In a sequence combining "normal" REC 709 and Canon BT.REC 709 Wide DR clips which color space is better: FCP Standard REC 709 or Wide Gamut HDR REC 2020 PQ?

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GilatWCOT Author

Level 1

4 points

In a sequence combining "normal" REC 709 and Canon BT.REC 709 Wide DR clips which color space is better: FCP Standard REC 709 or Wide Gamut HDR REC 2020 PQ?

Not long ago, I assembled a video using clips from a Sony XDCAM

(PXW-X200) and a Canon XF605 camera. I can't tell from the Sony's menu

what the color space of its clips were but the Canon clips were BT.REC

709 Wide DR. Information about the Sony I found online said it uses

10-bit PROCESSING and I know that the Canon RECORDED 10 bit clips.

When began assembling the clips together on my FCP timeline, using

the REC 709 color space, the Canon clips seemed to lose detail in the

shadows and highlights. So, I switched the library and project to REC

2020PQ color space and got the ability to color-correct the Canon clips

so that they looked fine. The Sony clips worked fine in this color

space, as well.

When I was done and wanted to "share" the project, I got a warning

about trying to export the 8-bit clips, (presumably the XDCAM clips),

in a 10-bit project. So, I exported the project to Apple Compressor

where I could adjust the preset I was using and export the project with

no problem, (I used the Apple Devices HD (Best Quality)

Setting/Automatic Color Space, which chose Rec. 2020PQ, then I chose the

HEVC Codec and 10-Bit 4:2:0 color.

This worked but I'm curious if I'm doing something that's

considered "wrong?" Or, if there's a better way to accomplish what I

needed to do?

Thank you.

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 15.4

Posted on May 19, 2025 8:50 AM

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Answer 1

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joema

Level 4

1,107 points

May 19, 2025 9:39 AM in response to GilatWCOT

First, unless you have an HDR monitor, you can't grade HDR material. It would be like grading color material on a black-and-white monitor. There are various definitions and standards for what an HDR monitor is, but a 2022 or later MacBook Pro with a 1600-nit "Liquid Retina" display is probably good enough to start with.

Material recorded in-camera as Rec. 2020 HLG and PQ is not designed for grading. That is a distribution format. In general, for HDR grading and distribution, you would record in a format such as 10-bit 4:2:2 Sony S-Log3 in XAVC-I or XAVC-HS, Canon C-Log3, or ProRes RAW. That would be imported to an FCP Wide Gamut HDR library, edited and graded using an HDR project such as Rec.2020 HLG, then exported as (say) Rec.2020 HLG with Dolby Vision 8.4. FCP has an export preset for that.

If the camera recorded some kind of "baked in", "instant HDR" format, you could try to grade that in the above type of library/project, but those in-camera HDR formats are not designed for grading.

In general, it's best to record in a 10-bit 4:2:2 log format or ProRes RAW, import to an FCP Wide Gamut HDR library, then edit on a Wide Gamut HDR - Rec. 2020 HLG project, then export using the 10-bit Rec.2020 HLG Dolby Vision 8.4 preset. That is designed to look mostly OK during SDR playback, plus have good HDR characteristics on HDR playback systems.

You can examine the NCLC color tags on the source material by playing the camera files in Quicktime Player, pressing CMD+I, and spinning down the disclosure triangle for "Video Details." See attached for the NCLC tags.

I would not use Rec.2020 PQ, which was designed for an HDR-only viewing audience.

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In a sequence combining "normal" REC 709 and Canon BT.REC 709 Wide DR clips which color space is better: FCP Standard REC 709 or Wide Gamut HDR REC 2020 PQ?

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