illusion of heat from flames, and there was the uncanny illusion of 3D depth on a 2D screen. Videophiles are undoubtedly aware of the effect: When blacks are deep enough, motion is smooth enough, details are sharp enough—when everything is just perfect—BAM! You get the illusion of 3D, without the need for 3D. Well, the Reference Series UHDTVs pulled that off, and I credit Dolby Vision for that. Adding HDR capability to a TV represents a true leap forward that will forever change the way you look at televisions. Dolby's approach is not the only one out there—Sony and Samsung both showed their own versions of HDR—but I did not see anything at the show that could compete with Dolby Vision. It is responsible for the best image quality I saw at the show, bar none.
(credit to avsforum.com)
http://televisions.reviewed.com/features/whats-so-great-about-vizios-reference-series
A regular camera cannot capture what Dolby Vision can show
Actually, I had already seen Dolby Vision in the Vizio room—the technology is part of what makes the new Reference Series look so fantastic. Dolby's demonstration aimed to drill down into the specifics of what makes the technology special. However, there was one constant—the use of clips from the movie Oblivion. That made for a relatively easy comparison, and I was familiar with the movie from viewing it at home, so it served as a great reference.
The key to Dolby Vision is a new algorithm that works in a 12-bit space to provide a far greater dynamic range than what is available through current video systems.
Without getting too technical (I'll save that for a more in-depth post), I can tell you that Dolby Vision works—as long as the person grading the film or video understands that they need to take great care to make sure the program material looks right on the new display technology. If not, the results can actually look worse than traditional video. Done right, Dolby Vision makes you think you feel heat coming off the screen when you see flames. It's a somewhat disconcerting illusion—there is no actual heat—but it happened to a number of attendees, so I know I'm not crazy.
Vizio's 120-inch Reference Series UHDTV—pictured here—features Dolby Vision
Oblivion looked great on every Dolby Vision-equipped display I saw. The experimental display built by the company was the best of them all, which makes sense considering it used a 6000-LED backlight array. The demo also included a pair of Sharp Elite displays, one of which was tweaked to show Dolby Vision content, while the other showed standard-graded content. The difference was not as pronounced as it was with the Dolby-built monitor, but it showed how current displays already have capability that Dolby Vision can take advantage of.
As I mentioned, there were moments when Dolby Vision-graded content did not look as good as the standard Blu-ray master. That was the case during select scenes from The Great Gatsby, which is a fantastic-looking film by any account. However, on some scenes, the Dolby Vision version revealed too much shadow detail, losing contrast as a result, and the enhanced highlights could not make up for that. I don’t blame the technology, it's something so new that even experienced colorists are probably just beginning to learn the ropes. I love seeing bleeding-edge technology, and Dolby Vision is just that.
If you want to know exactly how good Dolby Vision looks, go find a Vizio Reference Series TV. It is the best implementation I saw, outside of Dolby's own experimental monitor. The Sharp Elite TVs Dolby used at its own demo were no match for Vizio's finest. The effect of Dolby Vision on the Vizios was two-fold: There was the illusion of heat from flames, and there was the uncanny illusion of 3D depth on a 2D screen. Videophiles are undoubtedly aware of the effect: When blacks are deep enough, motion is smooth enough, details are sharp enough—when everything is just perfect—BAM! You get the illusion of 3D, without the need for 3D. Well, the Reference Series UHDTVs pulled that off, and I credit Dolby Vision for that. Adding HDR capability to a TV represents a true leap forward that will forever change the way you look at televisions. Dolby's approach is not the only one out there—Sony and Samsung both showed their own versions of HDR—but I did not see anything at the show that could compete with Dolby Vision. It is responsible for the best image quality I saw at the show, bar none.
(credit to avsforum.com)
http://televisions.reviewed.com/features/whats-so-great-about-vizios-reference-series
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