BUG: DV file is showing HDR compatibility when there is no compatibility

[toddke]

I have a DoVi file using the dvhe.05 profile and mediainfo says it has an HDR10 compatible stream. However, according to the DV spec, dvhe.05 does not have any HDR10 compatibility and only IPTPQc2 / IPT color space is supported.

{
  "creatingLibrary": {
    "name": "MediaInfoLib",
    "version": "24.01",
    "url": "https://mediaarea.net/MediaInfo"
  },
  "media": {
    "@ref": "The Princess and the Frog (2009).mkv",
    "track": [
      {
        "@type": "General",
        "UniqueID": "157834335351513454445447395738243045947",
        "VideoCount": "1",
        "AudioCount": "1",
        "TextCount": "1",
        "MenuCount": "1",
        "FileExtension": "mkv",
        "Format": "Matroska",
        "Format_Version": "4",
        "FileSize": "8837263537",
        "Duration": "5845.728",
        "OverallBitRate": "12093978",
        "FrameRate": "23.976",
        "FrameCount": "140157",
        "StreamSize": "1526649",
        "IsStreamable": "Yes",
        "File_Modified_Date": "2025-07-26 19:43:23 UTC",
        "File_Modified_Date_Local": "2025-07-26 12:43:23",
        "Encoded_Application": "mkvmerge v82.0 ('I'm The President') 64-bit",
        "Encoded_Library": "libebml v1.4.5 + libmatroska v1.7.1"
      },
      {
        "@type": "Video",
        "StreamOrder": "0",
        "ID": "1",
        "UniqueID": "9568213501350049563",
        "Format": "HEVC",
        "Format_Profile": "Main 10",
        "Format_Level": "5",
        "Format_Tier": "High",
        "HDR_Format": "Dolby Vision / SMPTE ST 2086",
        "HDR_Format_Version": "1.0 / ",
        "HDR_Format_Profile": "dvhe.05 / ",
        "HDR_Format_Level": "06 / ",
        "HDR_Format_Settings": "BL+RPU / ",
        "HDR_Format_Compatibility": " / HDR10",
        "CodecID": "V_MPEGH/ISO/HEVC",
        "Duration": "5845.715000000",
        "BitRate": "11323837",
        "Width": "3840",
        "Height": "2160",
        "Sampled_Width": "3840",
        "Sampled_Height": "2160",
        "PixelAspectRatio": "1.000",
        "DisplayAspectRatio": "1.778",
        "FrameRate_Mode": "CFR",
        "FrameRate": "23.976",
        "FrameRate_Num": "24000",
        "FrameRate_Den": "1001",
        "FrameCount": "140157",
        "ColorSpace": "YUV",
        "ChromaSubsampling": "4:2:0",
        "BitDepth": "10",
        "Delay": "0.000",
        "Delay_Source": "Container",
        "StreamSize": "8274490815",
        "Default": "Yes",
        "Forced": "No",
        "colour_description_present": "Yes",
        "colour_description_present_Source": "Stream",
        "colour_range": "Limited",
        "colour_range_Source": "Stream",
        "colour_primaries": "BT.2020",
        "colour_primaries_Source": "Stream",
        "transfer_characteristics": "PQ",
        "transfer_characteristics_Source": "Stream",
        "matrix_coefficients": "BT.2020 non-constant",
        "matrix_coefficients_Source": "Stream",
        "MasteringDisplay_ColorPrimaries": "Display P3",
        "MasteringDisplay_ColorPrimaries_Source": "Stream",
        "MasteringDisplay_Luminance": "min: 0.0050 cd/m2, max: 4000 cd/m2",
        "MasteringDisplay_Luminance_Source": "Stream",
        "MaxCLL": "950 cd/m2",
        "MaxCLL_Source": "Stream",
        "MaxFALL": "441 cd/m2",
        "MaxFALL_Source": "Stream"
      },
      {
        "@type": "Audio",
        "StreamOrder": "1",
        "ID": "2",
        "UniqueID": "8546680773257898541",
        "Format": "E-AC-3",
        "Format_Commercial_IfAny": "Dolby Digital Plus with Dolby Atmos",
        "Format_Settings_Endianness": "Big",
        "Format_AdditionalFeatures": "JOC",
        "CodecID": "A_EAC3",
        "Duration": "5845.728000000",
        "BitRate_Mode": "CBR",
        "BitRate": "768000",
        "Channels": "6",
        "ChannelPositions": "Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE",
        "ChannelLayout": "L R C LFE Ls Rs",
        "SamplesPerFrame": "1536",
        "SamplingRate": "48000",
        "SamplingCount": "280594944",
        "FrameRate": "31.250",
        "FrameCount": "182679",
        "Compression_Mode": "Lossy",
        "Delay": "0.000",
        "Delay_Source": "Container",
        "Video_Delay": "0.000",
        "StreamSize": "561189888",
        "Language": "en",
        "ServiceKind": "CM",
        "Default": "Yes",
        "Forced": "No",
        "extra": {
          "ComplexityIndex": "16",
          "NumberOfDynamicObjects": "15",
          "BedChannelCount": "1",
          "BedChannelConfiguration": "LFE",
          "bsid": "16",
          "dialnorm": "-27",
          "compr": "-0.28",
          "acmod": "7",
          "lfeon": "1",
          "dialnorm_Average": "-27",
          "dialnorm_Minimum": "-27",
          "compr_Average": "1.10",
          "compr_Minimum": "-0.86",
          "compr_Maximum": "2.77",
          "compr_Count": "345"
        }
      },
      {
        "@type": "Text",
        "StreamOrder": "2",
        "ID": "3",
        "UniqueID": "10863439835606586168",
        "Format": "UTF-8",
        "CodecID": "S_TEXT/UTF8",
        "Duration": "5586.000000000",
        "BitRate": "80",
        "FrameRate": "0.298",
        "FrameCount": "1667",
        "ElementCount": "1667",
        "StreamSize": "56185",
        "Title": "SDH",
        "Language": "en",
        "Default": "No",
        "Forced": "No"
      },
      {
        "@type": "Menu",
        "extra": {
          "_01_33_19_600": "en:Credits"
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

