Coming to grips with bits
With each new progressive step of technology for video production it seems as though the goal posts for what constitutes 'professional' video are shifted. For many it might seem an arbitrary imposition extant simply to enforce a hierarchy of privilege and separation; a way to justify extra expense that might otherwise be considered unnecessary. Conversely the ongoing pursuit of higher fidelity video signals might be seen as just part of the ever upward spiral of visual quality.
Either way the pattern continues, where once an 8bit signal and post production process was considered a more than adequate staple, much discussion now centres on higher bit-depth signals - 10 and 12bit. NLE systems now must wear the mantle of 10bit workflow if they are to be considered 'professional'. This mimics similar evolutions in Photography with 16bit imaging and compositing applications with 32bit floating point processing both becoming benchmarks separating the proverbial Men from the Boys.
For those intrigued by the deeper mathematics of bit depth processing there is a further discussion surrounding how the bit depth is acquired. As focus has turned to the host of high-end digital cinema cameras hitting the market, such as Red, along with the shift to lossless digital intermediate codecs for post production, debate has turned to Log versus Linear 10 and 12bit video.
David Newman from the Cineform Insider blog presents a
fascinating article on the differences between 10bit log and 12bit linear signals and how they impact upon quality and efficiency.
Posted at 12:00AM Nov 15, 2007
by Mike Jones in video |
