FORT LEE, NJ—Leader Instruments plans to showcase three new additions to the feature set of its ZEN range of test and measurement tools at the 2024 NAB Show, April 14-17 in Las Vegas.
Leader’s ZEN Series comprises the LV5600 UHD/HD/SD SDI/IP waveform monitor and LV7600 equivalent rasterizer, LV5300A portable 12G/3G/HD/SD-SDI waveform monitor with eye-pattern and jitter measurement, plus the LV5350 waveform monitor and the LV7300 rasterizer. Top of the ZEN range is the LV5600 which provides all the facilities needed to monitor UHD/HD/SD SDI as well as video-over-IP signals seamlessly in a true-hybrid operating environment.
Housed in a half-rack width 3U desktop chassis with a touchscreen front panel display and discrete physical buttons, the LV5600 includes test pattern generation, eye-pattern display, closed-caption monitoring, CIE color chart, high dynamic range measurement, focus assist, adjustable screen layout, tally interface, 4K/UHD operation, 25 gigabit/s IP input and 12G-SDI interfaces. SMPTE 2022-6, SMPTE 2022-7 and SMPTE 2110-10, 20, 22, 30, 31 and 40 protocols are all supported. ZEN Series instruments can be expanded or upgraded easily as new firmware becomes available.
New 3D LUT import for HDR to SDR and SDR to HDR conversion
New for the Leader ZEN Series is an integral bidirectional conversion tool which allows HDR content to be viewed in SDR and vice versa. Processing is based on the desired 3D color lookup table which can be imported via plug-in USB memory.
The new 3D LUT capabilities will simplify live production workflows by integrating HDR/SDR conversion for applications such as camera shading and HDR supervision. On-set DITs will be able to integrate 3D LUTs instead of relying on external LUT boxes. Postproduction colorists can view the 3D LUTs for OTT and OTA deliverables prior to creating the final master.
New SDR ‘Full Range’ display
SDR Full Range is becoming a popular workflow style for digital cinematography and television drama production, not least in Hollywood. SDR as normally transmitted by broadcast television channels encompasses luminance code value levels 64 to 940 (Narrow / Legal Range) of the 1024 maximum which can be accommodated in a 10 bit digital stream.
SDR Full Range encompasses code value levels 4 to 1019, allowing higher dynamic range to be delivered without requiring the adoption of full HDR at any point in the signal flow from initial production to home viewing. Leader’s ZEN Series already provides the tools necessary for SDR and HDR test and measurement.
This new feature extends SDR Full Range support to display black error, CIE, gamut error, histogram, level error, audio/video timing offset, noise level, test signals, vector and waveform. Also fully supported for SDR Full Range are CINELITE and CINEZONE, five-bar, frame capture (DPX, TIFF) and image quality adjustment.
New ARRI and RED camera tools added to Leader CINEZONE
Leader is adding support for ARRI and RED cameras to its industry-proven CINEZONE real-time false colour exposure display. These new facilities are an expansion of the CINEZONE/CINELITE toolset which comes as standard on all Leader ZEN Series models. CINELITE is a built-in light meter that gives on-set production and postproduction facilities the ability to analyze a single pixel or small area of the image in either luminance, RGB, code values or f-stops. CINEZONE overlays false colors on the image.
It colors the strong and weak areas of brightness on the picture display so an operator can judge the luminance conditions of the entire screen. This helps confirm that a camera is reproducing what is expected. The ARRI (User-A) and RED (User-R) features replicate the false color display tools that were previously only visible on the ARRI or RED cameras so they can be viewed by production staff without interfering with the camera setup and operation. Both CINEZONE and CINELITE can be displayed simultaneously on all Leader ZEN Series products.
Leader will be in Booth C5521 in the Central Hall of the LVCC.
