Entertainment technology community must collaborate to create immersive experience that meets consumer expectations - A conversation with Claude, Senior Vice President, Content Solutions and Industry Relations, Technicolor In the ever-changing, fast-paced world of film and television, the impact of Ultra-High Definition (UHD) 4K, High Dynamic Range (HDR) and more is forcing the industry to rethink its processes, from planning stages to distribution to the point of consumption. In this Q&A, Technicolor Senior Vice President Claude Gagnon discusses UHD’s impact on the industry, the challenges created by the myriad technologies like UHD and HDR, and how Technicolor’s strategy of an agnostic platform based on standards will enable the industry to more quickly deliver affordable yet high-quality solutions and content to the viewing public.

1. THE FUTURE TRUST
Q&A
Entertainment Technology
Community Must
Collaborate to Create
Immersive Experience
that Meets Consumer
Expectations
A Conversation with
Claude Gagnon
Senior Vice President,
Content Solutions and Industry
Relations, Technicolor

2. A Conversation with
Claude Gagnon
Senior Vice President,
Content Solutions
and Industry Relations,
Technicolor
In the ever-changing, fast-paced world of
film and television, the impact of Ultra-High
Definition (UHD) 4K, High Dynamic Range
(HDR) and more is forcing the industry to
rethink its processes, from planning stages
to distribution to the point of consumption.
In this Q&A, Technicolor Senior Vice
President Claude Gagnon discusses UHD’s
impact on the industry, the challenges
created by the myriad technologies like
UHD and HDR, and how Technicolor’s
strategy of an agnostic platform based on
standards will enable the industry to more
quickly deliver affordable yet high-quality
solutions and content to the viewing public
Q: What is driving demand and interest for High Dynamic
Range (HDR) and how is this contributing to the evolution
of Ultra-High Definition (UHD)?
Claude: There’s a lot of confusion on UHD and HDR. Today,
there’s the impression that UHD 4K is the ultimate solution for
enhancing the consumer entertainment experience. And we
are seeing some interesting activity from serious players in the
industry – such over-the-top (OTT) content providers like Netflix,
who are requesting that more shows be delivered in 4K. The
issues around the development of technologies like 4K and UHD
-- as well as technologies like HDR and Wide Color Gamut,
among others -- are very subtle.
First of all, with the possible exception of 4K/UHD, these
technologies are still in the early stages of their development.
Also, these technologies are evolving and maturing at different
speeds. So while the good news is that very interesting work is
under way and is proceeding at a rapid pace, these technologies
are going to hit the market at different times. While it is true
that 4K is already available today, most of us who observe this
industry closely believe that a truly new experience for consumers
will not be delivered until we see these technologies deployed
together in an integrated manner. This has huge implications for
the timing – as well as the types of devices – for bringing exciting
experiences to consumers.
These technologies also introduce interesting issues that have
to be addressed by the content creator and studio communities.
As these technologies mature, there are ramifications in both the
amount of data that is generated, collected and managed in a 4K/
UHD environment, raising questions about how this will affect
production cycles and timelines. Directors and studio executives
are wrestling with how much more time – if any – they will need
to get their materials together and properly processed. And in the
creative community, there are still many people – some of them
very influential – who are very comfortable with shooting with
traditional still film.
THE FUTURE TRUST technicolor 2

3. A Conversation with
Claude Gagnon
Senior Vice President,
Content Solutions
and Industry Relations,
Technicolor
For instance, many – maybe even most – broadcasters execute
productions on film. Their typical timetable usually calls for 7-8
days of production followed by 21 days of editing. If they move
rapidly to 4K/UHD, the production team needs to understand the
impact this could have on delivery times and the overall process.
The business decision-makers don’t want to hear about the nuts
and bolts of new technological innovation, they just want to know
how long each step will take in a new digital environment and
understand the overall process.
Q: Why would 4K take more time?
Claude: The challenge – which is directly tied to the opportunity
associated with delivering a more enhanced experience -- with
4K/UHD, is that shooting natively in this environment produces
files that are massive. 4K projects are four times more intensive
than today’s 2K standard. The move to 4K results -- not in twice
as much data but -- in four times as much. So everything that you
render, process, extract from visual effects is four times as data
intensive. So, as editors decide what shots they need as they go
throughout the editing process and put their request to our teams
here at Technicolor, we end up exchanging files that can reach as
high as 10 and 12 terabytes of data. And in this business, there’s
a lot of back-and-forth during the editing process.
Q: What role does HDR play in the transition to a more
digital format?
Claude: High Dynamic Range, which increases the spectrum of
light that can be worked with, really does create a significantly
different experience for the viewer. When consumers go to a
movie in the highly controlled setting of theater, they can become
completely immersed in the environment.
HDR, is a technology that I believe can help recreate much of
that experience at home. This is because HDR gives the viewer
a very different perspective in terms of human visual perception
of highlights and lowlights while allowing the viewer to see
interesting detail.
The same is true for the evolution of Wide Color Gamut, which
in many ways does for color – expand the palate of the color
spectrum that can be worked with – what HDR does with light.
Q: How is Technicolor differentiating itself from the rest
of the market, in terms of HDR?
Claude: I believe the big difference between Technicolor
and other players staking a claim in this space is that we are
committed to maintaining an agnostic position in the market.
We are seeking ways to ensure that the process of moving to
4K/UHD, HDR, WCG and other image enhancing technologies
creates a set of win-win relationships across the industry.
That is not the case with players that are pursuing a narrower
– and in our view a less inclusive – approach to bringing these
technologies to market. Dolby technology, for example, is
committing to a 12-bit HDR framework. We do not believe that
12 bit encoding can work well in home and mobile environments.
There’s no way you’re going to push 12 bit HDR through a typical
THE FUTURE TRUST technicolor 3

4. A Conversation with
Claude Gagnon
Senior Vice President,
Content Solutions
and Industry Relations,
Technicolor
telecom, cable pipe or satellite transponder. That is why we are
developing – and advocating for the adoption of -- technology that
can work in 8 bit and 10 bit and 12 bit environments that deliv er
a great entertainment experience in theaters, the home and on
mobile or wearable devices.
Q: So as you move things beyond production and to multiple
screen form factors, it would seem that there needs to be a
common way to deal with all the different distributors. Does
the market see it that way?
Claude: Not yet, and that’s what we’re trying to evangelize. In
the next year, we want to make sure that everybody understands
what we’re doing. At face value, what Dolby is doing is pretty cool.
But there is a much better way to address the next generation of
technologies that deliver immersive and augmented experiences
than the course Dolby is taking; their approach, almost by
definition, creates all sorts of downstream problems.
THE FUTURE TRUST technicolor 4

5. ABOUT TECHNICOLOR
With more than 99 years of experience in entertainment
innovation, Technicolor serves an international base of
entertainment, software, and gaming customers. The company is
a leading provider of production, postproduction, and distribution
services to content creators and distributors. Technicolor is one
of the world’s largest film processors; the largest independent
manufacturer and distributor of DVDs (including Blu-ray Disc);
and a leading global supplier of set-top boxes and gateways. The
company also operates an Intellectual Property and Licensing
business unit.
For more information: www.technicolor.com
Contact Information
Published by the Thought Leadership Team
ritu.asthana@technicolor.com
Technicolor Worldwide
Headquarters
1, Rue Jeanne d’Arc
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www.technicolor.com
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