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HDR for broadcasters

Work natively in Rec. 2100 HLG (Hybrid Log Gamma) in Premiere Pro.

HDR offers wider color and light ranges that are closer to real life. With Rec.2100 HLG color space support in Premiere Pro, broadcasters can work with more vibrant and dynamic content.

Apple ProRes and Sony XAVC Intra codecs are both fully color managed and GPU accelerated throughout the HDR pipeline in Premiere Pro. This is not just one feature; this is a set of features that allows you to import, edit, and export HLG content in Premiere Pro with a focus on professional broadcast workflows.

The following codecs are currently supported in Premiere Pro.

Codec

Wrapper

Transfer function

Apple ProRes

  • 422 HQ

  • 4444

.MOV 

HLG / PQ 

Sony XAVC-Intra

  • Class 100

  • Class 200

  • Class 300

  • Class 480

.MXF 

HLG

Before you begin

System requirements

Proper HDR monitoring requires dedicated I/O hardware and an HDR compliant reference monitor or UHD television hooked up using SDI or HDMI 2.0 or greater. 

Using AJA?

Using BlackMagic Design?

 To improve performance, deselect unused video devices

Import HLG content into Premiere Pro

  1. In the Lumetri Scopes panel, select the Wrench icon, and set Colorspace to Automatic.

    Setting the color space in the Lumetri Scopes panel
    Setting the color space in the Lumetri Scopes panel

  2. Import HLG media (File > Import) into Premiere Pro.

  3. Drag a clip from the Media Browser or the Project panel on to the timeline.

    Premiere Pro automatically sets the new working space to Rec.2100 HLG. Lumetri Scopes also automatically switches to the correct color space based on the selected sequence or media.

    Color working space in Premiere Pro
    Color working space in Premiere Pro

    Lumetri scopes displaying the color space
    Lumetri scopes displaying the color space

Preview rendering

If effects or adjustments are added that require rendering for smooth playback, you can render the sequence while maintaining HDR range and color space.  When a sequence is set to the HLG color space, the video previews are automatically set to ProRes HQ at 1920 x 1080. 

Choose ProRes 4444 if you want higher quality color encoding. You can also change the video preview file resolution, however, you cannot choose any other codecs for the preview file codec. 

Export sequence

Premiere Pro provides sequence presets for ProRes and XAVC-I. You can also create your own presets especially to get the audio channelization correct for your specific deliverable.  All our presets have Stereo audio. Follow these steps to configure a proper encoding by hand. 

  1. Click Export on the top of the header bar.

  2. In the Export tab, choose the format from the Format drop down option (Quicktime or MXF OP1A).

    Choosing the format
    Choosing the format

  3. Open the Video tab, find the Encoding Settings section, and configure the following settings for your format of choice. 

    Video Codec

    • Apple ProRes 422 HQ 

    • Apple ProRes 4444

    • Apple ProRes 4444 XQ

    HDR Graphics White 

    Don’t change from default (taken from project settings)

    Default (203 – 75% HLG, 58% PQ)

    Render at Maximum Bit Depth 

    ON

    Export Color Space 

    • Rec. 2100 HLG 

    • Rec. 2100 PQ * 

    PQ will do a colorimetric conversion, no tone-mapping

    Depth

    • 16-bpc

    • 16-bpc + alpha 

    Video Codec

    • XAVC HD Intra Class100

    • XAVC HD Intra Class200

    • XAVC 2K Intra Class100

    • XAVC QFHD Intra Class300

    • XAVC QFHD Intra Class480

    • XAVC 4K Intra Class300

    • XAVC 4K Intra Class480

    HDR Graphics White 

    Don’t change from default (taken from project settings)

    Default (203 – 75% HLG, 58% PQ)

    Render at Maximum Bit Depth

    ON

    Export Color Space 

    Rec. 2100 HLG

    Depth

    16-bpc

  4. Click Export.

Frequently asked questions

Have a question or an idea?

Questions about our support for HLG media? Ask our experts in the Premiere Pro community. We'd love to hear from you.

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