Video
Colour Space (Rec.709 / Rec.2020 / DCI-P3)
01 — Definition
A defined set of primaries, white point and transfer function that fixes how colour values map to real colours. Rec.709 is the HD/SDR standard; Rec.2020 is the wide gamut container for UHD/HDR, larger than any current display can fully show; DCI-P3, digital cinema, sits between the two. Content authored in one space and then displayed assuming another comes out over- or under-saturated, with shifted hues.
02 — In the field
Tag and interpret content in the same colour space end to end. Rec.709 content shown as Rec.2020 looks oversaturated and garish (narrow primaries stretched into wide ones); Rec.2020 content shown as Rec.709 looks undersaturated and washed out. Set the media server, the processor and the wall to one agreed space before grading.