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Is it just me, or does HDR on most games look bad?
- Thread starter Hemingwayoffbase
- Start date
rofif
Can’t Git Gud
wrong wrong wrong.
What's up with these terrible opinions in this thread
keefged4
Member
With the upmost respect, those who are saying HDR looks "washed out" or worse than SDR either a) haven't got a display capable of displaying proper HDR, or b) aren't setting HDR/the display up correctly.
HDR is an absolute game changer (no pun intended) and with the correct settings, absolutely destroys SDR. Even windows 11's auto hdr with the correct gamma tweaks is miles better than native SDR output.
Plus if you are on PC everything is tweakable, its now possible to get an amazing HDR output on any game using a mixture of Special K, Reshade and the like.
For consoles it's less configurable, but easier to set up. Set the console or games HDR settings to match your display's capability and set the HDR output on your display (if possible) to HGIG. Done and dusted.
HDR is an absolute game changer (no pun intended) and with the correct settings, absolutely destroys SDR. Even windows 11's auto hdr with the correct gamma tweaks is miles better than native SDR output.
Plus if you are on PC everything is tweakable, its now possible to get an amazing HDR output on any game using a mixture of Special K, Reshade and the like.
For consoles it's less configurable, but easier to set up. Set the console or games HDR settings to match your display's capability and set the HDR output on your display (if possible) to HGIG. Done and dusted.
Whitecrow
Banned
Each display processes HDR in a different way, and devs cant color grade/correct in the same way they do for SDR.
All you can do is:
-MAKE SURE RGB RANGE is the same between console and display (for the "washed out" community)
-Try switching between HGIG, dynamic tonemapping, or default tonemapping on the TV and see what you like more.
Besides, if you already play at high brightness in your TV, most of the time HDR will make just a small difference.
All you can do is:
-MAKE SURE RGB RANGE is the same between console and display (for the "washed out" community)
-Try switching between HGIG, dynamic tonemapping, or default tonemapping on the TV and see what you like more.
Besides, if you already play at high brightness in your TV, most of the time HDR will make just a small difference.
Skitso
Member
Comments like this make me think this is a similar thing as with 30fps vs 60fps. Some people just don't care or are oblivious of certain visual issues. Of course using low quality display or playing in bright ambient lighting might contribute too.
I have a Calman calibrated 77" C1 in HGIG and a properly calibrated PS5. I also always check if the game supports system level HDR and make as accurate manual adjustments as possible in game's visual settings and TV's black level settings when needed. And still many games have severe issues in how they resolve their HDR image. Especially raised black levels is a common problem with many games, even the ones with otherwise great visuals like CP2077 or Alan Wake 2.
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rofif
Can’t Git Gud
Are u kidding me ?! re2 remake IS A PRIME EXAMPLE of game that looks way better with HDR.
Do not confuse how it looks with hdr vs how this game is mastered.
As it happens I have some RE2 pics playing with HDR on c1. no mods or anything.
+one from horizon and elden ring just because why not. HDR IS SICK
ShakenG
Member
I use a X90H and dont experience anything bad with HDR..
Calibrate everything for this set to 1000nits peak brightness. (Games that need manual adjusting)
Thats 15 clicks system settings for both and zero for black lvl.
Happy to help with anything else.
I am anal with Tv settings and take plenty of time getting everything correct outside of professional calibration.
TheStam
Member
Some games look off to me and it doesn't matter which of my screens that I use including the Steam Deck OLED. RE2 looks good in the pictures above but washed out due to raised black levels for me.
The games in the OP are some of the most impressive games that I've seen in HDR. I used reshade for cyberpunk to lower black levels. But Alan Wake 2 and Lies of P looked amazing out of the box to my eyes.
The games in the OP are some of the most impressive games that I've seen in HDR. I used reshade for cyberpunk to lower black levels. But Alan Wake 2 and Lies of P looked amazing out of the box to my eyes.
Shake Your Rump
Member
Your x900h should have fantastic looking HDR. The Sony x900e was the TV to convince me to go HDR.
Easy steps to proper HDR:
1) reset all video pictures modes to default settings
2) switch the game picture mode
3) calibrate your PS4/PS5 HDR setting
4) don’t touch anything
This has been my method on the LG C9, LG C2, Sony 900E, and Sony A95K. I’ve been using HDR for four years and it has never even remotely looked worse than HDR.
Easy steps to proper HDR:
1) reset all video pictures modes to default settings
2) switch the game picture mode
3) calibrate your PS4/PS5 HDR setting
4) don’t touch anything
This has been my method on the LG C9, LG C2, Sony 900E, and Sony A95K. I’ve been using HDR for four years and it has never even remotely looked worse than HDR.
