Issue Focus: Video

By Michael Heiss

If you ever want to see a residential specialist shiver, just whisper “HDMI” in their ear. For a technology that has made almost everything we do in video and home theater connectivity happen — including 4K, HDR, High Frame Rates (HFR), Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) to help play game content with little or no jitter or stutter, ARC, and much more — HDMI often gets a bad rap. To reuse an old cliché, “HDMI: You can’t live with it, and you can’t live without it!”

To the credit of the HDMI Forum and HDMI Licensing Administrator, the HDMI format itself is often not the cause of the abovementioned shivering. Sometimes it is the fault of HDCP authentication, not HDMI. Sometimes it is poor implementation of hardware or software in the connected devices, not the fault of HDMI, itself. Sometimes the root cause of professed HDMI woes are the connecting cables. No, it is NOT always their fault, HDMI is just too easy to pin the blame on, even when it isn’t deserved.

One way that HDMI has been trying to keep things moving is through new versions of the format. Over the past 20 years we’ve gone from HDMI 1.0 to HDMI 1.3, HDMI 1.4 and 1.4a, and most recently to HDMI 2.0, which enabled all the features we demand for today’s home entertainment environment. Continuing to move forward, HDMI LA, the guardians of the format and its intellectual property, has just announced HDMI 2.1a.

To be certain, this is not a major upgrade. However, particularly for gamers, it will be a useful one. Along with the usual collection of normal software improvements and bug fixes, as well as improved performance for features such as QMS (Quick Media Switching), HDMI 2.1a brings yet another acronym to the technology lexicon: SBTM, which stands for Source-Based Tone Mapping.

One industry that has benefited from many of us being cooped up inside for more than a year is the video game industry. Gaming has become a major way to pass the time and, as much as possible, interact with other people. With new consoles such as PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, along with the latest sophisticated video cards for PC gaming and e-sports, the video displayed during a game has changed from the early days of Pong.

Screens are no longer just the game content but, particularly for Twitchers, there is also a window with the gamer’s video image and a chat window. This is all well and good, but what happens when the game is in HDR, the camera window is SDR, and the chatbox is, well, simple white on black text? Too many frame rates and too many color-capability formats. No matter how good the display is, it can only do so many things and the related computations at the same time.

Solving that is where Sourced-Based Tone Mapping comes in. It allows the source device on one end, be it a game console, PC, streaming device, set-top box, or optical player, to talk with the sink device (the display) on the other hand, sharing the processing load of managing the disparate parts of a single video image.

Tone Mapping today is where the display tries its best to deal with the incoming HDR or SDR video and “map” it to the TV’s brightness

capability and other parameters. Unfortunately, that requires quite a lot of computational heavy lifting that may end up being beyond what the TV can handle. To help solve this, SBTM lets the source product know what the display does and is capable of. Then, the source shares in the processing and mapping to further increase the image quality so that the sink does not have to do it all on its own.

As an example, picture the output of a game console or PC with more than one image component. The gameplay may often be in HDR. An inset window with the gamer’s camera will likely be in SDR. Below the inset, you might also see a text or chat window that has a different color characteristic from the other two parts of the picture. Given that, what does the display adjust to? SBTM recognizes the image’s content and then sends the display something that best takes advantage of its SDR, HDR, and Dynamic HDR potential. Add to that the everchanging content of the various elements of the source output and the fact that each display is different and has different HDR abilities and you see where this is going.

SBTM allows the source device to take the best advantage of all elements in the signal path, from the content to any “receiver” device in the middle such as an AVR to the TV at the end of the chain without the need for manual user adjustment.

This sounds great, but there are a few things to note. SBTM only works when all devices in the signal path are HDMI 2.1a compliant. Upgrading the TV or game alone won’t do the trick. That said, your next question is whether your current gear is upgradable or if you have to buy new models.

In the announcement by HDMI LA, it was stated that some current products will be upgradeable from HDMI 2.1 to HDMI 2.1a, but they would not elaborate further as to brand or model specifics. It appears that this is ready for release, but no time frame was disclosed as to when the first new product with HDMI 2.1a or any upgrade to existing game consoles, video cards, AVRs, or processors will be available.

