Bridge Technologies To Demonstrate Integration Of Cromorama's Colour Management System

Bridge Technologies will be using their attendance at IBC 2024 (Booth 1.A71) to demonstrate the recent integration of Cromorama’s leading colour management system – ORION-CONVERT™ – into Bridge's own groundbreaking ST 2110 production probe, the VB440.

The integration will make it easier than ever for broadcasters to ensure that their live productions maintain a consistent, seamless grade in both HDR and SDR, across all cameras in a single production, and all productions within a broadcaster's portfolio.

Cromorama's unique ORION-CONVERT™ algorithm uses a novel three-step approach to HDR <-> SDR conversion, with an intuitive set of user controls. Loaded with presets that cover both standard presets (such as NBCU and British TV, for example), as well as ‘look’ presents (including HLG mild, HLG live, SLog3 mild and Slog3 live). ORION-CONVERT™ exists to make the traditional LUT workflow more flexible, streamlined, and easy to use for live productions of all types.

Most importantly though, the ORION-CONVERT™ algorithm works to facilitate this consistency in both SDR and HDR simultaneously, using down-conversion to produce SDR from an HDR signal, or up-conversion to expand the compressed highlights of the SDR signal and produce a simulated HDR signal from an SDR camera. With the possibility to create a mathematically exact roundtrip with the flip of a button. This is particularly useful in cases where the production makes use of a speciality slow-mo or mini-cam which does not maintain the HDR capabilities of the rest of the camera setup.

Cromorama – with its focus on making multi-format production outputs more straightforward to achieve – thus ideally pairs with the VB440: Bridge’s market-leading, IP-based production probe, which leverages the power of ST 2110 to allow production professionals of all types – camera painters, audio specialists and network engineers, amongst others – to access an extensive range of high-grade production tools, all through a single appliance. Most importantly, the VB440 makes this available with next-to-no-latency, using only an HTML-5 web browser, meaning up to eight users can simultaneously access the VB440’s extensive set of features, live, from anywhere in the world. Like Cromorama, with its software-based algorithm, the VB440 aims to minimise the amount of specialist equipment a production team needs to achieve complex processes. In the case of the VB440, this means the elimination of waveform monitors, audio controls, single-purpose monitors and extraneous cabling. This reduces capital expenditure, energy consumption, truck weight and electronic end-of-life waste, and often provides higher functionality and more intuitive use than the extensive portfolio of single-function, single-box equipment that it is designed to replace.

What makes the new integration of ORION-CONVERT™ an even more ideal marriage of technologies is the fact that for a number of years the VB440 has facilitated the preview of HDR images even on SDR monitors, therefore allowing production specialists to work on dual SDR/HDR productions on-the-move, without any need for specialist HDR equipment. The addition of ORION-CONVERT™ to the VB440 thus further augments the VB440’s position as an unrivalled solution for live, remote and distributed production, especially for large-scale, complex productions which will be broadcast across the globe in a range of formats, languages and standards.

Speaking of the integration, Chairman of Bridge Technologies Simen Frostad said: "The world of globalised, live sports production is complex indeed, but it is exactly this type of multifaceted production which the VB440 has been designed to support, and which will benefit so readily from this collaboration with Cromorama."

He continued: "To take an example from a recent global sports event: there were a range of pipelines which all needed conversion. The main pipeline was in 4K, and the images needed to be converted from the cameras to SDR/HDR as required, along with converters to adapt the colourimetry to accommodate the format, look or style of the pre-, during- and post-game productions, as well as a differentiated look for day and night games. Hundreds of devices needed to be controlled. Now, through our recent ORION-CONVERT™ integration, this can all be monitored through the VB440 to ensure absolute reliability and consistency: a concern which is vital in the context of some of the most prestigious and recognised sports productions in the world."

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