Shake Your Rump
Member
I can’t believe some of the comments here. The dude with HDR disabled on his LG C1 made me quite literally sit up in my seat.
These don’t even seem like opinions. It’s just straight up ignorance and FUD. It’s grandpa not being able to figure out that dog-gone GPS thingamajig, so he loudly complains that GPS is broken as he continues to print out mapquest
angrod14
Member
I have a CX and I don't know why HDR makes some games look super dark, to the point you get crushed blacks and can barely see anything. It happens with RE4 Remake and TLOU PII. With Part II I fixed it by lowering the contrast in the game settings, but don't have such options with RE4make. I'm using Vincent Teoh's recommended settings for the CX.
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Giallo Corsa
Gold Member
The problem with HGiG is that - even when supported - screen looks more dim compared to DTM...
Faffed a bit with all available settings when I first got my C2 and...I just couldn't anymore, OCD kicked in...
Instead, I've opted for a kinda "set and forget" setting :
- PS5's HDR calibrated properly as per HDTVtest's instructions.
- Game picture mode on my C2 with DTM on.
- Moving in-game HDR sliders until picture looks OK (to me).
Anyway, have to be honest here, HDR hasn't wowed me yet, reading many people's impressions you'd think this is the best thing since sliced bread but, personally, I haven't found it to be so.
Faffed a bit with all available settings when I first got my C2 and...I just couldn't anymore, OCD kicked in...
Instead, I've opted for a kinda "set and forget" setting :
- PS5's HDR calibrated properly as per HDTVtest's instructions.
- Game picture mode on my C2 with DTM on.
- Moving in-game HDR sliders until picture looks OK (to me).
Anyway, have to be honest here, HDR hasn't wowed me yet, reading many people's impressions you'd think this is the best thing since sliced bread but, personally, I haven't found it to be so.
rofif
Can’t Git Gud
It's because you follow vincent settings. These are accurate and accurate apparently = dark.
I play with dynamic tone mapping since hgig is quite dull
rofif
Can’t Git Gud
Small tip (huge blapshemy)
When palying with DTM on, alo calibrate games and ps5 with DTM on. This will calibrate for 4k nits which dtm is created to accept (like for movies)
Luipadre
Member
i dunno about lies of P but cyberpunk and alan wake looks great in HDR. Its your settings or TV
Gaiff
SBI’s Resident Gaslighter
What?
As for the thread, HDR most definitely shouldn't look like crap. Even in games where it's broken like RDR2, it should still look alright and not terrible.
It can look really good at times but at others, not so much. It's very hit-and-miss with games.
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Beer Baelly
Al Pachinko, Konami President
Been playing SDR the past year and havent looked back.
Shake Your Rump
Member
That’s too bad. I dislike playing SDR games now because they look so faded. Seeing Uncharted 4 and Gran Turismo Sport in HDR on the Sony 900E made me never look back.
You definitely have something set incorrectly. Those games look perfect on my C9 and C1. I would reset the game picture mode. I literally use the default TV settings, other than changing to HGIG. All my games have looked fantastic (and correctly).
Giallo Corsa
Gold Member
Hey Rof !
Brother, I thought that I should calibrate the PS5 with HGiG on and then turn DTM on ?
What does one achieve by following your method ? (honest question).
Thanks
Luipadre
Member
all these opinions about HDR being bad is from people playing on fake HDR monitors and TVs. Ofc it looks dogshit there. Good HDR needs a good TV/monitor, proper HDR implementation and ingame/tv settings. I know it can be too much for some people. Sadly not every game has good HDR implementation and it can look worse, but there are a lot of amazing looking HDR titles out there FF16 was this years highlight
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GiganticGoat
Neo Member
Agree. Took one look with it on and going through the PS5 setup and said nope. The level of TV investment required to make it 'look good' is beyond most people.
Roberts
Member
I don't know, I spent some time doing research, tried out different setting recommended by pros and found one that suits me. It looks great, juicy and punchy. I remember when XsX started doing auto-HDR and some of the games looked pretty bad using HDR10+ (Hi there, Recore) but then I switched to Dolby Vision and made a huge difference.
Unknown Soldier
Member
HDR gaming is still really early and there's no meaningful standard anyone follows. But this site might help
www.hdrgamer.com
HDRGAMER.COM
All About Gaming HDR: Analysis, Guides, and Best Practices for HDR Settings
www.hdrgamer.com
buenoblue
Member
The trouble is LCD TV's have to turn up the backlight to max to give hdr brightness but the panels struggle to contain such a high backlight.
