Dolby Vision Professional Glossary

This glossary provides a consistent, easy-to-use reference for quickly understanding Dolby Vision terminology and concepts without external research.

Oct 1, 2026
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Heesuk S, 10/1/2026 6:58 PM

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Active Image Area

The visible content region excluding letterbox blanking areas where subtitles and graphics should be positioned for proper display.

AV1 (AOMedia Video 1)

A standard for video compression and transmission of ultra-high definition video over the internet released by the Alliance for Open Media in 2018.

Burnt-in Subtitles

Text overlays permanently embedded into video content at approximately 80–90 nits within the active image area.

Chroma Weight

A color saturation control preserving detail in bright saturated areas during HDR to SDR conversion.

Cinema Trims

Colorist metadata adjustments specific to theatrical targets that operate independently from home trims without cross-target interference.

CMU (Content Mapping Unit)

A processing system that applies Dolby Vision metadata to adapt HDR content for different display capabilities.

CMv2.9 (Content Mapping Version 2.9)

Content mapping algorithm version 2.9 providing six trim controls for modifying mapped images using Level 2 metadata storage, referred to in Dolby Professional Support as CMv2.9.

CMv4.0 (Content Mapping Version 4.0)

Content mapping version 4.0 offering improved algorithms and 21 trim controls with Level 8 metadata for enhanced precision.

Code Value

A digital representation in a bit system corresponding to specific luminance output levels in ST.2084 PQ encoding.

Color Pipeline

A process for managing color transformations between different devices and color spaces.

Color Volume

A three-dimensional representation of displayable colors combining gamut and luminance capabilities.

IMP (Complete Interoperable Master Package)

An initial IMF package that contains all picture and sound elements needed to assemble playback and serves as the foundation for supplemental packages.

CPL (Composition Playlist)

An XML document specifying the assembly order of track files for content presentation.

Content Intelligence

A dynamic video enhancement system that analyzes viewing context, content characteristics, and ambient conditions to deliver optimized picture quality automatically.

CM (Content Mapping)

Process emulating Dolby Vision display mapping by tone mapping HDR images to specified target displays.

Contrast Ratio

A measurement that compares peak luminance with the darkest capability of a camera or display and is often expressed numerically or in stops.

DCI (Digital Cinema Initiatives)

A 48-nit theatrical display specification using P3 color space, Gamma 2.6 transfer function, and a white point based on a xenon bulb projector (~6300K).

DCP (Digital Cinema Package)

A distribution format containing encrypted and packaged content for theatrical exhibition systems.

Diffuse White

A reference luminance level used in HDR imaging to represent non-specular white.

Display Mapping

A process that adapts HDR content to specific display capabilities using dynamic metadata.

Dolby Cinema

A premium cinema exhibition format combining high-brightness projection, expanded color gamut, and advanced image processing, with a 108-nit theatrical display target using P3 color space, D65 white point, and the ST.2084 transfer function.

Dolby Image Engine Max

A premium display processing solution optimized for high-end televisions, providing enhanced visual quality through advanced contrast, color, and clarity technologies.

Dolby Vision

HDR imaging technology developed by Dolby Laboratories that combines high dynamic range, wide color gamut, and dynamic metadata to deliver enhanced color, contrast, and brightness across devices.

Dolby Vision 2

An enhanced video technology suite that employs precision display targeting to deliver improved image fidelity across diverse display device specifications.

Dolby Vision 2 Max

A premium Dolby Vision technology tier featuring advanced display optimization capabilities designed for high-performance televisions with enhanced brightness and frame rate specifications.

Dolby Vision Analysis

A computational process that analyzes a source's luminance and color characteristics to generate dynamic metadata used for content mapping.

Dolby Vision Composer

A signal reconstruction module within a Dolby Vision decoder that uses metadata to reconstruct video frames from decoded base-layer and enhancement-layer inputs.

