UHD Alliance Premium Certified
UHD Alliance Premium Certified, or UHDAPC ("Yoo'd-a-pac") as I've decided to call it, is the UHD Alliance's way of pointing out TVs that conform to the latest in TV technologies, like HDR, WCG and so on.
They're certainly not the first to come up with a certification program, but unlike others (THX's, most notably) the UHD Alliance has shared exactly what a TV must match to be UHDAPC. It reads like a shopping list for anyone looking to buy a high-end TV in 2016 (and beyond):
Resolution: 3,840x2,160 pixels,
otherwise known as 4K.
Color depth: 10-bit (important for HDR, as most other TVs are just 8-bit).
Color gamut: Wide, including the ability to show at least 90 percent of the P3 color gamut (check out
Ultra HD 4K TV color, part 1 and
part 2 for more on this).
High dynamic range: Specifically the ability to use
SMPTE ST2084's electro-optical transfer function, which Dolby helped create (check out
What is HDR? for more info).
Minimum brightness and contrast ratios: This is probably the most interesting one, as it's great for consumers and shows the different players here at work. There are two possible minimum specs. A minimum brightness of 1,000 nits, along with a black level of a maximum of 0.05 nits (20,000:1 contrast ratio),
or a minimum brightness of 540 nits, along with a black level of a maximum of 0.0005 (1,080,000:1).
The first option is clearly for LCDs, and can only be obtained by some sort of dynamic backlight (ideally,
local dimming). The second option is almost certainly there because LG insisted, as there's only one technology that can do that kind of contrast ratio, and LG is the only company that current sells it:
OLED. Regardless, for HDR to be worthwhile it needs a big contrast ratio, so this requirement in the UHDAPC is key. It's not explained
how these numbers are measured, but one step at a time.