How to generate synthetic HDR videos in Matlab?

I'd like to generate HDR videos in Matlab. The videos would not be camera-acquired imagery, but instead would be a sequence or animation of typical plots such as 'peaks'. I saw the HDR Toolbox, but it is meant to work with imagery. And there are Matlab tools to create videos from figures like as is done here, but those will be SDR movies since HDR movies need special metadata (here).

Any idea how to create videos in Matlab that include the metadata needed to be HDR videos? I am open to solutions that include external hardware like this, or external translation software to add the HDR metadata to SDR videos.

Answer 1

[Dheeraj]

Hi,

I understand that you want to generate HDR videos from MATLAB for synthetic content. Since MATLAB's built-in functions for video creation are primarily designed for SDR (Standard Dynamic Range) content, you'll need to add HDR metadata separately.

1. Create your HDR content in MATLAB, such as an animated plot or sequence of typical plots like 'peaks'.
2. Save each frame of your HDR content as a separate HDR image file. Common HDR image formats include OpenEXR (.exr) or Radiance HDR (.hdr). MATLAB's “hdrwrite” function can be used to save HDR images.
3. Use MATLAB's “VideoWriter” to create an SDR video from the HDR frames. This step generates SDR content.
4. To add HDR metadata, you might need external tools. Tools like FFmpeg can be used to inject HDR metadata into the SDR video.
5. Ensure that your playback environment supports HDR. Many video players and platforms support HDR content, but make sure your display and software are HDR-compatible.

This approach involves creating an SDR video first and then adding HDR metadata.

You could refer to the below MATLAB documentation on VideoWrite and hdrwrite for better understanding.

https://mathworks.com/help/images/ref/hdrwrite.html

https://in.mathworks.com/help/matlab/ref/videowriter.html

Hope this Helps!