Gamma and BT.1886
BT.1886 for a display with 100 nits white and 0.050 nits black, against a pure power 2.4 curve. At 10% signal BT.1886 gives 0.861 nits and the power curve 0.398 nits, so BT.1886 lifts the shadows by 2.2 times.
BT.1886 is anchored to the display’s own black level, so a higher black lifts the shadows compared with a pure power law. Axes are logarithmic so shadow detail is visible.
Signal type
Black level
White level
Compare with power gamma
- BT.1886 at 10% signal
- 0.861 nits
- Power 2.4 at 10%
- 0.398 nits
- Shadow lift
- 2.2×BT.1886 ÷ power
- Native contrast
- 2,000:1
Show the numbers
| 10% signal | BT.1886 0.861 · power 0.398 nits |
|---|---|
| 25% signal | BT.1886 4.776 · power 3.590 nits |
| 50% signal | BT.1886 20.919 · power 18.946 nits |
| 75% signal | BT.1886 51.842 · power 50.136 nits |
| 100% signal | BT.1886 100.000 · power 100.000 nits |
How to compare it
Terms on this page
Gamma / EOTF
The SDR tone curve: gamma 2.2/2.4, or BT.1886 (the reference SDR EOTF). For HDR the EOTF is PQ (ST 2084) or HLG. ⚖ color.gamma_presets