View, Edit and Grade HDR and iPhone 12 and 13 Dolby Vision footage in Davinci Resolve 17.4.1 using Apple Pro Display XDR - It finally works! It used to be that the only way you could edit HDR in Resolve was with an expensive external HDR monitor connected via a BlackMagic Decklink or Ultrastudio. The big change in 17.4.1 is that we can now see HDR and grade using Apple XDR displays. This video explains how, including how to export Dolby Vision footage. (A further change that came out in version 18.0 is that Resolve can now export Dolby Vision 8.4 without the need for Apple Compressor. At the time of filming this video that was not possible, so make sure to check the IMPORTANT UPDATE note at the bottom.)

Table of contents.

00:00 - Intro
01:59 - Configuring Resolve Preferences, and your Project Settings
03:37 - Importing iPhone Dolby Vision clips and adding to Timeline
04:30 - What happens if you don't have an HDR display
04:47 - Using a LUT to see HDR clips if you don't have an HDR monitor
05:48 - Editing the Timeline
06:12 - How Resolve Color Management works to convert Color Spaces automatically
07:08 - Importing S-Cinetone, HLG and S-Log3 clips from a Sony Alpha 1
08:21 - Exporting in HDR and Dolby Vision
08:35 - Why are we using Compressor? Because Dolby Labs tells us to do that.
09:00 - Exporting the intermediate ProRes 422 HQ file in HDR

10:11 - Using Compressor to add Dolby Vision dynamic metadata (NOTE - This step can now be done in Resolve as of the release of Resolve version 18 - see IMPORTANT UPDATE BELOW.)

11:57 - Comparing Dolby Vision encoded video to standard HDR
12:23 - How to grade iPhone Dolby Vision video in SDR / Rec.709 color space
13:19 - Fixing the overly bright footage
14:14 - Uploading to YouTube
15:25 - Uploading to Vimeo
16:13 - Conclusion

IMPORTANT UPDATE: Since issuing this video a few months back, there are some updates that are good news:

1. Black Magic have released Resolve 18 beta 6, which can now export Dolby Vision 8.4 encoded video on M1 Macs, without needing to go through the Apple Compressor step. In the Color page for your Project Preferences, make sure to check "Enable Dolby Vision". Then in the export page, select H.265 as the video format to export, and then expand the Advanced Settings, and where it says Dolby Vision Profile, select "Profile 8.4". These Dolby Vision files can be uploaded directly to Vimeo. (As of today, YouTube doesn't understand Dolby Vision, so it is best to stick with a HDR export using HLG.)

2. Chrome on Mac OS using Apple Silicon M1 chips, now does playback HDR footage exported with HLG correctly. This looks nearly as good as Dolby Vision encoded footage.

iPhone 13 and Sony Alpha 1 video clips used in this video can be downloaded here, together with the final exported videos:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/sdp4jf0hjs...

Link to YouTube HDR and Vimeo Dolby Vision exports from this tutorial:
YouTube:    • iPhone Dolby Vision footage edited in...  
Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/643322193
(Remember to open these links in Safari, not Chrome!)

Note that Vimeo responded to my support request and issued a fix for the problem that I encountered on Dec 1st 2021. Thanks to the Vimeo team for their responsiveness.

Some HDR terminology explanations:
SDR = Standard Dynamic Range - typically this means the Rec.709 color space, with a Gamma curve of 2.4

HDR = High Dynamic Range
But there are two standard Transfer Functions for HDR :
HLG (Hybrid Log Gamma - sometimes referred to as Rec.2100 HLG)
PQ (SMPTE 2084 - sometimes referred to as Rec.2100 ST2084)

Either of these file types can then be enhanced by adding Dolby Vision encoding. That adds additional dynamic metadata to improve the quality of the image when displayed
en_US#_Toc82103537

The iPhone uses Rec.2100 HLG with Dolby Vision encoding. Most popular mirrorless cameras, such as Sony or Canon, use Rec.2100 HLG, but they don't have Dolby Vision encoding.

Dolby Labs FAQ page on Dolby Vision :
https://professionalsupport.dolby.com...

Here is a good explanation of Color Space and Gamma/Transfer Function:    • Rec.709 vs Rec.2020 vs Rec.2100 The S...