I thought hdr sucked too till I got a QD OLED. I picked up an open box 65inch Samsung S95B for £800 six months ago. After selling my old TV for £350 it only cost me £450 for a 65inch QD OLED so it doesn't have to cost the earth
I thought hdr sucked too till I got a QD OLED. I picked up an open box 65inch Samsung S95B for £800 six months ago. After selling my old TV for £350 it only cost me £450 for a 65inch QD OLED so it doesn't have to cost the earth
DeaconOfTheDank
Member
For people with LG OLEDs, I recommend bookmarking this: https://www.reddit.com/r/OLED_Gaming/s/tOmHaeLhFw
I've calibrated my own set and a couple of friends' using this guide. I get pristine HDR image every single time.
I've calibrated my own set and a couple of friends' using this guide. I get pristine HDR image every single time.
Portugeezer
Member
Cyberpunk menu instantly looks like bleached asshole when I use HDR, but I'm also willing to accept my TV may be shit.
rofif
Can’t Git Gud
Yes you should and that's the "correct" method.Hey Rof !
Brother, I thought that I should calibrate the PS5 with HGiG on and then turn DTM on ?
What does one achieve by following your method ? (honest question).
Thanks
Calibrating either ps5 or game with DTM and then of course playing with DTM should give more vibrant results.
With this method, you ask the game to output 4000nits, since this is what Dynamic Tone Mapping on LG tv expects.
In theory, this should result in greater range being compressed down to your usual 800 nits.
The difference is usually not big but I like how it looks.
more here
Dynamic Tone Mapping (DTM) vs HGIG - There's actually no "versus" | P40L0 | Technology: Optimized
Patreon is empowering a new generation of creators. Support and engage with artists and creators as they live out their passions!
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analog_future
Resident Crybaby
Looks absolutely stunning 95% of the time on my LG C2.
Luipadre
Member
Menus do look bad in cyberpunk in HDR, but game looks awesome
Pharaoh 117
Member
There's some games (more than it should at this point) with bad HDR implementation, but the ones with good/great HDR just look better than SDR. It's not a matter of opinion, you are getting a better picture with more color information and high luminance.
DeaconOfTheDank
Member
I want to add that some games just ship with broken and/or suboptimal HDR implementations:
- Cyberpunk 2077 has raised blacks and playing without film grain will cause peak brightness to shoot up by about 200 nits
- Hogwarts Legacy has raised blacks
- Baldur's Gate 3 has raised blacks
- Red Dead Redemption 2 has raised blacks
Raised blacks isn't gigantic issue, but can be a bit of letdown when playing on an OLED where you'll notice if something isn't taking advantage of perfect blacks. In those cases, it's really helpful to play around with HDR analysis tools via ReShade so you can tweak any inconsistencies. This nifty little tool also ships with the OLED steam deck: https://github.com/EndlesslyFlowering/ReShade_HDR_shaders
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rofif
Can’t Git Gud
Hogwarts legacy seems perfect to me. News to me about raised blacks in it
cash_longfellow
Gold Member
Yep! I got to a point where I just turned off the setting on ps5.
nemiroff
Gold Member
I'm even on W11 and a Samsung QLED monitor and I still prefer HDR on for the most part. Only thing I don't like is when the local dimming makes it ugly, but in most games it's better.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps is pretty damn amazing in HDR, both on HDR monitor and HDR TV.
All new lines of QD-OLED HDR monitors coming in 2024, it's going to be glorious.
Edit: It really depends on individual games as well. F.ex., I had a lot of issues trying to get HDR working well in Cyberpunk. It's basically impossible to tune it right for both day and night, so I had to go back to SDR there.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps is pretty damn amazing in HDR, both on HDR monitor and HDR TV.
All new lines of QD-OLED HDR monitors coming in 2024, it's going to be glorious.
Edit: It really depends on individual games as well. F.ex., I had a lot of issues trying to get HDR working well in Cyberpunk. It's basically impossible to tune it right for both day and night, so I had to go back to SDR there.
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Mister Wolf
Member
HDR content is mastered on LCD screens.
Sound and Vision: Sony looks to Mini LED for brighter, smarter HDR in 2024
OPINION: Steve May travels to Sony HQ Japan for insight into its 2024 TV plans, and hands-on with the brightest professional mastering monitor yet
www.trustedreviews.com
"There’s no perfect display device, admits Sony Distinguished Engineer Toshiyuku Ogura, but he seems to believe that Mini LED has the greatest potential, when it comes to colour volume, brightness and viewing angle."
