Color scopes and Broadcast safe

In the process of experimenting, I have sent 100% bars ( 8 bit Uncompressed PAL) from FCP to Color. The first thing I noticed is that when ‘broadcast safe’is enabled, it clamps the signal quite harshly especially round the mids area. The waveform monitor (and an external Techtronix 601 A Scope) confirms this with the luminance levels of Magenta and green being almost identical. Same result when clip is imported rather than 'Send to'
The weird thing is that when I disable broadcast safe, this restores the bars to how they should look and the external scope displays correctly but the internal scope in still incorrect.
Why is 'broadcast safe' having such an affect on Bars and why are the on board scopes vastly different to external scopes? Any insight greatly appreciated.
Color 1.0.2
BM Extreme
Mac Pro 2.66 10.4.11

The answer might be in your post.
You say you sent "100% bars". If this means 100% saturation, Broadcast spec is 75%, at least in good old NTSC. Just don't start it... that's what SMPTE sez, I didn't make up the rules.
And COLOR's "broadcast safe" will chainsaw the image at whatever you set it to in the "Broadcast Safe" settings dialog. I pine for the good old days of the Hewlett Packard QA103, which rolled off quite nicely, but that product is no longer manufactured and was SD.
Your external scopes are probably calibrated to 75%? I'm puzzled, though by your observation that it is clipping/compressing the "mids"? Do you mean the middle of the screen geometry-wise, or the middle of the waveform, ie around the 50 IRE level? How would it do that? I'd be interested in what its doing to yellow, which should be the highest luminance bar.
The other thing is that Color Bars do contain levels that are considered outside broadcast safe in RGB, but not in YCbCr, and this may be another contributing factor.
jPo

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Urgent-Broadcast safe question

Hello everybody,
For the first time i have a project for french TV.
I don't know how i have to configure the broadcast safe. The production gave me the standard broadcast but i don't know what i have to do in Color.
The broadcast safe's parameter in color are : Celling IRE, Floor IRE, Amplitude, Phase, Offset, Chroma Limit and Composite Limit.
But i received none of thoses informations. They gave me ununderstanding parameters such as :
Coordonnées de chromaticité (CIE, 1931) Couleur primaire
Rouge (R) Vert (G) Bleu (B)
x 0,640 0,300 0,150
y 0,330 0,600 0,06
sorry for my english. I'm french. Does someone can help me to configure my broadcast safe ???help
Thx

This is not something you can really explain on a forum post. I mean, there is a whole profession out there that's sole job is online and making shows meet broadcast specs. This is something that was taught to me over the course of a week...with another week of them looking over my shoulder.
Hire someone to online and ensure it falls within broadcast specs. Then find a place that will train you, if you want to know how to do this. It isn't as simple as dropping in plugins or sliding a few sliders. Just understanding what the specs are takes a bit of time.

Video filters became disabled. video in timeline reverted back to glowing images. Broadcast safe button does nothing. Black and white went back to color. what happened to my video filters?

video filters became disabled. My timeline now shows video in pre-broadcast safe look. black and white video went back to original color. video filters not responding at all. what happened?

First thing to do is reset your fcp preferences
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-2491
Have you done any software updates or installed any new software recently?
What format are your sources and what are your sequence settings?
Here are some other troubleshooting tips
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-2591

Does the Broadcast Colors filter work? How to get a broadcast safe production?

Hey guys ~
Have searched around a bit but haven't found much info on this subject. One of my films just signed a distribution deal (go team) and I've been in the process of submitting my deliverables. The company I've been assigned to for QC uses FCP7 for their preliminary check, and if that passes they send it on to a more rigorous test to ensure legal broadcast levels.
I'd like to keep everything in PP, but here's the deal. I export my film with PP CC to a ProRes HQ file using the "Broadcast Colors" filter set to an IRE of 99 (just to be a touch on the safe side). I was happy because I thought the final product looked even better and retained even more information than the Broadcast Safe filter in FCP. Only the catch is, when I import the final product from PP into FCP7 to see the results that they are going to see, there is a consistent "red" warning on contrasty shots... some are totally outside of the FCP7 broadcast safe scopes.
I've succumbed to jumping back to FCP7 to do the final on this just to make sure it will pass inspection, but I'm curious if anyone has had any experience with this? What's the correct way that I'm missing to use PP CC to make sure that you have a finished product that is safe to put on the airwaves? Is the PP CC Broadcast Safe filter reliable for professional delivery specifications?
Thanks in advance for any help...

