Advanced HDR by Technicolor and Cobalt Digital Address Live Production Gap as HDR Adoption Collides With Legacy Workflows

“Live production environments, particularly in sports, now operate in mixed-format conditions where HDR video, SDR advertising, and graphics overlays intersect in real time. This complexity has exposed limitations in traditional static conversion approaches,” said Ryan Wallenberg, Vice President of Engineering at Cobalt Digital. 

The static diffuse white capability allows operators to define a consistent white point across content while maintaining the benefits of dynamic, frame-by-frame processing. The result is greater visual stability across feeds and graphics without sacrificing adaptability.

“The enhancement reflects ongoing collaboration between Advanced HDR by Technicolor and Cobalt Digital, shaped by feedback from live production teams. It also acknowledges the continued reliance on legacy workflows. Static conversion methods remain widely used, creating friction as organizations transition to HDR,” said Rick Dumont, Head of Business Development for Advanced HDR by Technicolor.

By combining stability with dynamic optimization, the feature serves as a bridge between legacy and next-generation approaches.

Cobalt Digital integrates the capability into its 9904 card, which now also supports ST 2110 and both SDI and SMPTE infrastructures. The underlying Advanced HDR by Technicolor framework enables HDR to SDR and SDR to HDR conversion while preserving signal integrity.

The feature moves from earlier custom implementations into a fully commercialized offering, expanding access to a broader range of broadcasters and content providers This support is critical as broadcasters increasingly adopt ATSC 3.0, which includes HDR to enhance the viewing experience across all TV resolutions.  

The release comes as production models continue to evolve. Remote workflows are expanding, but major live events still rely on hybrid production environments. In both cases, consistent signal handling across formats is becoming a critical requirement.

Advanced HDR by Technicolor and Cobalt Digital present the enhancement at NAB through curated demonstrations that highlight its impact on real-world content. Meetings with Advanced HDR by Technicolor executives at Central Hall — C3062MR are available by invitation only. Demonstrations will be provided by Cobalt Digital at North Hall — N1340.  

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About Advanced HDR by Technicolor

Advanced HDR by Technicolor is a suite of high-dynamic-range (HDR) technologies designed to deliver superior video quality across a variety of display devices and network environments. Developed as a collaboration between InterDigital and Philips, it includes formats like SL-HDR1, SL-HDR2, and SL-HDR3, which dynamically optimize and convert HDR content to match the capabilities of the display device in real-time. This allows broadcasters and content providers to deliver a high-quality viewing experience with improved contrast, brightness, and color accuracy while maximizing bandwidth efficiency. With support for multiple distribution workflows, Advanced HDR by Technicolor enables seamless integration into existing infrastructures, making it a preferred solution for broadcasters seeking to future-proof their HDR delivery. Advanced HDR by Technicolor’s partnerships include broadcasters, streaming service providers, TV and conversion box manufacturers, SoC producers as well as hardware and software solution providers. To learn more about Advanced HDR by Technicolor visit:

https://advancedhdrbytechnicolor.pro. 

About Cobalt Digital

Cobalt Digital Inc. designs and manufactures award-winning ST 2110, IPMX, and SDI conversion, compression, processing, routing, control, and multiviewer technology for the production, broadcast television, and ProAV environments. As a founding member in the openGear® initiative, Cobalt offers a full range of openGear® compliant solutions as well as video and audio processing products for closed caption compliance, production trucks, master control, HD news, signal transport, audio loudness processing, and color correction. Cobalt’s Blue Box Group line of interface mini-converter boxes streamlines and simplifies a wide range of ST 2110, IPMX, and SDI conversion and processing tasks. In addition, the company’s multi-image display processors enable multiviewer capabilities in the most demanding studio and remote production/broadcasting environments. Cobalt Digital products are distributed through a worldwide network of dealers, system integrators, and other partnerships. For further information visit: www.cobaltdigital.com