What LUTScope does, what it doesn't, and why.
No. LUTScope is a relative comparison tool, not a color-accurate monitor. The same LUT will look consistent within LUTScope, so you can reliably compare A vs. B. However, the final appearance in your NLE (non-linear editor such as Premiere Pro or DaVinci Resolve) may differ due to differences in color pipelines, gamma handling, and display settings. Pixel-perfect accuracy is not guaranteed. SDR / Rec.709 only.
No. LUTScope is SDR-only. Video files with HDR metadata (PQ, HLG, Dolby Vision, HDR10) or BT.2020 color space are rejected at import. This is intentional — displaying HDR content in an SDR pipeline would produce misleading comparison results. HDR support may be considered in a future version.
LUTScope checks the video's color space metadata at import. Only Rec.709 (bt709) is accepted. Videos tagged with BT.2020, unknown color spaces, or HDR transfer characteristics (PQ, HLG, Dolby Vision) are rejected with a clear error message. This prevents inaccurate comparisons caused by mismatched color spaces.
SDR single-image HEIC / HEIF files are supported. Files containing HDR Gain Maps, multi-image sequences, or other HDR elements are rejected. Standard JPEG, PNG, and TIFF stills are fully supported. All stills are treated as sRGB internally; ICC profiles are respected at decode.
.cube files — both 1D and 3D LUTs. 1D LUTs are internally converted to 3D for display compatibility. Files containing mixed 1D + 3D data in a single .cube are not supported and will show an error.
No. LUTScope does not bundle or include any LUT files. You need to supply your own .cube LUT files — for example, those provided by a camera manufacturer, purchased from a LUT vendor, or created in your color grading software. LUTScope is a tool for previewing and comparing LUTs you already own; it does not function as a LUT store or library.
No. The app starts fast even with thousands of .cube files. Folders are recursively scanned (subfolders included), results are naturally sorted, and rendering uses Metal GPU acceleration. Search, filters, and favorites let you navigate large libraries without scrolling through everything.
The Input LUT normalizes your footage (e.g. Log → Rec.709), putting it on a standard baseline. The Look LUT applies a creative grade (tone, color) on top. LUTScope keeps these strictly separate so you can register multiple folders for each, swap them independently, and save winning Input + Look combinations as reusable presets.
LUTScope has three distinct favorite types:
All three types act as filters in the LUT Grid header so you can focus on shortlisted LUTs. Assignment Favorites are also exported in LUT Summary (text list) and LUT Summary Package (LUT files + preview images).
Assign up to 20 LUTs (slots A–T) to a dedicated Compare window. Choose between Grid, Side by Side, and Slider display modes. You can pin the window always-on-top, toggle a "Current" overlay, apply the Input LUT to the base side in Slider mode, and export each result at the original resolution as JPEG or PNG.
No. LUTScope is designed for relative LUT comparison — helping you narrow down and choose the right LUT faster. It does not provide gamma / levels correction UI and is not a broadcast-standard monitoring tool. Do not use it for final delivery QC or color-critical verification.
Purchases are handled through the SIA Studio Store. Please refer to the Studio Store's refund policy for details. Updates within the same major version are free. If you experience technical issues, contact support before requesting a refund so we can try to resolve the problem.
Use the contact form on this site or the SIA Studio Store. We aim to respond within 2 business days.
