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PS4's Automatic RGB setting is unreliable, so double check your TV / PS4

SeanTSC

Member
So - went and retested this myself.

My PS4/TV are different. Auto on my PS4 sets it to Full no matter what. Apparently not everyone's PS4's are the same.

Might have something to do with the EDID signal being sent.
 

10k

Banned
If your TV has the capability of having different settings for each input, that would be the best way. I have every input calibrated differently and with limited/full depending on what console or device is connected.
It does but I run everything through an onkyo AV reciever which is set to one input on the tv lol.
 
Contrast needs to be turned way down. Sharpness as well. Just toy with it and you will find the sweet spot. I have a Sammy 55 inch LED so I know what you are going through, lol. I spent 3 days getting it right.

Lol they are a bit tedious. I've spent years toying with it and still finding new options to mess around with. I remember having to delve into the secret menu to turn off some stupid feature that would disable any pixels showing below 2 on the black scale. Obviously this is just about one of the worst features ever designed. No idea who the hell thought that would be a good idea. It's a pity they pile on all this junk because the panels have a really nice display quality once you turn off all the extras.

Got a really natural looking image out of it now and just got my first game in. It looks so much better now when in motion. The colors also look really vivid and are popping, guess my eyes just needed a little while to settle in after burning out my retinas with jacked contrast values. Could only drop the contrast down to 70 as the image started to become incredibly dull below that and balanced some of that back out with brightness too. Really stunning quality now. I'll probably be tweaking it for most of the week but this has made a huge difference.

Edit: By the way do you have your HDMI black level set to low or normal? I figured this was the option that switches between standard and full output ratios.

If you guys have Samsungs remember to set the HDMI level to normal if you set your PS4 to Full and low if you use limited. I know the labeling is weird but that's the way Samsung likes it.
Normal"= RGB 0-255
Low = Ycbcr 16-235

Oh and on Samsungs turn the sharpness to 0 and turn dynamic contrast, black tone, motion flow and any other "enhancements" off.

My image becomes darker when set to low...surely that would indicate it has more black levels available? Or is it the opposite and the image is being brightened due to the upper ranges being increased? Samsung made this all very confusing.
 

ethomaz

Banned
So - went and retested this myself.

My PS4/TV are different. Auto on my PS4 sets it to Full no matter what. Apparently not everyone's PS4's are the same.

Might have something to do with the EDID signal being sent.
Yeap... I think it is due to PS4 "decide" based on TV you are input... so it will choose FULL or LIMITED based in what TV it is input.
 

Rebel Leader

THE POWER OF BUTTERSCOTCH BOTTOMS
If you guys have Samsungs remember to set the HDMI level to normal if you set your PS4 to Full and low if you use limited. I know the labeling is weird but that's the way Samsung likes it.
Normal"= RGB 0-255
Low = Ycbcr 16-235

Oh and on Samsungs turn the sharpness to 0 and turn dynamic contrast, black tone, motion flow and any other "enhancements" off.
Hdmi black level? Is that what you are referring to?
 
I have a old Sony Bravia LCD from 2010, using as my PC monitor and occasionally for PS4 gaming. It doesn't have any setting for HDMI levels. So I should set PS4 to Automatic?

My main TV is 42 incher Sony Bravia 2013 model. Will check it out tomorrow.
 

ced

Member
I'm not at my TV or PS4 but is this different than the black levels?

This just reminds me of how much I hate calibrating a TV, I've seen contradicting info on sharpness and color tone already and don't know what's supposed to be.
 

Metfanant

Member
I have a samsun UN40EH6000FXZA hooked up to a onkyo receiver so far for my settings I put it to full on my PS4 I have my brightness:45 contrast:100 backlight:20 (well lit room) sharpness:25 HDMI black level:normal and color tone :cool also anyone with the same TV as me can you please clarify an issue my tv says 60hz when I press info on my remote and on the back where the product code is but when I look it up the tv specs say its 120hz also any help to get a better picture quality would be much appreciated since you guys probably are way better at this than me

Your TV is telling you what the INPUT is. .
 

Vespa

Member
FYI, DON'T use Ground Zero's as a reference. Its video levels are completely broken unless they've pushed out a patch since I played. My guess is they "Mastered" the game on a RGB mismatched set up and internally corrected for it--resulting in a completely fucked output.

Thanks for the heads up for that, no freaking patch yet? Add The Last of Us to that list, some of the levels are fine, other's not :/
 
Weird but when I set my samsung to normal and PS4 to full I get crushed blacks.

You might need to adjust brightness. What may 'appear' as crushed blacks is simply because your settings were off before, causing you to lower your brightness to compensate for the washed out image.

What you are seeing now is how things should have been from the beginning. So, try increasing your brightness to compensate. Generally, if your samsung is at normal (as opposed to low) you want your PS4 set on Full. This is good.
 

Docpan

Member
On my samsung TV I changed the input name to pc and it looks WAY more crisp.