Perhaps equally problematic for both video enthusiasts and technology professionals is the often confusing array of High Definition Range (HDR) technologies. Since the first introduction of HDR10 we’ve been bombarded with Dolby Vision, HDR-10+, HLG (Hybrid Log Gamma) and Advanced HDR by Technicolor. All do different versions of the same thing, varying with the way the source material is encoded and what the capabilities are of the display that is at the end of the signal chain.

As technology marches forward, we’ll continue to see new formats to address, and hopefully solve, different problems. One of the latest HDR formats is particularly relevant here, as it does much of what HDMI 2.1a does with the introduction of SBTM. From a top level view, the new HDR10+ GAMING standard uses a similarly sounding name for what it does: Source Side Tone Mapping (SSTM). As with SBTM its goal is to enhance the overall video performance from games to compatible displays. HDR10+ GAMING does some of its magic by setting the TV or display to a low latency reference mode with support for variable refresh rates (VRR) up to 4K and 120fps.

Products including game software, video cards and more will be available later this year from the likes of Game Mechanic Studios, Nvidia and Sabre Interactive. Samsung, a major force behind the HDR10+ formats recently announced that all of its 2022 model televisions and game monitors will support HDR10+ GAMING.

Thus, as with any update to a key connectivity format, the bottom-line question you’ll have is “Do I need any of this?” If you are a hard-core gamer or someone with a TV capable of displaying multiple windows at the same time, the answer is may possibly be yes. For most other consumers, as good as the update is, I wouldn’t rush out and replace every link in the video chain just for SBTM using HDMI 2.1a or SSTM using HDR10+ GAMING.

Since things in the world of consumer electronics sometimes never seem to be easy, it is important to keep in mind that these are two parallel technologies and while some manufacturers may choose to offer both, some may put their bets on just one or the other. Thus, if you are a gamer or provide services to a client who is, the first thing to do is to see which products and related games and source material will offer these new formats. In the case of HDMI 2.1a, will anything already in the market be software upgradeable. Reach out to the brands of the impacted products already in place and see if upgrades are forthcoming. For both new technologies, if one part of the video signal chain is due for replacement, either or both of these advancements may be something to consider. After all, the stay-at-home world we have all become accustomed to over the past two years has led to a huge increase in the attention to video games, something that is likely to continue even as we finally get to meet outside and in person. Looking ahead to these new technologies, gamers will be well served to consider them to futureproof their home system for the long term. x

Source-Based Tone Mapping, within the new HDMI 2.1a standard, recognizes the image’s content and then sends the display something that best takes advantage of its SDR, HDR, and Dynamic HDR potential.

By Michael Heiss

For the past two or three years, I have presented a course around the topic of ATSC 3.0. This past September, the title was “ATSC 3.0: It’s for Real. REALLY!” In the few months since then, and particularly after CES 2022 in January, I can confidently report that it actually is for real!

ATSC 3.0, presented to the public with CTA’s less technical name, NEXTGEN TV, is an overthe-air standard for sending and receiving TV signals capable of 4K and HDR picture resolutions, as well as advanced Dolby audio and other features. ATSC 3.0 is the first major overhaul to the non-profit Advanced Television Systems Committee’s standard since the group first introduced ATSC 1.0 back in 1996.

The most notable NEXTGEN TV news is that it now available in 46 market areas across the U.S., with an ever-growing list of stations and more markets and stations to follow throughout the year. Washington DC and Los Angeles were added toward the end of last year, and more top markets will be on the air soon – pandemicrelated hiccups permitting.

Of course, stations on the air without products available to receive them is like the tree falling in the proverbial forest. On that front, there were some significant announcements made at CES that will expand the options available to you to receive NEXTGEN TV.

Hisense announced that it will offer sets with ATSC 3.0 tuners, joining those already in the market from LG, Samsung, and Sony. New U9H, U8H, and U7 models will be in stores this fall with prices starting at $799.99.

