ITU-R BT.1886

ITU-R BT.1886 is the reference EOTF of SDR-TV. It is a gamma 2.4 transfer function (a power law with a 2.4 exponent) considered as a satisfactory approximation of the response characteristic of CRT to electrical signal. It has been standardized by ITU in March 2011. It is used for Rec. 709 (HD-TV) and Rec. 2020 (UHD-TV).

Definition

BT.1886 EOTF is as follows:

$L=a(\max[(V b),0])^{\gamma }$where

• $L$ is the screen luminance, in cd/m².
• $V$ is the input video signal level, in the range $\left[0,1\right]$.
• $\gamma$ is the exponent of the power function and equal to 2.4
• $a=({L_{W}}^{1/\gamma }-{L_{B}}^{1/\gamma })^{\gamma }$ is the variable for user gain (legacy “contrast” control)
• $b={\frac {{L_{B}}^{1/\gamma }}{{L_{W}}^{1/\gamma }-{L_{B}}^{1/\gamma }}}$ is the variable for user black level lift (legacy “brightness” control)
• $L_{W}$ is the screen luminance for white, in cd/m².
• $L_{B}$ is the screen luminance for black, in cd/m².

According to ITU, for a better match, $L_{B}$ can be set to 0.1 for moderate black level settings (e.g. 0.1 cd/m²) or to 0 for lower black levels (e.g. 0.01 cd/m²).

An alternative EOTF has also been provided by ITU for the cases a more precise match of CRT characteristics is required.

See also

• Gamma correction
• Transfer functions in imaging