Is the PP CC Broadcast Safe filter reliable for professional delivery specifications?
I dont think it is flexible enough and never use it.
Simplest way is to apply Premiere 'Levels' effect.
You will note an "automatic" level clip at 100% and then its easy to set White RGB Out at say 250 and fix any Color Channel Luminance issue..the same way.
Then of course..Blacks.
FWIW - I use an Adjustment Layer to do this usually across the entire sequence

Broadcast safe blacks and whites - Premiere CS4 - How to get?

Hi. I recently had a fellow editor over and he saw some of my footage and mentioned that my whites were too bright and to make sure that they were broadcast safe before exporting them. He didn't know how to do it in Premiere as he uses Final Cut. He said that Final Cut does it automatically. Does Premiere Pro do it Automatically?
After mentionng it to me, I did notice that my whites were quite bright. Below are some examples.
These are two frames taken from the timeline of a sequnce which had already been exported as an AVI.
Here is some information about the system I use:
Once I found out how to do it, is there a way I could quickly apply this to a whole sequence of clips? Do i need to play around with it for each individual clip?

yes, the tv and computer monitor will look different...probably why you thought the whites were OK when editing on computer.
I use CS3 so your version may be slightly different ....
im gonna put up some images to illustrate...
you can use broadcast colors (effect )...drag onto clip ...and see if that works OK for you ...
export a small sample of product ( shrink work area to do small sample ), burn dvd and look on TV...only way to see if its working...can use dvd RW if you want and your dvd player can play dvd rw.
if broadcast colors doesnt work well for you, you can also use the OUTPUT on levels...which is normally 0 and 255...black and white...
after you click "OK" on the levels menu you see in sample is when you see change in program monitor...( in my version cs3 )..you wont see change until you click OK, except for in the little tiny window of the levels box....
I personally use the levels adjustment (output only ) more often than the broadcast safe colors for WHITES...

Broadcast safe levels and DVD output

Some of my video levels are above 100 IRE. I am only outputting to DVD or Blu-ray, never broadcast.
Should I compress the dynamic range down to broadcast safe, or leave the slightly higher dynamic range?
I think that this is probably a question of how FCP, Compressor, and the DVD or Blu-ray plays handle 110 IRE. All the video I am referring to is HDV and the over 100 IRE is in the original captured video. I understand that I need to set the RGB to YCbCr conversion in the sequence settings to match my output strategy.
All my sequence renders are to ProRes.
Obviously, if I use 110 IRE as my max output level, I don't what it clipped somewhere down the path.
Thanks
Rick

IRE is an analogue video measurement. It is only applicable if you are transferring to analogue:
http://www.kenstone.net/fcphomepage/video_levelsnattress.html
8-bit digital video uses a level of 16 for 0% and 235 for 100%.
So you are talking about levels that are above 100%, a.k.a. superwhites.
Since ProRes is 10-bit, the digital code numbers are different,
but superwhites are still luma values that are above 100%.
Although DV-type codecs can handle superwhites, DVD encoding does not,
so it would be safest to eliminate them by using the Broadcast Safe filter
set to 100%, even though you're not broadcasting.
Clamping your superwhites may cause you to lose highlight detail.
For that reason, you should color-correct to bring the highlights
down to below 100% (while looking at the Waveform Monitor)
and then use the Broadcast Safe filter as insurance.
That way, you can determine how you'd like the highlights to look,
instead of just letting them get all set to 100%.
If you're doing a lot of color-correction, the extra resolution
will be useful. Just be sure to get things below 100% for output to DVD.

Rec601 / broadcast safe colors

using premiere pro CS5.5 or TMPGEnc+ i'm exporting MPEG2 files for PAL broadcast. i'm able to create an MPEG2 file which i'm pretty sure will meet all specs of the digital delivery service, however as i'm new to broadcast delivery i'm unsure of the quickest way to comply with Rec601 levels.
apologies in advance for noobness of my post but does Rec601 basically mean restricting luminance between 16-235...? that's easy enough to level but what about color saturation...?
i understand there are good tools out there for this like Color Finesse, but this a very low budget project & at this stage i just need a fast solution.
any info much appreciated.
kind rgds,
-paul

Heres a quick and dirty explanation and solution ( because I do not know your BC specs)
You need to limit Luma and Chroma Levels.
It is "content dependent" so you need to look closely at what is in the clips ( in the timeline) before you export to your delivery media.
Content dependent means video and graphics at any frame in the timeline and what the levels are... combined and separately
Eg a black clip may be o.k until your peak white graphic is overlayed on top of it.
Therefore legalise all the clips and graphics.
How:
Open all the scopes and look for clipping and excess in Luma and Chroma. ie where the peaks go flat or above.
Simple solution: Get the levels down so they dont clip or exceed.
Different content requires application of different Effects ( controls). Its a bit trial and error but LEVELS is a good start point. Curves is another. R,G,B Channel Curves is another. Set a video Luma Limiter eg. 95% High and 5% Low may work.
I usually need more than one effect on a clip.
Its a fiddle in PPRO but very doable ...(and its a bit easier in Resolve where there are functions such as Soft Clip and precision WFMs)
Tip: Any Peak white graphic will always be ilegal so sort it out before importing or creating one. 90% opacity on a white graphic is a quick and dirty fix but White Levels is better.

