WIDE ANGLE

As with many communities across the USA, the Tampa Bay area has implemented ATSC 3.0 broadcasting, which has been in service for over a year. Well, of sorts…

There are no 4K signals yet; however, the participating channels (all major networks plus PBS) are broadcast over the air in 1080p and uncompressed to the extent the signal is scarcely manipulated from the control room on out through the transmitter. FOX and ABC, normally 720p via cable, streaming, and satellite, with CBS and NBC, stoically 1080i, are broadcast at 1080p, with the NBC signal in one “form” of HDR10.

I say form because HDR10 live content is theoretically done using Hybrid Log-Gamma generated at the camera based on luminosity differences that vary between how a camera captures an image and how the image is broadcast to a monitor without needing metadata encoding. As it pertains to NBC, even commercials appear to suggest HDR10 treatment.

A bit of inside baseball suggests that NBCUniversal is using its UHD-HDR-SDR “Single-Master” Production LUTs for Public Distribution workflow. Short for Look Up Table, a LUT refers to how a camera captures light or how a monitor might manipulate colorimetry to attain a specific look. Selectable television picture modes are examples of LUTs in consumer TVs. A Vivid picture mode LUT creates an exaggerated color and heightened brightness look. A Cinema LUT creates a more Standard-accurate look.

The LUTs that NBCU has developed enable single-master UHD workflow production whereby the displayed HDR10 and SDR products have a consistent look. At the same time, the benefits of HDR10 are still being realized, making unified production possible. These include HLG and PQ LUTs, which follow similar HDR10/SDR conversion methodology and color science for broadcast-specific workflows, such as Blackmagic Design’s DaVinci Resolve.

So, that’s my theory on how NBC is doing it, but it is not the reason for this writing.

Luckily, Sony included an ATSC 3.0 tuner in my particular OLED model. I use an Antop AT-400BV for over-the-air reception, with all Tampa area transmitters within 15 miles of my location. An initial scan registered an incredible 83 channels, the majority from across the bay’s St. Petersburg-based Home Shopping Network and a plethora of religious-oriented stations—all subsequently deleted.

For the first NBC Sunday Night 2024 season football game (and the first opportunity to watch an NFL game in this HDR10 format, which made its debut on NBC after the 2023 season was completed), I tuned in to Tampa’s WFLA 8.1 ATSC 3.0 channel. My Sony OLED channel guide displays two 8.1 channels: the 8.1 ATSC 1.0 HD digital channel and the 8.1 ATSC 3.0 channel. The ATSC 1.0 channel is in 1080i SDR, and the ATSC 3.0 channel is in 1080p HDR10.

I selected the ATSC 3.0 channel with it syncing just as a commercial ended, and the teams lined up for the start. As the Detroit kicker launched the ball downfield, I did what was perhaps my best Keith Jackson ‘Whoa, Nellie!’ In the top right corner of the screen, in HDR10, beaming like a hurricane warning signal from a Nantucket lighthouse, was the brightest, whitest, bold type SNF you could imagine. Now I know what you might be thinking: The latest generation of LG Display OLED panels (my Sony utilizes an LG panel) are virtually burn-in-proof.

I have my Sony calibrated to the SMPTE SDR standard of 100 nits (@ 100 IRE, after full calibration), with its viewing area having no ambient light. Having worked as a professional calibrator in Hollywood, I am accustomed to this level of brightness. As with all Sony HDR10-era consumer televisions, the SDR calibration forms the baseline for HDR10, which it automatically enters when flagged. While this baseline pertains to colorimetry, it is ignored concerning luminosity or light output. Adjustments can be made to several HDR10 parameters that will lessen light output for egregious instances such as the SNF logo. However, these may limit performance for logo-free content such as movies.

For savvy S&V readers, separate modes can be successfully utilized to accommodate different content types. But this is not what will prove convenient for most TV watchers, even if they understand the reasons for doing so. Most use a single mode; if integrator-installed, perhaps multiple modes may be accessed via automation. However, this is not likely for this reason, as the phenomenon is new.

As broadcasting transitions from SDR to HDR10, it may be incumbent upon the broadcast community to be sensitive to the display technologies consumers use. OLED and QD-OLED televisions are not likely to safely sustain the continued same-spot bombardment that logos and even scroll bars unleash in HDR10 as efficiently, or if at all, as they do in SDR (depending on settings).

The concept of continuously displaying a station logo started during the first Gulf War. News feeds from Middle East and European correspondents made their way onto American television networks, prominently displaying channel logos to American viewers for the first time. In those regions with smaller countries, broadcast signals overlapped borders, and identifier logos made sense as languages differed. These logos readily revealed channel identity and origin. Covering that war during that time, American broadcasters frequently aired clips featuring CNN. They were soon to place their logos on screen as well, attempting to avoid confusion over the content sourcing (plus CNN demanding the practice).

Marketing prevailed, and voilà, in time, additional casualties of that war and the post-period were direct view and rear projection TVs with permanent logo burn-in.

As history is known to repeat itself, during the Second Gulf War, plasma displays became victims of logo burn-in.

Some may point out the orbiting feature for OLED/QLED displays, which only defers the time needed to inflict burn-in while broadening the afflicted area to the orbit size. For the NextGen TV era, broadcasters may need to consider “ghosting” logos to significantly lessen their impact if visibility is required in HDR10.

While including such information in their manuals, TV manufacturers will also need to raise awareness when 4K HDR10 broadcasting finally commences that graphics of all types, such as those displayed by 24-hour news and stock market channels, impose a risk of permanent burn-in when presented in HDR10.

For the short duration that I watched Sunday Night Football in NBCU’s version of HDR10, it sang the glorious siren song of NextGen TV. Before the Rams’ first punt, however, I switched to HULU and the SDR version. Whether it would merely be image retention or the cusp of burn-in, I am not in the chance-taking business.

Whether OLED remains the best image-producing technology when NextGen TV has been rolled out entirely with HDR10 prevalent is likely still a few years away. Other premium disruptive display technologies, such as micro-LED, may be immune to such potential peril.

It should also be noted that LCD panels have the associated risks of parallel burn-in. Over time, the logo example above may cause the transistors that control pixel switching in the areas displaying a logo long-term to overheat and fail in a stuck-open or closed-shut state. At my “full-time” job, we recently acquired a Sony BMV-HX 3110 dual-LCD panel broadcast monitor, a 30.5-inch unit capable of 4,000 nit peaks and 2,000 sustained nits. At $40,000, one might think it would have a parts and labor warranty over one year. What might Sony know?

At the very least, is it too much to ask broadcasters to allow content to be the center of attention and not their self-promoting logos? Aw, who am I kidding?