In the first part, we talked about how 4K and Ultra HD TVs display incredibly detailed images. It seems that there is no room for improvement. But the real magic begins when this clarity meets expanded color.
Imagine that before this, the world on the screen was painted with a good set of colors. Now the artist has the entire palette at his disposal. New standards allow us to convey shades that our eyes see in reality, but which old TVs simply could not reproduce.
It's not just “green” or “red.” . It's the lush green of grass after rain and the deep color of ripe strawberries. The image becomes not only clear, but also surprisingly vivid, voluminous, and emotional. We are on the threshold where the screen ceases to be just a window into another space and becomes its continuation.
Color scheme
The color gamut of a TV is all the colors and shades it can display. Color spaces vary; take a look at the color locus image above, it's quite illustrative.
The smallest triangle shows the Rec.709 color space, which is used in HD televisions. However, our eyes are capable of seeing many more colors than this format can reproduce. There are a couple of good examples of shades that cannot be reproduced within Rec.709: the color of a red fire truck (see photo below) and eggplant color. Rec.709 is simply incapable of reproducing them perfectly—these shades are not included in its “triangle.”
An expanded color gamut allows our TVs to display more colors. In short, red, for example, will have more shades. In the image at the beginning of the article, there are two more triangles (the larger ones) — P3 and Rec.2020, which are color spaces that will soon replace Rec.709. As you can see, the color gamuts are much wider.
Color depth
Another important point is color depth or color bit depth. This is where things get more complicated. TVs do not have an infinite color palette from which to choose and create all possible shades. Each color is assigned a number. Modern TVs use an 8-bit system, which roughly translates to 256 shades for each tone (not exactly, but let's not get into that).
For example, blue number “20” will be very dark (almost black), and blue number 220 will be light blue.
If you multiply them together (combine colors), you get quite a lot — just 8 bits per color can represent 16.7 million shades. It would seem that this is a lot. But it is not enough. Our eyes see several times more.
Comparison of 8-bit and 10-bit grayscale display
Today, televisions and 4K Blu-ray players with a 10-bit system are already being manufactured. This means that each color has 1,024 shades. Much more interesting! The picture turns out to be more natural.
And if we combine improved bit depth and an expanded color gamut, we get a huge leap in “color realism.”
In addition, 8-bit color “description” limits image detail in terms of contrast and brightness.
New formats such as 4K and Ultra HD change not only the clarity of the image, but also the way colors are rendered. Thanks to an expanded color gamut and support for a wider range of shades, screens now display colors closer to how we see them in real life. This means brighter skies, deeper seas, and more natural skin tones. This breakthrough makes watching movies, TV series, and even TV shows much more vivid and realistic. It's not just an improvement in quality—it's a new level of visual experience.
A lot depends on your eyes
I have said many times that TVs with LED backlighting (including those with QD quantum dot technology) produce rich, bright colors and more accurate color reproduction. Essentially, it's like painting the same picture, but with more expensive, higher-quality paints.
It's all about our perception of colors. LED backlighting itself provides a narrower spectrum of light compared to the fluorescent lamps that were previously used in LCD TVs. In the case of QD TVs, the spectrum becomes even more accurate. The result is a very pure, desired shade. And the “purer” the tone, the brighter it appears — such is the nature of our vision. For example, a less “concentrated” red on older TVs will appear less bright than on LED TVs, and even more so on QD models. The result is a more accurate reproduction of the colors intended by the content creators.
However, there is also a reverse effect. The purer the color, the more likely it is that people will see it differently. There's no getting around this; each of us has our own unique eye characteristics. There are no significant differences, but there are some differences. In other words, I may see a completely realistic red (as in real life), while the same color may not seem as realistic to you. And we are both right.
Remember the story about the dress? Some people saw it as white and gold, while others saw it as blue and black. That's where the problem lies. None of us can know for sure how another person sees a color; it's all subjective.
Does this mean that the same model of a new TV can receive both negative and positive reviews simply because everyone sees colors differently? That may be the case, but I think manufacturers will solve the problem and find that sweet spot where everyone sees “good” colors. I hope we won't be watching the same movie and arguing about color reproduction quality.
About 4K Blu-ray discs
As for the new 4K Blu-ray discs, everything is more or less fine here. The same disc can store information that will be displayed differently depending on the type of TV — if you play the disc on a “regular” 4K TV, the video will be played within the Rec.709 standard, but if you watch the same disc on a TV with extended color reproduction, the content (video) will change according to the format.
Panasonic's 4K Blu-Ray player prototype
In short, special 4K Blu-ray discs for enhanced color reproduction will not be necessary. That's a plus.
Rec. 2025 or DCI P3
There is a lot of debate and discussion about the new standards right now. On the one hand, Rec.2020 has many more colors than Rec.709, but on the other hand, the industry is not yet ready to transition to Rec.2020. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? I think it's something to strive for, so it's a good thing. Most likely, television will transition from Rec.709 to the DCI P3 standard. This is the color space used in modern movie theaters. The standard is already well known to studios, and there is a high probability that remastered versions of old films will soon appear, adapted to the new standard.
Although the likelihood of transitioning to P3 is higher, this does not mean that Rec.2020 will be forgotten—first DCI P3, then Rec.2020. I think that transitioning from one format to another will not be too difficult; it's like adding a new soundtrack to footage that has already been shot.
Why now?
All this talk about an expanded color gamut has been going on for years. Some time ago, the xvYCC (aka x.v.Color) color space standard appeared — a way to combine an expanded color gamut with a regular HD signal. However, it was never implemented. Why will everything change now?
The boundary between the capabilities of HDMI versions 1.4b and 2
Because everything has gone digital now, and streaming content is easier to improve. HDMI 2.0 has arrived, and it also plays a role—its high bandwidth allows more information to be transmitted, which simplifies the task. Of course, I can't say that the process is as easy as a summer stroll in the park, but it's definitely easier than it used to be.
So, new color reproduction capabilities such as HDR10+ and Dolby Vision are not just about increasing brightness. They are a fundamentally different approach to how we see colors and contrast on the screen. They allow more shades to be displayed, making the picture not just bright, but deep and realistic. Shadows become detailed, and the brightest areas do not turn into a white spot.
This evolution is gradually changing the entire chain, from content shooting to the TV in your living room. Viewers are beginning to perceive image quality in a new way, paying attention to details that simply could not be shown before. This forces filmmakers and TV series creators to pay even more attention to working with light and color.
Essentially, we're talking about a new visual language. 4K and 8K resolution sets the level of detail, while extended dynamic range and color spaces bring that detail to life. Together, they create an impression that goes beyond just a “very clear picture,” bringing a sense of volume and reality to the viewing experience.