But I think color settings are still fucked up.

Do I change ps4 RGB range to full? Do I change on the tv options HDMI black level from low to normal? Default on PC mode is low.

The gamma level on D3 as a test I cant get the diablo head to barely appear in the mid range no matter how many toggles I change.

So those with the samsung tv, what do I change on both the ps4 and tv hdmi black levels after going pc mode?
 
Can someone explain to me what this means in an easy to understand manor?

Your PS4.

Settings - Sound and Screen - Manually set it to Limited or Full.

Which do you choose? Simple - match it to the same setting as your HDTV.

If TV at full, set PS4 to full.
If TV at limited, set PS4 to limited.


All this means is the color range your TV is accepting. If the color ranges do not properly match up between the TV and PS4, you'll get a washed out image, or an image that is overly dark with loss of details in your blacks, regardless of how high your brightness is.
 

SeanTSC

Member
Yeap... I think it is due to PS4 "decide" based on TV you are input... so it will choose FULL or LIMITED based in what TV it is input.

It's not even reading my TV's signal either. It's reading my Receiver's. Just like my PC reads my Receiver's EDID instead of my TV's.
 
On my samsung TV I changed the input name to pc and it looks WAY more crisp.

But I think color settings are still fucked up.

Do I change ps4 RGB range to full? Do I change on the tv options HDMI black level from low to normal? Default on PC mode is low.

The gamma level on D3 as a test I cant get the diablo head to barely appear in the mid range no matter how many toggles I change.

So those with the samsung tv, what do I change on both the ps4 and tv hdmi black levels after going pc mode?

RGB settings don't deal with 'crispness' that is only for sharpness. Remember, sharpness should be natural, not blurry, or overly sharp. On my set up, from 0 to 10, I have it on 5, the middle ground looks perfect.

If you have the PS4 on Full, HDMI Black Level should be set to Normal.

I get crushed blacks if PS4 is on full with HDMI Black Level set to low.

what he said.
 

Manac0r

Member
Ok, I'm using a 27inch Hanns G HZ281, which being a PC monitor should accept the 'full' setting.

However, after running several test screens (black levels) and calibrating the monitors settings, it seems I need to use limited. On Full, the blacks are definetely crushed even on the highest brightness settings. Limited does seem a little washed out however. I know this a budget monitor but surely it has to comply to PC standards?

I can only guess that the monitor is set to limited for the HDMI input and will probably accept full via DVI or VGA. Full definetely give more vibrant colours and the picture 'pops' but this might be because of the crushed blacks.

I know neither is better, but when switching between the two I prefer the colours on full...
 
Also, for anybody wondering, setting both to Limited or both to Full will yield the same result.
No, Limited displays a smaller range of colors. That's why they called it that.

Both Limited and Full can display "blue," but Full gives you more blues to pick from.
 

x3sphere

Member
On my samsung TV I changed the input name to pc and it looks WAY more crisp.

But I think color settings are still fucked up.

Do I change ps4 RGB range to full? Do I change on the tv options HDMI black level from low to normal? Default on PC mode is low.

The gamma level on D3 as a test I cant get the diablo head to barely appear in the mid range no matter how many toggles I change.

So those with the samsung tv, what do I change on both the ps4 and tv hdmi black levels after going pc mode?

If you have the PS4 on Full, HDMI Black Level should be set to Normal.

I get crushed blacks if PS4 is on full with HDMI Black Level set to low.
 

mattp

Member
yeah the auto detect is fucked on the ps4

my issue:
auto worked fine for gameplay, but if i used the share button the video output from that would look like garbage. way too dark, crushed blacks everywhere.
if i forced rgb to full the output didnt change(meaning auto was already using full) but the share button videos looked correct

you can see me switching back and forth between full and auto in this video:
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10100396718265526&set=vb.31503046&type=3&theater
 
yeah a couple months ago when i bought an HDMI switcher and it looked terrible/noisy i went into the PS4 settings and changed it from 'automatic' and it magically fixed it.

i'm glad i tried that and not send the switcher back for being broken.
 

Docpan

Member
So I got things perfect with our test image someone posted on page 1.

Samsung input at PC.

Hdmi black level normal on tv.

Ps4 rgb full range.

Brightness exactly 45.


All blocks show up on the black test. However, on D3 according to the gamma test I have to be way on the bottom of the scale to barely see the head in the back. Default setting is too bright.

Is it supposed to be turned down like that or should by default the head be barely visible?
 
No, Limited displays a smaller range of colors. That's why they called it that.

Both Limited and Full can display "blue," but Full gives you more blues to pick from.

True, but for the purpose of clarity and not to confuse non videophiles, simplicity of just making sure they match is far better than if they weren't matching.

But yeah, like I said - if your TV has a full option, set your PS4 to full and adjust brightness accordingly after the fact.
 

Slixshot

Banned
Your PS4.