Perhaps even more importantly, another announcement at CES will certainly lead to more brands and models equipped for NEXTGEN TV. You may not be familiar with MediaTek, but they are a major developer and supplier of the parts that many manufacturers use in the design of their TV products. Individually, their new demodulator chip receives the ATSC 3.0 signals off-air and converts the RF stream to data that is used to provide the signals with the set’s processing. Equally important, that new part will be included in a comprehensive smart TV “System on Chip” (SoC) that powers the set’s features. This promises to speed the development of new NEXTGEN TV sets and reduce their cost and development risks.

Of course, as good as NEXTGEN TV is, and for all the quality improvements and unique features it delivers, if a TV is a reasonably recent

A Hisense NEXTGEN TV. Photo: Hisense

MediaTek Pentonic2000 chip supports ATSC 3.0

model, it is understandable that it’s too soon to replace it. That’s where set-top boxes come into the picture. HD HomeRun already has an STB with two of the four tuners being ATSC 3.0 capable. It is an interesting product that I can now try out because there are finally stations with NEXTGEN TV where I live in Los Angeles. However, the HD HomeRun product connects to the TV only via a broadband connection, and some may prefer hard-wired HDMI. Answering that requirement will be a new product from Nuvyyo, a Canadian company that sells its well-regarded line of OTA DVR products under the Tablo name.

The new Tablo ATSC 3.0 QUAD HDMI will, as the name states, have four tuners, all of which work with current ASTC 1.0 signals as well as the new system. Also, as the need relates, the connection to the set is via HDMI only, unlike the current Tablo products that connect via broadband, as well as for one model via HDMI.

Tablo has earned its chops as an OTA DVR, and the new model is no exception. With the connection of an optional 1TB to 8TB external USB drive, between 1,000 and 4,000 hours of content may be stored. The new Tablo also supports Dolby AC-4 Surround Sound Audio, 4K HDR when those broadcasts become available, and many of the other NEXTGEN TV features.

The interface will be the same as previous Tablo products, and a one-day guide is included for free. Fourteen day program listings and other features are available for an extra subscription cost.

Pricing for the new Tablo will be $299.99, with delivery anticipated for this spring. Reservations are now being taken on the Tablo website with a $29.99 pre-order deposit.

One of the targeted use cases for ATSC 3.0 is mobile (in-car) reception, an area where the current ATSC 1.0 does not fare well due to its modulation scheme. NEXTGEN TV, however, allows for great reception from moving vehicles,

something I can attest to, having seen demos of it at past NAB shows. Pushing forward the development and eventual introduction for that capability, Sony is developing a chip that will facilitate the delivery of video at highway speeds, but also enable seamless hand-off between mobile and stationary devices. Sony has been testing their “CLOVER” chip at the Mowtown3.0 Test Track for a The Tablo OTA DVR with four NEXTGEN TV tuners. Photo: Nuvyyo Inc./Tablo variety of applications, but there was no announcement as to when we might see the chip and its technology in production vehicles. Who knows, with a new prototype electric vehicle as one of the few actual products on display at CES, perhaps one day we might see ATSC 3.0 not only in Sony video products but also in a Sony-branded car. Yes, the development, testing, FCC approval, and broadcaster implementation of NEXTGEN TV have taken quite a few years. However, with the increasing number of station and marketplace rollouts and a growing range of TVs and other receiving devices, after CES 2022 I can finally say that “ATSC 3.0 is REALLY here!” I will be testing a variety of NEXTGEN TV products in the coming weeks and will have a report on the new system in actual use over the next few months. x

Sony’s Vision-2 02 EV prototype appeared at CES 2022. Perhaps NEXTGEN TV will appear in a Sony-branded car in the future. Interior rendering courtesy of Sony.

By Michael Heiss

During a time when more of us are watching video than we might have thought we would a year ago, displays have become more important than ever. Popular wisdom might tell you that people are abandoning large screens, but that was far from the case. Sales of large screens have held up. In fact, the average consumer TV size has increased.

Just as sales of vinyl records have increased despite the overpowering market dominance of streaming audio content, traditional video displays, be they flat-panel sets, game-centric monitors, “computer” monitors, or projectors, remains a very viable product category. Given that, it is natural to ask what we will, literally, “see” in the year ahead for those categories.