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Giallo Corsa
Gold Member
MasterDerico
Member
When a game supports Hgig and i turn on, looked like shit on my oled tv. I just turn off and turn on the auto map, looks beautiful!
All my games i play that way now...
On PS5, the calibration u need to set like this: "light, barely see: up one more until u see nothing, same for the black.
And i spent hours and hours on the TV config! Now i never touch again on tv settings, only in game.
All my games i play that way now...
On PS5, the calibration u need to set like this: "light, barely see: up one more until u see nothing, same for the black.
And i spent hours and hours on the TV config! Now i never touch again on tv settings, only in game.
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rofif
Can’t Git Gud
Mastering equipment is very good thoughHDR content is mastered on LCD screens.
Sound and Vision: Sony looks to Mini LED for brighter, smarter HDR in 2024
OPINION: Steve May travels to Sony HQ Japan for insight into its 2024 TV plans, and hands-on with the brightest professional mastering monitor yet
"There’s no perfect display device, admits Sony Distinguished Engineer Toshiyuku Ogura, but he seems to believe that Mini LED has the greatest potential, when it comes to colour volume, brightness and viewing angle."
BacklashWave534
Member
Looks great for most games on my LG OLED C3.
Mister Wolf
Member
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LiquidMetal14
hide your water-based mammals
I love the blacks. On the OLED's, one you go there. You don't go back.
Just look at the menus and logos with that individual pixel dimming. Hallelujah
Just look at the menus and logos with that individual pixel dimming. Hallelujah
Bojji
Member
Hogwart is ok, presentation in this game lacks contrast in general.
But many games have broken HDR implementation, raised black level is a plague on OLED tv. I think something like Dark Pictures series is the worst offender, SDR mode is beautiful and full of contrast while HDR mode looks like shit. Resident Evil 2 looks bad too with HDR, dark regions are overexposed even with HGIG.
This channel covers HDR modes in new games pretty well, many games have problems with HDR implementations:
HDR content is mastered on LCD screens.
Sound and Vision: Sony looks to Mini LED for brighter, smarter HDR in 2024
OPINION: Steve May travels to Sony HQ Japan for insight into its 2024 TV plans, and hands-on with the brightest professional mastering monitor yet
"There’s no perfect display device, admits Sony Distinguished Engineer Toshiyuku Ogura, but he seems to believe that Mini LED has the greatest potential, when it comes to colour volume, brightness and viewing angle."
I think some game devs are using fucking TN monitors to "master" HDR games looking by how bad they look in the end.
I love the blacks. On the OLED's, one you go there. You don't go back.
Just look at the menus and logos with that individual pixel dimming. Hallelujah
It's amazing but some game developers have shit equipment and don't care about black levels.
In general most games look better in HDR, sometimes difference is huge. But there are games where SDR mode is better.
simpatico
Member
HDR is a plague. We have a smart TV in the living room, the native apps don't have a way to turn HDR off. So if I'm watching Netflix, I have to do so through a browser window if I want it to look good.
I'll be relieved when this hype beast shit in on the scrap heap along with 3DTV.
I'll be relieved when this hype beast shit in on the scrap heap along with 3DTV.
Meicyn
Gold Member
Number one mistake people make with HDR is setting RGB range to Full when they should be using Limited if using an HDTV with a console.
OP, I use a Sony X950H which is a step up from your TV, but they are similar. Make sure the RGB range in your PS5 settings is set to Limited. Same thing on the TV.
On the HDR calibration screen on the PS5, ignore the instructions on the screen. Using the D-pad, press down until you reach the lowest setting, then press up 15 times. This basically sets a cap of 1000 nits which is the limit of your TV without having to engage the dynamic tone mapping. Press X to the next screen. Do the same thing, 15 clicks, then press X. Last screen, again lowest setting but do not go up at all, just press X. Done.
Use some of the settings here as a starting point.
www.rtings.com
OP, I use a Sony X950H which is a step up from your TV, but they are similar. Make sure the RGB range in your PS5 settings is set to Limited. Same thing on the TV.
On the HDR calibration screen on the PS5, ignore the instructions on the screen. Using the D-pad, press down until you reach the lowest setting, then press up 15 times. This basically sets a cap of 1000 nits which is the limit of your TV without having to engage the dynamic tone mapping. Press X to the next screen. Do the same thing, 15 clicks, then press X. Last screen, again lowest setting but do not go up at all, just press X. Done.
Use some of the settings here as a starting point.
Sony X900H Calibration Settings
We used the following calibration settings to review the Sony 55" X900H (XBR55X900H).
www.rtings.com