TrueCut Motion Won’t Compete With Filmmaker Mode, Says Pixelworks

Pixelworks isn’t positioning its TrueCut Motion image-grading technology as a competitor to the UHD Alliance’s Filmmaker Mode initiative, emailed a Pixelworks spokesperson Wednesday. TrueCut Motion is “an end-to-end solution that starts with the filmmaker and a suite of advanced post-production tools, and includes a new delivery format and TV certification program ensuring the end viewer is experiencing the content exactly as the filmmaker intended,” she said. The technology takes “a holistic approach to deal with motion at a very fundamental level,” she said. New motion “looks” are now available to filmmakers using TrueCut Motion “that were not previously possible,” she said. “Viewers will see that now the TV can be set to a brightness level that is suitable for the living room, but without causing annoying judder.” Filmmaker Mode isn't a competitive technology because “it only solves for soap opera effect,” she said. That's when a TV's motion-smoothing processing that's optimal for viewing live sports can render movies looking on a big-screen set as if they were shot on high-speed video rather than film. “It’s a single-ended, one-size fits all content solution for TV sets and a convenient way to select a prescribed TV mode with motion smoothing disabled. The only commonality between the two is that TrueCut Motion and Filmmaker Mode both disable motion smoothing.” Pixelworks scored a big win at CES 2022 when TCL became the first device manufacturer to endorse TrueCut Motion (see 2202110002). TCL happens not to be a Filmmaker Mode supporter.