HDR review

Farbstrom supports color critical HDR review in H.265 (HEVC), played directly in the browser on Apple devices with HDR displays. A native player called Farbplay is in development to bring HDR review to other platforms (see Farbplay below).

In the browser (LLHLS, Apple HDR devices)

HDR only works in the browser with the LLHLS delivery mode, as WebRTC doesn't carry HDR. In a room set to LLHLS, the HDR picture is shown directly in Safari and Chrome on Apple devices with HDR capable displays, such as a MacBook Pro with a Liquid Retina XDR display or a Pro Display XDR, and in any browser on iPad and iPhone models with HDR capable screens.

LLHLS still plays on other platforms and on displays without HDR, but the picture won't be shown in true HDR.

LLHLS has more latency than WebRTC, usually between 2 and 5 seconds. Farbplay is being developed for the cases where sub-second HDR is needed.

Scopes and HDR

The scopes in the room read the picture after the browser has tone mapped it, so they don't measure the HDR signal. Use the scopes in your grading software for HDR levels.

Requirements

To review in HDR in the browser you need an Apple device with an HDR capable display (Mac, iPad or iPhone), a source encoded in H.265 (see Encoders and OBS Studio), and a room set to the LLHLS delivery mode when it is created. WebRTC will not display HDR.

Farbplay (in development)

HDR in the browser is only available over LLHLS, which adds a few seconds of latency. Farbplay is a native SRT player that is being built to close that gap, with sub-second HDR in H.265 over SRT and on more platforms than Apple's browsers. It is currently in development and not yet publicly available.

Farbplay will connect with the normal room link and will follow the same waiting room and removal rules as the room in the browser. The room settings already include a Farbplay App only (SRT · H.265) delivery mode for when it is released. In this mode the room in the browser only has the call, chat, participant list and files, with a "watch in Farbplay" placeholder instead of the video. Until Farbplay is released, use LLHLS on an Apple HDR device for HDR review.