MaxCLL / MaxFALL

MaxCLL (Maximum Content Light Level) and MaxFALL (Maximum Frame-Average Light Level) are the two static metadata values carried with HDR10 delivery. MaxCLL is the brightest single pixel anywhere in the program; MaxFALL is the brightest frame average. Together they tell a consumer display how to tone-map your grade to its own peak — a TV that maxes at 600 nits reads your MaxCLL of 1000 and rolls your highlights down gracefully instead of clipping blindly. Resolve measures both on export. A wrong or missing MaxCLL/MaxFALL is a common HDR QC reject, so they’re part of every deliverables check. They’re the static answer to display adaptation; Dolby Vision replaces them with dynamic, per-shot metadata.

First used in: 3.6 · HDR grading