New HLG Normalized LUT Pack

Whilst I have generally avoided developing Look-up Tables (LUTs) due to the the inherent lack of precision, there are scenarios where a LUT may be required, whether for monitoring purposes or in Video Editing applications such as Adobe Premiere and Final Cut Pro which have lower precision requirements. With this in mind, I have now released the HLG Normalized LUT Pack.

The HLG Normalized LUT Pack consists of 80 LUTs that convert HLG BT.2100 / Sony HLG3, HLG BT.2408, Sony HLG1 and Sony HLG2 source content to a Rec.709 [or P3-D65 as of v3 release] Color Space across multiple gammas, including Scene, Gamma 2.2, Gamma 2.4 [ and Gamma 2.6 with V3 release]. The 3D LUTs are all 33 point precision cube files and include either Video Levels (as per the HLG standard) for External Recorders/Monitors and programs such as Adobe Premiere, or Full Data levels for programs such as DaVinci Resolve and Final Cut Pro.

Each HLG variant (i.e. HLG3, HLT BT.2408 etc) includes ten Technical Transform and Output LUTs:

  • Technical Transform of HLG variant to Rec.709 [or P3-D65] Scene
  • Technical Transform of HLG variant to Rec.709 [or P3-D65] Gamma 2.2
  • Technical Transform of HLG variant to Rec.709 [or P3-D65] Gamma 2.4
  • Technical Transform of HLG variant to Rec.709 [or P3-D65] Gamma 2.6 (as of V3 release)
  • Output of HLG variant to Rec.709 [or P3-D65] with Tone and Gamut mapping (HDR to SDR conversion with no further grading or adjustments required)

These are not gimmicky baked in custom “looks” requiring random exposure settings, but rather proper mathematical transforms now available in a LUT format for lower precision use cases such as external monitors or applications such as Premiere or FCP.

The intent for these LUTs is to be used either for Monitoring purposes or as Technical Transformations. If being used for Monitoring/Viewing purposes, the LUTs can simply be loaded on External Monitors & Recorders such as the Atomos Shogun, Shinobi & Ninja series or Blackmagic Video Assist series as well as Monitors and Recorders from other brands such as Convergent Design and SmallHD.

HLG Normalized LUT in use on Atomos Ninja V

The LUTs can also be used in Video Editing applications such as Adobe Premiere or Final Cut Pro as a Camera LUT to normalize footage prior to grading. The tone and gamut mapped conversion LUT can also be used instead for a quick HDR to SDR conversion of the desired HLG footage for fast delivery with all tone and gamut mapping applied. Shown below is HLG2 footage that has been normalized to Rec.709 using the tone mapped LUT from the HLG Normalized LUT pack.

HLG2 Footage with HDR to SDR converted output using the Tone Mapped LUT

The HLG Normalized LUT Pack is available now from the online store.

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