[cjee21]

That is likely because your file has some flags set incorrectly indicating that it is a HDR10 stream.

See this part:

        "colour_description_present": "Yes",
        "colour_description_present_Source": "Stream",
        "colour_range": "Limited",
        "colour_range_Source": "Stream",
        "colour_primaries": "BT.2020",
        "colour_primaries_Source": "Stream",
        "transfer_characteristics": "PQ",
        "transfer_characteristics_Source": "Stream",
        "matrix_coefficients": "BT.2020 non-constant",
        "matrix_coefficients_Source": "Stream",
        "MasteringDisplay_ColorPrimaries": "Display P3",
        "MasteringDisplay_ColorPrimaries_Source": "Stream",
        "MasteringDisplay_Luminance": "min: 0.0050 cd/m2, max: 4000 cd/m2",
        "MasteringDisplay_Luminance_Source": "Stream",
        "MaxCLL": "950 cd/m2",
        "MaxCLL_Source": "Stream",
        "MaxFALL": "441 cd/m2",
        "MaxFALL_Source": "Stream"

On an official Dolby Vision profile 5 stream, it looks like this:

"colour_description_present":"Yes",
"colour_description_present_Source":"Stream",
"colour_range":"Full",
"colour_range_Source":"Stream",
"colour_primaries":"BT.2020",
"colour_primaries_Source":"Container",
"colour_primaries_Original_Source":"Stream",
"transfer_characteristics":"PQ",
"transfer_characteristics_Source":"Container",
"transfer_characteristics_Original_Source":"Stream",
"matrix_coefficients":"IPT-PQ-C2",
"matrix_coefficients_Source":"Container",
"matrix_coefficients_Original_Source":"Stream",

[toddke]

@cjee21 i don't know the "typical" flag values for dovi streams, but it wouldn't surprise me if there were inconsistencies

in the specific case of dovi, mediainfo should give the profile and level more weight. the dovi spec is very clear that profile 5 streams do not contain any fallback support. as such, mediainfo should never suggest hdr10 fallback for such streams; regardless of contradictory flags elsewhere.

[cjee21]

mediainfo should give the profile and level more weight. the dovi spec is very clear that profile 5 streams do not contain any fallback support

DoVi spec is also very clear on the flags to set for profile 5 so this can be said as an invalid profile 5 stream. So how do we even know for sure that this is a profile 5 stream when there are inconsistencies (at the moment DoVi RPU is not parsed by MediaInfo yet so that profile 5 is just a flag too)? What if it's a HDR10 stream with wrong DoVi metadata flags and not a DoVi stream with incorrect HDR10 flags?

Certain directives must be taken into consideration when using the Dolby Vision bitstream profiles.

