High Dynamic range image--汇总的笔记，待整理

  最近有高校老师来部门交流，这里预备一下HDR的知识，目前从事HEVC视频编码，主要关注视频编码方面的应用。

  From wikipedia:

  HDR images often don't use fixed ranges per color channel—other than for traditional images—to represent many more colors over a much wider dynamic range. For that purpose, they don't use integer values to represent the single color channels (e.g., 0-255 in an 8 bit per pixel interval for red, green and blue) but instead use a floating point representation. Common are 16-bit (half precision) or 32-bit floating pointnumbers to represent HDR pixels. However, when the appropriate transfer function is used, HDR pixels for some applications can be represented with as few as 10–12 bits for luminance and 8 bits for chrominance without introducing any visible quantization artifacts.^[17][20]

  HDR问题：

HDR一般都会有

或者更高数量级的亮度只能存在电脑里，而一般的显示器只能表示

个亮度数量级，用256个数字来模拟

所能表示的信息，这种模拟的方法就是HDR技术核心内容之一，学名叫Tone-Mapping [1]   。用Tone-mapping压缩以后，我们所合成的HDR影像就能很好的在显示器上显示了，能给人以震撼人心的效果。

Tone-Mapping 色调映射

传统图像通常经常针对人类视觉系统进行编码（最大化保存在固定数据位中的可视信息），这些编码通常称作“伽玛编码”或者“gamma校正”。保存在高动态范围图像中的数据经常是线性的，这就意味着它们表示亮度或者radiance的相对或者绝对值（gamma 1.0）。

transfer function.

在光学中调制传递函数描述的是光学系统传递对比度的能力

gama校正： 将亮度进行非线性运算，典型的为幂函数。

Dynamic ranges of common devices

Device	Stops	Contrast
LCD	9.5	700:1 (250:1 – 1750:1)
Negative film (Kodak VISION3)	13[7]	8192:1
Human eye	10–14[8]	1024:1 – 16384:1
DSLR camera (Nikon D800)	14.4[9]	21744:1

最后需要结合LDR定义和Human eye的定义，确定HDR的定义。

有几个技术： tone mapping  transfer function (进一步确认)，貌似视频编码器只要10-12bit编码即可。

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma_correction

• Knee function information SEI message, provides information on how to convert from one dynamic range to a different dynamic range.^[66] An example would be to compress the upper range of high dynamic range (HDR) video that has a luminance level of 800 cd/m2 for output on a 100 cd/m2 display.^[78] Multiple knee function processes can be supported for different display scenarios.^[66]

HDR的三个问题：

First, the gamma function that maps linear light to a specific code value for a display screen needs to be updated. The current system was originally designed to support the display output capabilities of an old-style cathode ray tube (CRT) set. Now that newer screens can display much brighter light, the coding system has to be adapted.

Second, there needs to be a standardized way of signaling a television receiver when the content being transmitted is HDR. That will require defining new metadata sets and teaching the systems involved in video delivery what that metadata means and how to respond to it.

Third and finally, the industry will have to decide how new HDR signals are carried. There is discussion about using a layered approach, which could create different levels of video quality for transmission. This would potentially let even non-HDR TV sets receive HDR content, which would be like enabling a standard-definition TV to receive HD channels, albeit without the HD quality.

dolby....

http://www.dolby.com/us/en/technologies/dolby-vision.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/01/12/tv-hdr-4k-ces-2015-netflix_n_6455936.html