By far, the largest part of the video display market is what we used to just call “TV sets.” Indeed, they still are that, but going forward they are much more. However, at the end of the day, a display’s main job is to show images as accurately as possible. Based on what was shown both in person and virtually at this year’s CES, there are some very interesting trends to watch for this year that will change the inner workings of displays, the form factors that they will take, and how “smart” a smart TV will actually be.

Perhaps the most anticipated technology for 2022 will be QD-OLED. You are likely familiar with OLED sets. They are self-emissive, which means that each pixel may be turned on and off individually. That, in turn, delivers incredible contrast and color, albeit to some extent at the expense of brightness. You also may have heard of “QD” (quantum dot) technology, which uses specialized materials typically applied to a sheet that sits in the layers of a complex system that includes a set’s backlight array, LCD panel, color filters, and polarizing filters before the light gets to the front of the panel. The result is good color and brightness at the expense of contrast and in some cases viewing angle.

QD-OLED is self-emitting, as is standard OLED, but by replacing color filters with QD color conversion, there is both better color and brightness. Color is also improved over LED/LCD. Images: Samsung Display

NEXTGEN TV, or as we’ve originally known it, ATSC 3.0 (see p. 32 for more on this) will be added to Hisense ULED Series TVs.

TCL will offer mini-LED-based TVs with 144Hz frame rates that will deliver better motion rendition for video games.

In QD-OLED Samsung Display, the panel manufacturing arm of the giant Korean conglomerate Samsung Electronics has made a big step in providing the best of both worlds. Here, there is a blue, rather than white, OLED layer with the light from the individual pixels passing through a QD color conversion layer and then directly to the front panel. The QD layer is used for color conversion, rather than color filtering, so there are more accurate colors and a wider angle of view, albeit with a significantly less bright picture. But, while QDOLED offers less brightness than an LED backlit LCD, it will be much brighter than what a conventional OLED can deliver today.

How does it look in real life? As I wasn’t at CES this time around for the first time in almost 45 years, I can’t give you a first-hand evaluation. However, those that were able to see the sets in private demonstrations agreed that this is a big advancement in flat screen technology. You’ll be able to make your own observations when 65- and 55-inch class sets reach the market later this year – first from Sony and later from Samsung. A 34-inch QD-OLED also will be offered by Dell’s Alienware division. The cost? No pricing was announced, but industry wisdom says that these sets will be priced in the same range as ultrapremium OLED and LED/LCD models.

While QD-OLED captured a great deal of attention, other manufacturers and brands were not sitting on their laurels. LG, the clear volume leader in OLED panel manufacturing, is turning to “OLED.EX” technology, which uses a combination of deuterium in the panel’s formulation and AI in the processor to better control light energy as it is directed to the screen, in turn improving their displays for better brightness and color.

Mini-LED is still the current state of the art on the LCD side of the display fence. New for 2022 is that virtually every brand will offer their version of mini-LED in more models going further down the price range. LG’s QNED and Q-LED, Samsung’s Neo QLED, some of Sony’s Bravia offerings, models from TCL, Vizio, and Hisense, and a host of others all have mini-LED systems in both 4K and 8K resolution models. While standard back- and edge-lit displays with standard LED arrays will continue to power the middle and lower end of the TV market, mini-LED – with as many local dimming zones as can be offered – is definitely the way to go for a more premium-priced TV.

Over the past two or three years, the processors that drive specific video “styles” (“sports” “game” “cinema” modes, for instance) have been major selling features for TV manufacturers. Unfortunately, the specs and capabilities of these modes are not easy to compare on a spec sheet. So, how do you make a decision based on all the buzzword names? The answer is to look at what the set does against what you want it to do. If you are primarily a movie viewer, then look for a product that has Filmmaker Mode. For those who are gamers, there is an increasing number of both new and more widely available features to look for, such as HDMI 2.1 connectivity and the variable refresh rate (VRR) that should come with it, higher frame rates, and built-in game services. Many brands are packaging some or all of those features into “game modes,” but you should look to see if the set you want has them.

Yes, HDMI 2.1 is finally here (read more on p. 30), and a full suite of technologies is a gamer’s paradise. VRR, in particular, reduces artifacts caused when a game device’s frame rate jumps around too quickly and perhaps even exceeds the set’s capability. More sets have this, and some are even adding Nvidia’s G-Sync or AMD’s FreeSync. A year or two ago that wasn’t available. Now it is. Similarly, displays with 120Hz refresh or even 144Hz are also now available for better playback on advanced systems or video cards.

