Technicolor and Cobalt Digital tackle mixed-format HDR gap in live sports

At NAB 2026, Advanced HDR by Technicolor and Cobalt Digital announced an enhancement to the Cobalt Digital 9904 processing platform adding static diffuse white capability for mixed-format live production. The joint solution applies frame-by-frame dynamic processing to maintain contrast, brightness, and color depth while preserving signal integrity across HDR-to-SDR format conversions, supporting both SDI and SMPTE ST 2110 infrastructures.

The problem the update addresses is common in live sports: a single production chain may carry HDR camera feeds, SDR advertising inserts, and graphics overlays in the same signal simultaneously. "Live production environments, particularly in sports, now operate in mixed-format conditions where HDR video, SDR advertising, and graphics overlays intersect in real time," said Ryan Wallenberg, VP Engineering at Cobalt Digital. Frame-by-frame processing — rather than a static conversion profile — is required to avoid visible artifacts at the transitions.

A separate announcement at the show confirmed that Advanced HDR by Technicolor is being integrated into ATSC 3.0 converter boxes from RCA, ZapperBox by BitRouter, MyVeloTV, Zinwell, and ADTH via Amlogic platforms. Technicolor also demonstrated single-stream simultaneous HDR and SDR delivery, and HDR-within-SDR-bandwidth delivery using existing 8-bit AVC workflows — both addressing operators who need to serve mixed-format audiences without duplicating distribution infrastructure.