HDR or Bust
I was re-reading a great article by my friend and noted industry Guru Mr. Anthony ‘Tony” Grimani entitled “The Challenges of Running HDR Via HDMI”:
https://www.residentialsystems.com/features/the-challenges-of-running-hdr-via-hdmi
Truly excellent information and quite prescient, since it was written back in January 2017. But my theater friends take note: his tips-and-tricks to getting the full benefit of HDR-encoded 4K content down the HDMI pipe remain relevant even today.
We at Wolf Cinema always work to help troubleshoot the HDMI installation ‘gotchas’ – and in just about every problematic situation, either the source itself, the AVR in between or the interconnect cabling are substandard and leave the homeowner wondering, “What in H#@l is going on here?” How many times have you heard, “Why am I getting no picture, or at best an intermittent signal from my [4K source]?” Or “Why do I have to switch inputs to watch Apple TV? And why does it take so long to lock onto my 4K Blu-ray player when I want to watch a film with HDR-encoded material?”
We always dial up our best diagnostic discussions, leading with the general inquiry about the HDMI cabling in use. Almost always we point out one of the best industry resources, Jeffrey Boccaccio’s DPL Labs and his HDMI cable testing certifications. Question - does your system cablling meet the 18Gbps torture tests? Visit www.dpllabs.com to see the brands, cable types and even lengths that pass muster.
In this aforementioned article, Mr. Grimani makes a couple of solid recommendations. He stresses the need for you to test your complete system configuration as thoroughly as possible, in your facility prior to reaching the job site. I dare say there’s very few CI teams that actually test the client’s entire system in advance, as its often too difficult a proposition. But I advise that your team at the very least, test the source & AV switching gear with the specific, longer HDMI cable run between the rack and projector. That test alone will help resolve about 95% of the dropouts and lack of signal integrity.
Tony also makes a great point about having serious pre-emptive HDMI/HDR discussions with your client. He writes:
“Don’t make grandiose promises to clients that you can’t keep! Accept that you are going to have issues running HDR over HDMI that are beyond your control. Two words: HDMI waiver. Be really up front in your contracts, and add a disclaimer. Document your expertise–let your clients know that you know what you’re doing. Explain that HDMI is mandatory. The industry has required it, but it’s constantly evolving. This is something no integrator can control. What you need from them is (1) patience and (2) a T&M clause just for HDMI issues. (Ira Friedman has been heralding the merits of T&M for a while now.) You’ll even bill it at cost, or at a reduced rate. If that’s completely unacceptable to a client, be willing to walk. You could actually be saving yourself money in the long run.”
- Anthony Grimani, “The Challenges of Running HDR Via HDMI” – Residential Systems, FEB 2, 2017
No one could have said it better. Let you clients know up front that the HDMI chain can be fraught with problems, especially in our evolving UHD/4K and HDR frontier … but know that our collective team – you the installer, and your Wolf Cinema tech team – will work diligently to resolve any and all issues.
Jim McGall, Wolf Cinema
April 2020