Introduction
Some users report that their clip looks “washed out” or “pale” in Shotcut compared to media players. This is often because the clip is encoded as High Dynamic Range (HDR).
Shotcut can not correctly edit HDR clips directly. However, HDR clips can be converted to a standard format that Shotcut can edit.
Identifying HDR Clips
To identify HDR clips in Shotcut, open the clip and view the Properties panel. In the properties panel, look for the “Color transfer” field in the Video tab.
The following Color transfer types are HDR:
- ITU-R BT.2020
- SMPTE ST2084 (PQ)
- SMPTE ST428
Converting HDR Clips
When opening HDR clips in Shotcut, you may be prompted to convert the file. If you are not prompted, follow these steps:
- Click on the “Convert…” button in the Properties panel. The Convert button will open a dialog.
- Open the “Advanced” section of the dialog
- Ensure that the “Convert to BT.709 colorspace” checkbox is checked
- Click “OK” to start the conversion
After the conversion is complete, the clip will be replaced with the converted clip.
