Editing Catalyst Browse options

Click the Options button to edit your application options.

If you need to reset all Catalyst Browse options to their default values, hold Control + Shift when starting the application.

Application settings

Choosing a video processing device

Choose a setting from the Video processing device drop-down list to enable or bypass GPU-accelerated video playback and transcoding.

Choose CPU if you want to turn off GPU acceleration, or choose a device from the list to enable GPU-accelerated playback.

The optimal GPU device is automatically selected. Changing this value is intended for advanced users and may be useful for troubleshooting technical problems.

Computers equipped with CPUs that utilize Intel’s Quick Sync Video (QSV) technology see improved processing performance for decoding H.264/AVC/MPEG-4 video files.

Enabling OpenCL/OpenGL interoperability

OpenCL/OpenGL interoperability allows OpenCL and OpenGL to share rendered frames and can improve playback performance, but it can cause instability with some hardware and drivers.

Select Performance to enable OpenCL and OpenGL interoperability. We recommend using this setting in most cases for optimum playback performance.
Select Compatibility to turn off interoperability if you notice artifacts or corruption in rendered frames.

After changing the OpenCL/OpenGL interoperability setting, please restart Catalyst Browse for the change to take effect.

Enabling the secondary window

Enable the Secondary preview window switch if you want to show the video preview in a secondary window that you can position anywhere on your screen or on a secondary monitor.

Enable proxy clip playback

Enable the Preview using proxy clips switch if you want to use proxy clips for playback if they are available.

If you're working on a system with limited processing power, creating a proxy file will allow you to preview your media more efficiently.

Video proxy files are used for playback only.

Enable half-step timecode for 50p/60p sources

Enable the 50p/60p half-step timecode display switch if you want to display half-step timecode for each field in 50p/60p sources. The timecode for field two will be displayed with an asterisk appended:

Field 1: 01:00:17:17

Field 2: 01:00:17:17*

Show or hide thumbnail frames

Enable the Show thumbnails switch if you want to display thumbnail images in the Media Browser. Turning off the switch can improve performance on some slower storage devices.

Automatically rotate thumbnail frames

Enable the Automatically rotate thumbnails switch to detect clip rotation and adjust thumbnail images in Browse mode.

For more information, see "Working with rotated clips."

Choosing snapshot settings

The Save snapshots to box displays the path to the folder where the files will be saved when you save a snapshot of the current frame. You can type a path in the box or click the Browse button to choose a folder.

Choose a setting from the Snapshot image format drop-down list to choose the file format that will be used for snapshots.

For more information, see "Creating a snapshot of a frame."

Color management settings

Working color space

Choose a setting from the Working color space drop-down list to choose the color space that will be used for color grading.

For more information, see "Applying color correction."

When you choose Rec.2020/S-Log3 from the Working color space drop-down list, you can enable the SDR gain switch to convert between standard- and high-dynamic-range content. For more information, see "SR Live for HDR settings."

Video preview color space

From the Preview color space drop-down list, choose the color space for the Catalyst Browse video preview window.

In most cases, choose Rec.709 for your computer monitor, or you can choose other settings to check your video using scopes. For more information, see "Loading a clip/clip list for color adjustments and configuring the waveform, histogram, and vectorscope monitors."

For more information, see "Applying color correction."

External monitor color space

Choose a setting from the External monitor color space drop-down list to choose the color space that matches the EOTF (electro-optical transfer function) setting on your external monitor.

When using the Sony BVM-X300 version 2.0, please use the following monitor settings:

External monitor color space in Catalyst Browse	Color Space	EOTF	Transfer Matrix
Rec.709	ITU-R BT.709	i.e. 2.4	ITU-R BT.709
Rec.2020	ITU-R BT.2020	i.e. 2.4	ITU-R BT.2020
Rec.2020/S-Log-3	ITU-R BT.2020	S-Log3(Live HDR) or S-Log3(HDR)	ITU-R BT.2020
Rec.2020/HLG, Rec.2020/HLG AIR Matching, or Rec.2020/HLG (bypass OOTF)	ITU-R BT.2020	HLG SG Variable(HDR), HLG System Gamma 1.2	ITU-R BT.2020
Rec.2020/PQ, Rec.2020/PQ AIR Matching, or Rec.2020/PQ (bypass OOTF)	ITU-R BT.2020	SMPTE ST 2084(HDR)	ITU-R BT.2020

When Rec.2020/S-Log3 (HDR) is selected from the Working color space drop-down list, you can use the AIR Matching (Artistic Intent Rendering) or bypass OOTF settings to achieve a consistent look between external-monitor previews and rendered clips.

Using AIR Matching to monitor using the S-Log3 (Live HDR) EOTF

Sony BVM-X300 version 2.0 monitor settings:

Color Space: ITU-R BT.2020
EOTF: S-Log3 (Live HDR)
Transfer Matrix: ITU-R BT.2020
In the Catalyst Browse Options menu, choose Rec.2020/S-Log3 from the External monitor color space drop-down list.

Content mastered using these settings and rendered to HLG or PQ with AIR Matching should have the same look on HLG or PQ monitors or televisions.

Using bypass OOTF to monitor using the S-Log3 (HDR) EOTF

Sony BVM-X300 version 2.0 monitor settings:

Color Space: ITU-R BT.2020
EOTF: S-Log3 (HDR)
Transfer Matrix: ITU-R BT.2020
In the Catalyst Browse Options menu, choose Rec.2020/S-Log3 from the External monitor color space drop-down list.

Content mastered using these settings and rendered to HLG or PQ with bypass OOTF should have the same look on HLG or PQ monitors or televisions.

Converting HDR media to SDR color spaces

When converting HDR media to standard dynamic range color spaces, use the following settings to preserve your Rec.2020/S-Log3 grading (the dynamic range of the HDR color space will be clamped to the BT.709 gamma curve):

In Options, set the Working color space to Rec.2020/S-Log3 (HDR).
In Options, enable the SDR gain switch and adjust the Gain slider to choose the gain that will be applied when exporting to an SDR format or displaying on an SDR display.
In Options, set the Preview color space to Rec.709 or Rec.2020.

When converting HDR media to standard dynamic range color spaces, use the following settings to preserve more of the dynamic range of the original HDR media:

In Options, set the Working color space to Rec.709.
In the Inspector, set the Convert to color space to 709(800), HG8009G33, or HG8009G40.

For more information, see "High Dynamic Range (HDR) color grading."

SR Live for HDR settings

When you choose Rec.2020/S-Log3 from the Working color space drop-down list, you can enable the SDR gain switch to convert between standard- and high-dynamic-range content:

SDR gain

When the switch is enabled, you can drag the Gain slider to choose the gain that is applied when reading SDR content or when exporting to an SDR format or displaying on an SDR display.

For example, if you set the slider to -6.0 dB, a linear gain of +6.0 dB (2.0x) is applied when reading SDR content, and a linear gain of -6.0 dB (0.5x) is applied when exporting to an SDR format or displaying on an SDR display.

Choosing an external video monitor device and resolution

Choose a setting from the External monitor device drop-down list to display your video preview on an external monitor via a Blackmagic Design device:

DeckLink 4K Extreme 12G, 4K Pro, 4K Extreme, Studio 4K, SDI 4K, HD Extreme, Extreme 3D, and Mini Monitor.
Intensity Shuttle, Pro 4K, and Pro.
UltraStudio 4K Extreme, 4K, Pro, SDI, Express, and Mini Monitor.

Choose a setting from the Monitor resolution drop-down list to choose the display resolution for your monitor.