Settings - Sound and Screen - Manually set it to Limited or Full.

Which do you choose? Simple - match it to the same setting as your HDTV.

If TV at full, set PS4 to full.
If TV at limited, set PS4 to limited.


All this means is the color range your TV is accepting. If the color ranges do not properly match up between the TV and PS4, you'll get a washed out image, or an image that is overly dark with loss of details in your blacks, regardless of how high your brightness is.

Thank you kind friend :)
 
Ok, I'm using a 27inch Hanns G HZ281, which being a PC monitor should accept the 'full' setting.

However, after running several test screens (black levels) and calibrating the monitors settings, it seems I need to use limited. On Full, the blacks are definetely crushed even on the highest brightness settings. Limited does seem a little washed out however. I know this a budget monitor but surely it has to comply to PC standards?

I can only guess that the monitor is set to limited for the HDMI input and will probably accept full via DVI or VGA. Full definetely give more vibrant colours and the picture 'pops' but this might be because of the crushed blacks.

I know neither is better, but when switching between the two I prefer the colours on full...

If increasing the brightness still causes blacks to be crushed. Then you want to stick to setting your PS4 to limited. Crushed blacks are the worst, you're literally losing out on visual information.

Set your PS4 to limited and try lowering your brightness.
 

Manac0r

Member
On the black test, if I can't see the first 3 a4 squares, does that mean I am on the wrong setting? Limited just seems really washed out... And on gamma tests on D3 I can't make the diablo head disappear on limited.
 

Muffdraul

Member
I have a old Sony Bravia LCD from 2010, using as my PC monitor and occasionally for PS4 gaming. It doesn't have any setting for HDMI levels. So I should set PS4 to Automatic?

My main TV is 42 incher Sony Bravia 2013 model. Will check it out tomorrow.

I have a Bravia too, and since it's Sony's premier HDTV I'd like to think this is not a concern for me, that Automatic is just fine.
 
Wow, this made an insane difference. I always thought my Panny UT50 was limited but the bad boy has Full RGB.

I read that gaming is best in Full but things like movies and whatnot are best viewed in limited, is that true?
Correct.
So if you're using your console as a media player then you'll want to stick with the limited setting.
 
On the black test, if I can't see the first 3 a4 squares, does that mean I am on the wrong setting? Limited just seems really washed out... And on gamma tests on D3 I can't make the diablo head disappear on limited.

Try full.

You should not be able to immediately determine a particular image is 'washed out'

That either means your rgb settings are off, or your brightness setting on your tv is blasted way too high.
 

Lady Gaia

Member
If anyome sees a "night and day" difference it means your settings were mismatched before and aren't now, or vice versa. Changing from limited + limited to full + full should yield a very subtle improvement in the number of discrete steps in gradients, which can reduce banding. It doesn't change the darkest or the brightest colors (unless you count blacker-than-black and brighter-than-white which aren't supposed to be distinguishable on a properly calibrated display.)

For those who like their sharpness set above zero on a modern display? Whatever makes you happy is fine, but please don't complain about aliasing. You've literally asked your display to exaggerate minor aliasing and create aliasing problems out of thin air, so that's on you.
 

icespide

Banned
If anyome sees a "night and day" difference it means your settings were mismatched before and aren't now, or vice versa. Changing from limited + limited to full + full should yield a very subtle improvement in the number of discrete steps in gradients, which can reduce banding. It doesn't change the darkest or the brightest colors (unless you count blacker-than-black and brighter-than-white which aren't supposed to be distinguishable on a properly calibrated display.)

For those who like their sharpness set above zero on a modern display? Whatever makes you happy is fine, but please don't complain about aliasing. You've literally asked your display to exaggerate minor aliasing and create aliasing problems out of thin air, so that's on you.

the sharpness 0 thing isn't true for all brands of TVs though. some displays 0 is the baseline where no filtering is applied while for other displays the baseline is somewhere in the middle and actually setting to 0 applies additional filtering that makes it even blurrier
 

kurahadol

Member
A bit off gaming topic but still relevant. With Apple TV, it classifies Full and Limited as RGB High and Low. Is RGB High the Limited and RGB Full the Low?
 

kamorra

Fuck Cancer
I agree with all of these except for sharpness at 0. Sharpness at zero on my Samsung looks too blurry. I have it at 25 and I feel like that's the sweet spot. Go much higher and it starts looking like shit though.

Sharpness set to 0 makes the image way blurry. Between 25-30 is the correct setting at least for my F8000.
Also all the enhancements are disabled by default if the HDMI is renamed to PC. That's why there is the least amount of input lag in PC mode.

Gotta say it's surprising to see so many people having image quality issues after so many years of HD gaming.

Yeah, it's true that on some models the picture is gets blurry on 0. I should've mentioned it.

Hdmi black level? Is that what you are referring to?
No, on some Samys you have a separate setting called Black tone.
 
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