Baylor University’s Film & Digital Media Department just introduced a proposed multi-primary color system, dubbed 6P Color. Led by professors Corey Carbonara and Michael Korpi, the core team also includes cinematographer Steven Poster, ASC; Gary Mandle, Jim DeFilippis, Gary Feather and Dr. Mitch Bogdanowicz. On June 3, the team made their case — via streaming platform SMPTE+ — on why the standard RGB three-color triangle would benefit by the addition of new primaries. Baylor University also has a business plan for making the idea a reality.

6P Color Inc. is co-headed by Alan Page, JD, CPA and Dr. Brian Woods. “This new color system is now ready to move past prototypes to application,” explained Woods, who revealed that 6P Color already has seven new and fully approved U.S. patents, with eighteen more pending by year’s end. The Baylor 6P team currently has commissioned both a double projector prototype and 6P-powered LED wall.

Woods added that the company is in its first licensing conversations for tier one displays (large panels and walls, theater and home use; gaming, medical and aviation), and also has teams beginning conversations for virtual production studio workflows, gaming and virtual reality, as well as semiconductors and chipset manufacturers.

“We believe the impact starts with entertainment but also moves quickly to the areas of medical imaging, aviation, and security support by enhanced facial recognition,” he added.

Carbonara reported that the goal is to “design a practical multi-color primary video system that covers from lens to lens [camera to eyes]; engage the open standards community; then provide support to the marketplace and provide the technology education to train people to understand and implement 6P systems.”

DeFilippis added that the system “uses a colorimetric approach that can define an infinite number of colors.” “Given the colorimetric coordinates of a color, a display can determine how best to reproduce it,” he said. “Color is defined as a set of coordinates, with luminance encoded in a non-linear fashion, optimized for 12-bit or 10-bit values.”

Mandle described the demonstration, which showed side-by-side images of content, shot by three different camera manufacturers, to show compatibility across them, and then taken into Assimilate Scratch. The side-by-side projectors featured a single Christie projector playing RGB and, next to it, a double stack of two Christie projectors, one playing out cyan and the other RGB with subtracted cyan.

The projectors were modified for the demonstration by Brass Roots and Assimilate modified its software to handle the multi-primary color system.

Carbonara revealed that the upcoming System IV, which will be ready for demonstration at the end of summer, will add yellow as the fifth primary. The end goal is a device-independent, end-to-end system. “Just one additional color primary added, in the form of cyan, has already shown we are on tap to creating a whole new experience for M&E professionals and audiences alike,” he said.