• For profile 5:
  • VUI information is optional for a profile 5 bitstream. As of Dolby Vision Profiles and Levels, v1.4 , if VUI are present, there are two options that may be used: 1,2,2,2,0 (original) and 1,9,16,15,0 (preferred). The values of 2 are defined in ITU-T H.265, Annex E Video usability information, where the 2s represent 'unspecified'.
  • Within the Dolby Vision context, a profile 5 bitstream must use perceptual quantization with reshaping for the transfer characteristic, even if setting the transfer characteristic value to 16, uses Dolby Vision previously proprietary IPT color space (now known as IPT-PQ-C2) for color primaries, uses full range for range, and, by default, uses center-left siting for chroma sample location.

Basically, your video stream contains 0,9,16,9,0 instead.

[JeromeMartinez]

I didn't read the full thread yet, just a remark on the last comment:

mediainfo should give the profile and level more weight.

This is not our current choice, HDR info has its own field.

the dovi spec is very clear that profile 5 streams do not contain any fallback support

No problem on that, it is the role of the encoder to comply to the spec.

mediainfo should never suggest hdr10 fallback for such streams; regardless of contradictory flags elsewhere.

Lying about the content of the file is not the purpose of MediaInfo.
If HDR10 flags are there, we show them, because a HDR10 non DV display will not consider the HDR10 as non existing.
We show the plain truth, even if it is not appreciated: fix the file.

We could also add a Conformance error there but I need to be sure that this is a real conformance error and not just a "don't care".

[cjee21]

No problem on that, it is the role of the encoder to comply to the spec.

Suspect that this is one of those illegal copies which someone re-encoded the video stream by setting HDR10 flags then re-inject the Dolby Vision metadata. If we look at Kodi issue reports, we can see cases where someone re-encode the video while cropping the letter boxing (black bars) then re-inject the original Dolby Vision metadata. But the issue is the Dolby Vision metadata contains cropping/aspect ratio data. So the resulting video becomes wrongly double-cropped and ended up being a very thin and long video when played on devices that support Dolby Vision dynamic aspect ratio.

[toddke]

@cjee21 @JeromeMartinez never thought about it as mediainfo "lying" by omitting hdr compatibility. but, as you say, there are two different flags, each inconsistent [possibly incompatible] with one another. sounds like nothing is "obvious"; there are tradeoffs for either approach

a conformance error would be incredibly useful. it provides all of the media's metadata [no lying], but also insight that the metadata is potentially inconsistent / wrong

[toddke]

@cjee21 i'm sorry if i derail this issue. i'm just trying to get a grasp of how mediainfo deals with dovi streams. i actually found another video, this one with a dovi profile 8 stream. in this case, mediainfo says it only contains a dv stream and does not have any hdr fallback [which it actually does]. the flags you mentioned previously [color_* and matrix_* fields] are set identically to the profile 5 stream in my initial comment.

