Color Management in Cubase 14 / Nuendo 14
This article provides details on the Color Management Feature introduced with Cubase 14.0.20 and Nuendo 14.0.20.
Technical Specification for the Color Management
Video File Color Space
The color space information, or tags, are obtained from the metadata (COLR atom/box) of a .mov or .mp4 file. For .mp4 files, the optional VUI extension is not inspected.
A video file's color space information can be found in the "Info" column of the Pool (macOS & Windows). On Windows, it is also be shown in the video import dialog.
If a Video file has no color tags, an assumed color space, based on the file size, is shown:
| SD | ITU-R BT.601 NTSC |
| HD | ITU-R BT.709 |
| UHD | ITU-R BT.2020 |
The color spaces in the “Video File Color Space Override” option will use the color primaries, transfer function, matrix coefficients and the video full-range settings as listed in the table:
| Color space | Primaries | Transfer | Matrix | Range | Common use |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ITU-R BT.709 | BT.709 | BT.709 | BT.709 | narrow | HD TV |
| ITU-R BT.2020 | BT.2020 | BT.2020 | BT.2020 | narrow | UHD TV |
| P3D50/DCI P3 | SMPTE RP431 | SMPTE ST428 | BT.709 | full | |
| ITU-R BT.2100 HLG | BT.2020 | HLG | BT.2020 | narrow | HDR10, HDR10+ |
| ITU-R BT.2100 PQ | BT.2020 | PQ | BT.2020 | full | Dolby Vision |
| P3D65 HLG | SMPTE EG432 | HLG | BT.709 | full | |
| P3D65 PQ | SMPTE EG432 | PQ | BT.709 | full | |
| ITU-R BT.601 NTSC | BT.601 525 | BT.601 525/625 | BT.601 525 | narrow | NTSC SD TV |
| ITU-R BT.601 PAL | BT.601 625 | BT.601 525/625 | BT.601 625 | narrow | PAL SD TV |
| ITU-R BT.470 M NTSC | BT.470 M | BT.470 M | BT.470 M | narrow | NTSC (1953) SD TV |
| SMPTE 240M | SMPTE 240M | SMPTE 240M | SMPTE 240M | narrow | Analogue HD TV |
| ITU-R BT.709 EBU3321 | BT.709 | EBU 3321 | BT.709 | narrow | Video graded for the Web or Apple Quicktime Player |
| ITU-R BT.709 G1.3 | BT.709 | Gamma 1.3 | BT.709 | narrow | Raise details in dark areas for Foley recording |
Video Output Color space detection
- Built-in (macOS): can detect “sRGB” and “Display P3” displays
- Built-in (Windows 10/11): can detect “sRGB” displays
- Blackmagic: no support for color space detection
Color space conversion
Gamma adaption of SDR video material
A video file color space with the transfer characteristics of ITU-R BT.601 525 (NTSC), ITU-R BT.709 (Full HD) and BT.2020 (UHD) will be adapted according ITU-R BT.1886.
HDR To SDR down mapping
HDR to SDR down mapping is based on recommendations in Report ITU-R BT.2408-7.
Note: The video file’s embedded static or dynamic metadata is not inspected.
PQ to SDR
These fixed parameters are used.
- Peak Mastering Luminance: 1000 cd/m2
- HDR Reference White: 203 cd/m2
- Min Luminance: 0 cd/m2
- Max Luminance: 10000 cd/m2
HLG to SDR
These fixed parameters are used.
- Peak Mastering Luminance: 1000 cd/m2
- HDR Reference White: 203 cd/m2
- Min Luminance: 0 cd/m2
- Max Luminance: 1000 cd/m2