Dolby Vision Master

A Dolby Vision deliverable consisting of PQ-encoded HDR content with accompanying dynamic metadata, delivered as a sidecar XML file, embedded within an IMF package, or as a Dolby Vision IMF, with format varying by workflow version (CMv2.9 or CMv4.0).

Dynamic Metadata (Vision)

Content-specific data, generated on a frame-by-frame or scene-by-scene basis, that enables consistent image reproduction across different display capabilities.

eCMU (External Content Mapping Unit)

A standalone external workstation connected to color correction systems via video and data networks for Dolby Vision content mapping.

EOTF (Electro-Optical Transfer Function)

A mathematical transformation that determines how digital codes are converted to display light levels.

Frame-by-Frame Metadata

Temporal metadata enabling shot-specific adjustments and transitions requiring frame-level precision in Dolby Vision content creation.

Full Range

A video signal format using the complete 0–1023 code value range for 10-bit video monitoring and rendering.

AVC (H.264 / Advanced Video Coding)

An MPEG standard (also known as Advanced Video Coding or ISO/IEC 14496-10) for video compression most commonly used for high-definition video including Blu-ray.

HEVC (H.265 / High Efficiency Video Coding)

An MPEG standard (also known as High Efficiency Video Coding or ISO/IEC 23008-2) for video compression extending support to 10-bit ultra-high-definition video.

HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) Tunneling

A preview feature that enables direct transmission of Dolby Vision metadata through HDMI connections to compatible displays.

HDR (High Dynamic Range)

An imaging specification that enables extended contrast ratios between black and white levels in digital video content, offering a broader range than conventional Standard Dynamic Range (SDR).

HDR (High Dynamic Range) Master

A PQ-encoded high dynamic range image without metadata that serves as the foundation for Dolby Vision content creation.

HDR10

An open-source HDR video format defined by specific bit depth, color primaries, and static metadata characteristics.

HLG (Hybrid Log-Gamma)

A high dynamic range standard format developed jointly by the BBC and NHK defined in ARIB STD-B67 and ETSI TS 101 154.

Home Targets

Dolby Vision mapping destinations for consumer devices including 100-nit SDR and various HDR display specifications.

iCMU (Internal Content Mapping Unit)

A content mapping unit built directly into partner color grading systems eliminating the need for an external workstation.

IMF (Interoperable Master Format)

A standardized file-based framework for managing and distributing multiple versions of audiovisual content.

IMF Package (Interoperable Master Format)

A file-based container incorporating picture, sound, timed text, and metadata files for content version management and international distribution.

Input Transform (Color Space)

A transform applied to source material — such as camera native footage, CGI, or archival content — to convert it from its input color space into the working color space, enabling consistent image processing throughout the color pipeline.

L1 (Level 1 Metadata)

Base level data generated during Dolby Vision analysis containing minimum, average and maximum luminance values for each shot.

L2 (Level 2 Metadata)

Adjustment parameters storing trim control settings for CMv2.9 content mapping.

L3 (Level 3 Metadata)

Metadata calculated mathematically from Dolby Vision analysis data and Mid Tone Offset trim control adjustments to provide a global per-shot exposure offset to Level 1 metadata across all display targets, used in CMv4.0 for backward compatibility with CMv2.9.

L5 (Level 5 Metadata)

Timeline aspect ratio metadata recording canvas and image aspect ratio values including blanking and masking information for proper content framing.

L6 (Level 6 Metadata)

Static metadata containing maximum content light level and frame average light level required for HDR10 distribution compatibility.

L8 (Level 8 Metadata)

Device-compatible trim metadata created through colorist trim controls for consumer device display mapping in Dolby Vision workflows for CM4.0.

L9 (Level 9 Metadata)

Metadata describing the color primaries and white point of the mastering monitor, automatically calculated from the mastering display selection made by the colorist during the Dolby Vision content creation process.

Legal Range

A video signal format using a limited range of available code values complying with broadcast video range specifications, as opposed to full range which uses the complete range of code values.