{
  "creatingLibrary": {
    "name": "MediaInfoLib",
    "version": "24.01",
    "url": "https://mediaarea.net/MediaInfo"
  },
  "media": {
    "@ref": "The Lion King (1994).mkv",
    "track": [
      {
        "@type": "General",
        "UniqueID": "10525889121291017559363640700037770101",
        "VideoCount": "1",
        "AudioCount": "1",
        "MenuCount": "1",
        "FileExtension": "mkv",
        "Format": "Matroska",
        "Format_Version": "4",
        "FileSize": "11141028081",
        "Duration": "5301.344",
        "OverallBitRate": "16812383",
        "FrameRate": "23.976",
        "FrameCount": "127105",
        "StreamSize": "2262188",
        "IsStreamable": "Yes",
        "File_Modified_Date": "2025-03-11 19:47:51 UTC",
        "File_Modified_Date_Local": "2025-03-11 12:47:51",
        "Encoded_Application": "Lavf61.1.100",
        "Encoded_Library": "Lavf61.1.100",
        "extra": {
          "ErrorDetectionType": "Per level 1",
          "IMDB": "tt0110357",
          "TMDB": "movie/8587"
        }
      },
      {
        "@type": "Video",
        "StreamOrder": "0",
        "ID": "1",
        "UniqueID": "1233159798031755891",
        "Format": "HEVC",
        "Format_Profile": "Main 10",
        "Format_Level": "5",
        "Format_Tier": "High",
        "HDR_Format": "Dolby Vision",
        "HDR_Format_Version": "1.0",
        "HDR_Format_Profile": "dvhe.08",
        "HDR_Format_Level": "06",
        "HDR_Format_Settings": "BL+RPU",
        "CodecID": "V_MPEGH/ISO/HEVC",
        "Duration": "5301.337000000",
        "BitRate": "16040987",
        "Width": "3840",
        "Height": "2160",
        "Sampled_Width": "3840",
        "Sampled_Height": "2160",
        "PixelAspectRatio": "1.000",
        "DisplayAspectRatio": "1.778",
        "FrameRate_Mode": "CFR",
        "FrameRate": "23.976",
        "FrameRate_Num": "24000",
        "FrameRate_Den": "1001",
        "FrameCount": "127105",
        "ColorSpace": "YUV",
        "ChromaSubsampling": "4:2:0",
        "BitDepth": "10",
        "Delay": "0.000",
        "Delay_Source": "Container",
        "StreamSize": "10629836869",
        "Default": "Yes",
        "Forced": "No",
        "colour_description_present": "Yes",
        "colour_description_present_Source": "Container / Stream",
        "colour_range": "Limited",
        "colour_range_Source": "Container / Stream",
        "colour_primaries": "BT.2020",
        "colour_primaries_Source": "Container / Stream",
        "transfer_characteristics": "PQ",
        "transfer_characteristics_Source": "Container / Stream",
        "matrix_coefficients": "BT.2020 non-constant",
        "matrix_coefficients_Source": "Container / Stream"
      },
      {
        "@type": "Audio",
        "StreamOrder": "1",
        "ID": "2",
        "UniqueID": "13025430608598681090",
        "Format": "E-AC-3",
        "Format_Commercial_IfAny": "Dolby Digital Plus with Dolby Atmos",
        "Format_Settings_Endianness": "Big",
        "Format_AdditionalFeatures": "JOC",
        "CodecID": "A_EAC3",
        "Duration": "5301.344000000",
        "BitRate_Mode": "CBR",
        "BitRate": "768000",
        "Channels": "6",
        "ChannelPositions": "Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE",
        "ChannelLayout": "L R C LFE Ls Rs",
        "SamplesPerFrame": "1536",
        "SamplingRate": "48000",
        "SamplingCount": "254464512",
        "FrameRate": "31.250",
        "FrameCount": "165667",
        "BitDepth": "32",
        "Compression_Mode": "Lossy",
        "Delay": "0.000",
        "Delay_Source": "Container",
        "Video_Delay": "0.000",
        "StreamSize": "508929024",
        "Language": "en",
        "ServiceKind": "CM",
        "Default": "Yes",
        "Forced": "No",
        "extra": {
          "ComplexityIndex": "16",
          "NumberOfDynamicObjects": "15",
          "BedChannelCount": "1",
          "BedChannelConfiguration": "LFE",
          "bsid": "16",
          "dialnorm": "-25",
          "compr": "-0.28",
          "acmod": "7",
          "lfeon": "1",
          "dialnorm_Average": "-25",
          "dialnorm_Minimum": "-25",
          "compr_Average": "2.20",
          "compr_Minimum": "0.53",
          "compr_Maximum": "3.52",
          "compr_Count": "166"
        }
      },
      {
        "@type": "Menu",
        "extra": {
          "_00_08_08_030": "Scene 1",
          "_00_17_49_278": "Scene 2",
          "_00_30_22_656": "Scene 3",
          "_00_38_46_743": "Scene 4",
          "_00_53_12_901": "Scene 5",
          "_01_05_46_905": "Scene 6",
          "_01_18_09_106": "Scene 7",
          "_01_23_28_008": "Credits"
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

[cjee21]

I quickly looked through the MediaInfo HEVC codes and seems it detects HDR10 based on presence of mastering display metadata. So the DoVi profile 5 although has wrong colour information flags was also likely flagged as HDR10 compatible due to presence of this metadata. Better ask @JeromeMartinez as I am not very familiar with this part of MediaInfo codes.

[gitoss]

No problem on that, it is the role of the encoder to comply to the spec.

Suspect that this is one of those illegal copies which someone re-encoded the video stream by setting HDR10 flags then re-inject the Dolby Vision metadata.

Oh my, that's a thing? However, there's probably a reason why maintream encoders like svt-av1 are resistant to re-injecting dv rpu data https://gitlab.com/AOMediaCodec/SVT-AV1/-/issues/2269

It probably isn't self-explanatory that re-encoding to another color space or cropping isn't compatible with the source rpu. if mediainfo stumbles upon blatant inconsistencies, maybe it could print a warning.