HDMI 2.1 also enables eARC, the enhanced audio return channel. With more streaming and

(Above) LG’s new 97-inch OLED EVO, (right) Samsung’s Freestyle is designed to deliver pictures almost anywhere and on any surface.

gaming content being selected by and through the TV, when paired with an AVR or soundbar with eARC, you will be able to feed full bitstream audio out of the TV and into an external audio system.

Before moving on from the technology trends for the video reproduction aspect of displays, two more technologies deserve mention. One is microLED, the same technology widely used on stadium displays, public venues, and onbuilding advertising. Once a science experiment, Samsung’s introduction of The Wall four years ago brought it into the consumer world, albeit at an exorbitant price for a 146inch system. Now, other brands are offering it, and while the prices are still high, the sizes are now available as small as 89 inches. For us mere mortals, the realistic bet for sizes above 85 inches remains LCD/LED or the new 97-inch OLED from LG.

Two-piece projection is the other option for achieving large screen sizes at prices that mere mortals are able to afford. In the growing category of ultra short throw projectors, Hisense said that they will offer an 8K UST using 4K chips and pixel shifting to deliver the 8K image. However, be forewarned that at CES they were only showcasing the technology using a front projector, so the UST may still be a bit off in the distance.

At the other end of the scale, Samsung garnered a great deal of attention with its new Freestyle front projector. Looking for all the world like a track light can, this compact, subtwo-pound product is able to project an image from 30 inches up to 100 inches at 1080p resolution. No, it isn’t going to compete with large, traditional projectors, but that isn’t the point. With auto-focus and auto-leveling, you can point it just about anywhere and at almost any angle. You can even add a waterproofing case and a USB C connected portable battery pack for outdoor use, or you can screw the projector into a standard Edison light socket. At $899 this will likely set a trend that may spawn a rash of competitors.

These days, virtually every set is a “smart TV,” but this year they will be even “smarter” by connecting to other devices around the home. Yes, you can easily do that with a smart speaker, tablet, or phone, but isn’t it better to see the status of all the appliances, air purifiers, and even the robotic vacuum on one screen? This is the expressed goal of LG, Samsung, TCL, and others who will be introducing more of their own branded appliances this year.

Even better, perhaps driven by the incredible growth of video calling during the pandemic era, more TV brands will allow you to connect a webcam to link up with relatives, friends, and anyone with a compatible webcam. On the audio connectivity side, many brands now have the ability to respond to verbal commands from a smart speaker or the TV’s remote. This year, however, you will begin to see sets with the farfield mics built right into the set. Say the “magic word,” and you can ask the TV to search and select content as well as respond to traditional commands.

To paraphrase the old cliché, “So many new features and trends, so little space to tell you about them.” Given that, a quick lightning round of new features and trends that have been promised, but which are now ready for primetime. NEXTGEN TV, or as we’ve originally known it, ATSC 3.0 (see p. 32 for more on this) will be added to Hisense ULED Series TVs, joining Sony, LG, and Samsung, which already have the feature.

Another key trend for the year ahead is a global one, but the TV industry is quickly getting on board: Sustainability. As an example, every CES presentation from the major brands highlighted efforts to conserve and reduce energy consumption while at the same time making the materials used more recyclable. A great example of that is an idea first introduced two years ago at CES by Samsung where they printed templates for reuse ideas for product boxes on the inside of these cartons.

Other tidbits? On the user interface side of things expect to see more TV products using Roku or Android/Google TV, and even Amazon’s Fire TV as well as the proprietary systems used by some of the major brands. Look for more sets with not only HDR, but the more advanced dynamic HDR systems such as Dolby Vision and HDR-10+. As the year moves forward, you will also begin to see the arrival of Dolby Vision IQ and HDR-10+ gaming.

Ah yes, there really is a great deal going on in the world of video products. These are just a few of the top trends, but to keep up with the ever changing world of video your best source for the latest news is our online reports. I’ll see you there. Happy viewing! x