Letterbox Blanking

Black bars that appear at the top and bottom of a display when content has a wider aspect ratio than the screen (letterboxing), or at the left and right sides when content has a narrower aspect ratio than the screen (pillarboxing); subtitles and graphics should not be placed in these regions.

Log Recording

A capture format preserving extended dynamic range by encoding light non-linearly.

Long-play Analysis Mode

A frame-by-frame content analysis method applying temporal filtering between transitions.

Luminance

A photometric measurement expressing light intensity per unit area in a specific direction, typically measured in candelas per square meter (cd/m²), also known as 'nits.'

Mastering Display

The reference monitor selection in Dolby Vision settings that must match actual HDR monitor capabilities during color grading.

Metadata Validation

A quality control step that ensures metadata integrity and compatibility with delivery specifications.

Metafier

A command-line tool for validating Dolby Vision XML metadata integrity and enabling modification without syntax errors across Linux, Mac, and Windows platforms.

Mezzanine

A master delivery format containing full-resolution content and associated metadata for downstream processing.

Mid Contrast Bias

A tone mapping control affecting image contrast specifically in mid tone regions.

Nits

A unit of luminance measurement equivalent to candela per square meter used to describe display brightness in HDR systems.

OETF (Opto-Electronic Transfer Function)

A mathematical function that converts captured light into digital code values in imaging systems.

OPL (Output Profile List)

An IMF component containing standardized media-processing instructions such as scaling, cropping, and audio routing for content adaptation during playback or distribution.

Output Transform (Color Space)

A transform that converts images from the working color space to the output color space for display, sometimes referred to as a viewing transform or display transform, and typically part of a color management system.

P3

A wide color gamut standard for digital cinema covering approximately 45.5 percent of the visible color spectrum.

P3D65

A color specification combining the P3 wide color gamut (used in digital cinema) with the D65 daylight illuminant white point (6500K), widely used in mastering monitors for HDR content creation.

PKL (Packaging List)

An XML metadata component listing all assets and composition playlists within an IMF delivery package; note that the PKL is an IMF component unrelated to a Dolby Vision XML sidecar file.

Rec.2020

ITU color space standard for ultra-high definition television covering approximately 76 percent of the visible color spectrum.

Rec.709

Color gamut standard for SDR television covering approximately 36 percent of the visible color spectrum.

Reference Mode

A display setting disabling automatic adjustments to ensure accurate color and brightness reproduction.

Reference Monitor

A specialized display device that provides accurate color and brightness reproduction used in professional content creation workflows.

SDR (Standard Dynamic Range)

An ITU-R BT.709 signal with a peak luminance of 100 cd/m².

Shot Analysis Mode

A Dolby Vision analysis method that generates metadata on a per-shot basis enabling colorists to manually apply trim controls for different display targets.

LUT (Show Look-Up Table)

A look-up table containing creative and technical elements for consistent HDR and SDR preview visualization on set.

XML Sidecar

A separate XML file containing Dolby Vision metadata delivered alongside the video component for mastering and distribution workflows.

PQ (ST.2084 / Perceptual Quantizer)

An HDR standard transfer function that maps digital code values to absolute display luminance levels based on human visual perception.

IMP (Supplemental Interoperable Master Package)

An IMF package that builds on a delivered complete package by reusing previous assets while adding updated or modified elements.

Tone Mapping

A technique that adapts HDR content to lower dynamic range display capabilities in an effort to maintain a perceptual match to the source.

Track Files

Audio and video essence files stored according to the MXF specification and contained within IMF packages for content delivery.

VRR (Variable Refresh Rate)

An HDMI 2.1 technology that synchronizes display refresh rates with gaming or PC consoles to produce smooth images with minimal lag, frame stutter, or tearing.

WCG (Wide Color Gamut)

A color space specification that provides a larger palette of displayable colors beyond the traditional BT.709 standard.