Color Clipping 5D footage to Broadcast Safe

I’m correcting a short, part was shot with a Canon 5dMarkII, the other with an HVX200. I've turned Broadcast Safe off in the Project Settings as I like to see all of the info when correcting. The footage from theHVX200 is normal, but when I try to manipulate the 5D footage, Color acts as if the broadcast safety is on and clips the footage at the 100 and 0 values. Thoughts? Thanks!

I cut a couple of shorts last year that were shot with the same combo of cameras. In my case, the HVX was shooting 10-bit (4:2:2) footage while the Canon only shoots 8-bit (4:2:0) The difference shows up as a lack of dynamic range that gets worse if the 5D is shot at default still settings.
I'm not saying it's your problem too, just consider the possibility.
Good luck!

Broadcast safe and Text

When I use title 3d or the regular text in FCP I get the red broadcast safe warnings. Do I have to render eveything out to QT and import it back and apply the broadcast safe filter? Or is there a way to do it in the text settings?

You should be able to bring down the level of the whites by choosing a slightly less "bright" white as your text fill. Try it and see if it works.

Broadcast Safe and LiveType

I'm going over a sequence in FCP (latest version) and am applying the broadcast safe video filter to my sequence. The first clip contains some LiveType text superimposed onto the background movie. I used the range check and it detected some excess chroma and luma.
When I attempt to apply the broadcast safe filter to this clip the canvas says "media missing livetype file." Well, I can see the file in my browser and in the source disc (internal hard drive). When I undo the filter, the canvas can see the file.
So, is it not possible to add a broadcast safe filter to livetype segments?
G5 Dual
3gb Ram
200Gb HD
Mac OS 10.4.9
FC Studio
LiveType (latest)

Nevermind. Apparently I was importing the .ipr file instead of the rendered .mov file. After rendering it into my sequence, I added the broadcast safe filter and it rendered fine.
My only question is the Apple Pro Training Series book (Final Cut) says to drag the rendered .mov file into the timeline and onto the clip that needs the livetype text. However, FCP won't allow me to do this. It either moves the rest of the sequence over or deletes the original clip. The only way it works is if I double click the .mov file in the viewer and drag it into the canvas and select superimpose.
Any reason why I can't just drag it into the timeline directly?

Is "Broadcast Safe" necessary if the output will never be broadcast?

I'm doing a project whose final output will be a set of DVD's which will never be broadcast. I really like the color look I've achieved for my clips, but when I check my scopes, they're outside broadcast safe, both up and down. If the output will never be broadcast, do I need to adjust these for broadcast safe?
Also, to get the best for the output, which settings for YUV, etc. should I use to have the DVD's match what I'm seeing in FCP?
Just a bit of additional information, I'm making the assumption that most if not all of the ultimate viewers of the project will be viewing it on modern HD sets. Does that also make a difference to my final output settings?
Thanks.

You must view FCP's output on a calibrated, professional broadcast monitor to assess the "look".
Computer monitors do not provide a true indication of how your movie will appear on a consumer television.
Try to find two consumer televisions that are accurately and identically adjusted. It is very unlikely.
While there is some degree of tolerance and there's not much chance of you blowing up someone's TV these days, you should at least use the "Normal" settings in the broadcast safe filter.
As an example. whites and yellows that are too bright can "crossover" and cause an annoying buzzing sound in the audio as well as being unpleasant to look at.

