Rec. 709

Rec. 709 (ITU-R BT.709) is the broadcast standard that defines the color primaries, white point, and transfer curve for HD television and most SDR delivery. When you grade a project for the web, broadcast, or a standard editing timeline, Rec. 709 is almost always the target. In practice, a colorist sets the timeline and monitor to Rec. 709 so what they see matches what viewers get on phones, laptops, and TVs. Log or raw footage gets transformed into the Rec. 709 container, then trimmed so highlights, skin tones, and blacks sit where the standard expects. Mastering outside 709 risks clipped highlights or muddy shadows on consumer displays, so it remains the safe default for SDR deliverables.