Now, do a YouTube search for “hdr 5.1” and try to find a video that is A) not a movie trailer, demo, or test; and B) actually shows HDR and 5.1 in the player’s Settings menu. There are some game captures and ambience clips, but I mean ordinary people making videos about their experiences and telling stories. I found a DIY music video, which is fantastic! Producing content of this caliber has been too difficult and perceived as too expensive. It does not help that Microsoft and Apple make surround sound setup hidden and tricky. And HDR for computer monitors and laptops are still fairly uncommon.
This video was:
recorded with GoPro MAX and HERO cameras – less than $500 each,
edited in Shotcut 25.05 (development & testing),
previewing on a 42" 4K HDR (800 nits) Samsung TV I bought in 2018 for about $650,
using a Blackmagic Design DeckLink Mini Monitor 4K that I bought this year for less than $200, and
playing through a Sony AV receiver I bought in 2018 for less than $200.
Maybe you think that is a lot, but many already have some of these things. It probably costs less than what you would have guessed you need.
Loved it, Dan. I’m so glad you got under the bridge OK! You got some speed up there towards the end! Not bad for the “50’s - 60’s novice class”! Wonderful stuff.
Not all of the video was shot in HDR. The last 1/3 (racing POV) was shot in Rec. 709 SDR. The video that has the “HDR” sticker in the top left was actually shot in HLG HDR. I experimented to include the SDR in the HDR in a satisfactory manner. There were several experiments in the video, which was also testing for the next release. But more important is the story transcends the technology.
I’d opt for this camera
The walking video could have been shot with any sort of high quality camera that records 10-bit log, but that misses a point of my video and accompanying post. I read an article about HLG HDR that called it “instant HDR,” and I think that is a good way to think about it. I do not like to record in log color because I do not have the time and patience to color grade every clip. Heck, I don’t even want to edit everything I watch or share! I like being able to cast a video from my phone to my TV, and it plays nearly correct in HDR on the TV.
Some professional content creators and enthusiasts are quick to inform that you are doing it wrong. It must be shot in log and color graded on an expensive, caibrated professional monitor. Likewise, the audio must be professionally engineered for surround. I know it can be better that way, but that is not me, and I reject that it must. I am forging my own inexpensive path to record and quickly edit for 4K HDR with surround.
The surround in this video was not very interesting. Much of it is wind noise, which can add some ambience. There is a saying: “the best camera is the one you have with you”. Zoom has an affordable spatial audio recorder I have not tried, but my MAX is more rugged and mounts more easily to all my other stuff with GoPro mounts. I have a different video that is a better surround example, and I think the audio quality is good albeit some wind noise.
Nice 