How to adjust broadcast safe filters correctly (Filter currently compromises picture)

Hi guys,
Can anyone explain to me how to use the Broadcast Color filter properly? Before, when I was using FCP7, I just slapped on the Broadcast Safe filter and the edits passes the QC every time. Now we've moved to Premiere Pro CC and I added the filter twice, once to set the luma and once to set the saturation (both default at 110). The problem is that it completely changes the picture. I get banding and the colour is noticeably clamped. I've been working a lot with animations recently, so dealing with a lot of super saturated and bright colours. If I set the broadcast filter to both 120 on luma and saturation, it doesn't look too bad. Does anyone know at what number in the broadcast safe filter, will the become colour become not safe? Can I get away with 120 on the luma and sat? Please see images below:

I never use that BC Filter!
Test showed me its un reliable and it degrades the image. Basically it uses a "keying" type approach and this can leave some very nasty visual remnants ( patches).
I use the traditional method of working with scopes ( Luma and RGB Parades) and levels ( Levels Effect) and processing in various CC Tools.
To legalise color I work on the individual chroma ( RGB Channels). Red is usually the culprit that needs fixing.
The Levels Effect will automatically clip Luma. I generally drop Whites to 95-98 to be safe.
Unfortunately in PPro or Speedgrade...there is no soft clipping available . THere is in Resolve.

Gopro mp4 to prores gets clamped to broadcast safe :-(

I am trying to find the best way to convert footage from my gopro camera to prores. I seem to have stumbled across nastiness.
Gopro footage : 1080p 25fps
Using Prores 1080p 25fps (not proxy, LT etc)
I have tried converting my in compressor. I have also tried rendering the mp4 in fcp 7 and exporting a self contained version prores version for fcp 7. I have tried using compressor 4 (also installed) and moeg streamclip. When I look at the resulting prores video using scopes in either fcp or color it looks like the footage has been clamped to the broadcast safe values. Where pointy peaks should be, there are flat dense lines at the broadcast safe values. Pulling back the highs in a three way color correction revels a reduction in detail, particularly notable in the highlight areas
Through much trial and error, I have discovered that if I convert to prores using the ancient QuickTime 7 app there is no "clamping" and there is significant detail retained in the highlight areas (and darks too). This allows me room to color correct to better result.
It seems qt7 is only thing that will do the conversion accurately.
I have double checked as much as I can. In color for example I do not have "broadcast safe" switched on. It has made me doubt my process and I feel I have gone through fcp and compressor (and mpeg stream clip) as much as I can looking for some sort of similar "broadcast safe" switch.
I obviously don't want to loose highlight info at such an early stage of the workflow.
As far as I can tell, it does not happen when converting to gopro's CineForm codec and highlight detail beyond the legal broadcast level is retained.
I would love to hear that I am missing something about this or doing something wrong!
MacPro 4x dual core
Mountain lion (latest updates)
Note: I have fcp x installed but I am not using this for this job.

Interesting stuff Zebulun.
Something is not right.
Using FCP X to view gopro mp4 at either 720p and 1080p at 25fps shows there is no clamping. FCP X seems to be the boss at handling these files. Ive tested this with the new Go Pro Protune codec (which makes a huge quality difference by the way) as well.
Mpeg Streamclip does indeed seem to do a decent job with 720p. I see no difference between the pro res file from this app and the raw mp4 in FCP X - or a prores converted in FCP X.
Its not quite the case for 1080p though. The version from MPeg stream clip is not exactly clamped but the range seems reduced compared to the efforts made by FCP X.
I don't know what is at the root of all this. I don't think the gopro is clamping anything as it all seems as expected in FCP X. I guess it might be writing dodgy files that confuse other software.
What I feel confident about is that FCP X handles the raw camera footage very well indeed. Even if I end up sticking to FCP 7 for some time I shall be converting Gopro in FCP X.

Should broadcast safe filter be applied before a video transition

A documentary filmmaker who is a client of mine said her video has a tendency to look ragged and not smooth when she applies the broadcast safe filter to a timeline clip that already contains a video transition. She asks whether she should apply the broadcast filter before she applies any transition.

Why not use the 3 way Color Corrector and the scopes first?
x

BroadCast Safe fixed in fcp ?

Hi guys - is it fixed ?
I just had a show knocked back by one of the local broadcasters here.
The stomp was done in AE using the Adjustment layer technique - some technique - STOMP !
I'd obviously rather stick in fcp - can I trust "Conservative" ?
I now have to finish this in fcp 6. Original master done with 5.12
Yes - I'd go to Color, but I'm not up to speed there yet and need more time.
I don't have hardware scopes to be sure.
So can I trust fcp Broadcast Safe at Conservative with Pal material ?
thnaks in advance, as always...

it has always worked for me Robbo, although I always correct shot by shot and only throw the B.Safe filter down as a final just-in-case safety net.
there was some noise at one stage regarding problems with the filter but I beleive they were explained away (or some say fixed in the 5.1.2 update?) ... Shane will know more, I seem to remember he was the one making most of the noise

Color scopes and Broadcast safe

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