Apple, Google Launch New HDR Standard 'Eclipsa Video'

Apple and Google have quietly joined forces again, this time targeting HDR (high dynamic range) imaging technology. The two companies joined hands with NBC Universal and the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers SMPTE to jointly launch a new HDR standard "Eclipsa Video", which is expected to become one of the open source alternatives to Dolby Vision in the future.

The core of HDR technology is to make the bright parts, dark parts and contrast in the picture appear closer to the real world, while retaining more details. However, because the screen brightness capabilities of different devices vary greatly, even when watching the same HDR video, color distortion, overexposure of bright areas, or lack of detail in dark areas may occur. Eclipsa Video was born to solve such problems.

Eclipsa Video two key technologies

The official specification name of Eclipsa Video is "SMPTE ST 2094-50", which mainly introduces two key technologies. First, it can establish a unified brightness baseline for SDR content and reserve additional brightness space for HDR content. In this way, even if HDR and SDR content appear on the same screen at the same time, consistent and natural brightness performance can be maintained.

Another technology allows content creators to add display instructions directly to video files. Even on displays with limited brightness capabilities, the system can automatically adjust dark areas and midtones to retain the details of the picture while maintaining the desired effect of highlight areas.

Google said that the biggest feature of Eclipsa Video is that it puts the control of picture presentation back into the hands of the creator. By pre-setting the display methods under different brightness environments, no matter what device the audience uses or what environment they are in, they can see the image effect that matches the creator's original intention as much as possible.

Device certification for Eclipsa Video will be handled by HDR10+ Technologies LLC. Since this standard can be seamlessly integrated with HDR10+, products that have passed both certifications will be promoted under the name "Eclipsa Video powered by HDR10+" in the future.

In the initial stage of certification, mobile phones will be the main focus

The certification program will initially focus on smartphones, and then gradually expand to tablets, laptops and other devices. The first certified products are expected to be available later this year. Google has also confirmed that future versions of the Chrome browser will support the SMPTE ST 2094-50 standard to further enhance the HDR viewing experience of web videos.

Since both Google and Apple will launch a new generation of flagship phones in the second half of the year, including the Google Pixel 10 series and the Apple iPhone 18 Pro series, the outside world is also very curious about which phone will be the first new phone to support Eclipsa Video.

It is worth mentioning that Google and Samsung have previously jointly launched the spatial audio standard "Eclipsa Audio", which is regarded as an open source alternative to Dolby Atmos.