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As a PC Gamer, HDR Makes Me Question Everything

raul3d

Member
A game like Resident Evil 2, I played on PC. The high frame rate and extra settings made it look fantastic but would have HDR elevated it that much more?
I played Resident Evil 2 on my Windows 8.1 PC on my TV in HDR. The game supported it and it technically worked quite well. However, Resident Evil 2 uses that wierd color grading that changes from room to room and causes washed out blacks most of the time and the HDR does not change that. There were only a few exceptions that looked stellar, like the decontamination room later in the lab.
 

DeaDPo0L84

Member
It's such a hit or miss feature. When it works its great, when implemented poorly it can actually make the image worse.

I still have my Sony X900f, I used to play on it all the time until building my first gaming PC. Now I use a 27" Asus Rog pg279q, 1440p/144hz. It'd take a miracle to get me to back.

The overall gaming experience after a few months is much more enjoyable on my monitor vs my TV. I see the pros/cons of both sides but the benefits of gaming on a monitor even without hdr outweigh those of a TV for me personally.

I am curious what a 4k/hdr/144hz gaming monitor will run for once they're introduced. Surely they're gonna be priced way too high but we shall see.
 
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HDR on pc is shit, and seems like a revolving door. You have shit implementation so monitor makers have less incentive to make it good, and at the same time since you don’t have a ton of good hdr monitors you keep having shit implementation in Windows.

It’s easy to hook up a PC to a tv, but that doesn’t fix the fact that HDR on Windows is shit and the last time I tried it you had to basically toggle it on and off every time you wanted to play as it just dims and ruins the picture outside of games.

If anybody knows why monitor manufacturing can’t make proper HDR monitors without them being OLED level price points fill me in.

This sounds good on paper but it’s not practical for most people — most adults have their desktops in a different room than their expensive TV’s, and lugging a 40LB PC tower room to room and back isn’t feasible for most. It’s the reason this discussion even exists at a fundamental level.
Why does your pc weigh 40 pounds?
 
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Chromata

Member
I am curious what a 4k/hdr/144hz gaming monitor will run for once they're introduced. Surely they're gonna be priced way too high but we shall see.

They already exist, it's called the PG27UQ and it's like $2000 lol. I have the same monitor as you and I'm considering the upgrade since 1440p is an awkward position between current gen and next gen.
 

DeaDPo0L84

Member
They already exist, it's called the PG27UQ and it's like $2000 lol. I have the same monitor as you and I'm considering the upgrade since 1440p is an awkward position between current gen and next gen.

It's kinda crazy to me cause honestly if two monitors came out, one being 4k/144hz and the other was 4k/144hz/hdr but the price difference was a decent amount of money I'd probably just get the former.

I'm seeing these TVs coming out with g sync which is great but I still don't think I'd get the results I want from a TV vs a monitor.

For instance with CP2077 I want bare minimum 1440p/120fps (potentially 4k 🤷‍♂️). I plan on getting a 3080ti so I'm not worried about hitting that target but I don't think any TV will be able to replicate those results like my monitor.
 

00_Zer0

Member
I have a 2019 Samsung Q70R 65 inch TV and HDR shows up great on this TV. My PC build with a Ryzen 7 3700 X, a Sapphire 5700 RX Nitro plus, and 16 gigs of RAM work great on this TV. I run HDR on RE7 and RE2 and both run and look great in HDR on this television. What's also nice about this TV is that it can simultaneously support 1440p at 120HZ and still get hdr, which is a good trade off for unlocked or high framerates.
 
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Neil Young

Member
At first, I gave up on HDR. I have the 6 series TCL and all the games looked dim and washed out. I then followed the advanced settings on Ratings.com and it changed everything. Games look much better (some better than others). The Division games come to mind and Red Dead. So yeah, it took me hours to get it right, but it was worth it.
 

Golgo 13

The Man With The Golden Dong
HDR on pc is shit, and seems like a revolving door. You have shit implementation so monitor makers have less incentive to make it good, and at the same time since you don’t have a ton of good hdr monitors you keep having shit implementation in Windows.

It’s easy to hook up a PC to a tv, but that doesn’t fix the fact that HDR on Windows is shit and the last time I tried it you had to basically toggle it on and off every time you wanted to play as it just dims and ruins the picture outside of games.

If anybody knows why monitor manufacturing can’t make proper HDR monitors without them being OLED level price points fill me in.


Why does your pc weigh 40 pounds?
No worries man. Here you go.
 

thelastword

Banned
Not all HDR implementations are impressive though. HDR on LOU2 is just so well done. Other developers just overdo white scene brightness etc.....The HDR in LOU2 matches the tone of the environment so well. It's the first game where I shifted from HDR to SDR and HDR looked more natural and not washed out or overbearing...
 

pokerlife

Member
I'm primarily a PC gamer but I do have a PS4 and always get consoles for exclusives. One thing that has really changed the landscape for me though is HDR and 4K.

I just recently wrapped up the Last of Us Part II and the HDR did wonders for that game. It really set an atmosphere and tone where I couldn't imagine not playing it without it. It added to much to the experience where it puts me in a conundrum -especially with the upcoming PS5.

A game like Resident Evil 2, I played on PC. The high frame rate and extra settings made it look fantastic but would have HDR elevated it that much more? With the PS5, I would hope that we'd get more 60fps games so 4K + HDR + 60fps is really going to temp me to go with the console version at least for certain games.

I guess the answer is to simply get a HDR monitor but it seems like that space is limited and the technology is not as good as on TVs currently, not to mention the insane prices. Is anyone in a similar mindset and love HDR? I'm hoping HDR will become more prevelant on PC and we get some good monitor choices soon. It's going to be a real struggle in deciding between high frame rate vs. HDR/4K for console going forward.

LG Oled owner here and i just finished Last Of Us 2 and it made me realize HDR is a SCAMMMM . Play in HDR and then switch your tv to Photo Mode. Photo mode and HDR look exactly the same.. Guess what photo mode is.? Photo mode is basically all processing and special contrast (etc) turned off. If you you OLED try it yourself
 

Amaranty

Member
HDR is a hit and miss in games. There's a few gems out there (God of War or HZD) among a sea of subpar HDR implementation.
 

Rbk_3

Member
The choice for PC gamers right now is between a large TV for 4k 60fps + HDR ... or a smaller monitor that's high refresh rate 1080p or 1440p and no HDR.

There do exist large 4K PC monitors that do all of the above in one package. I think I saw a 55' 4K 120fps OLED monitor on Linus Tech Tips but it cost $5000.

I'm firmly in the comfy couch camp and HDR is also great when done properly. When done properly there is close to zero performance impact and the game just looks better. I'd like to see an HDR option in ALL games.

You just have to be honest about the kind of gamer you are. Are you hardcore into CS GO or some other competitive twitch shooter? If that's what you spend most of your time playing, then giving up large 4K TVs with HDR in favor of lower resolution but higher refresh rate makes sense.

But if you're a more general kind of gamer then IMO 60fps is enough for completely smooth gameplay in the vast majority of titles. Don't tell me that Kerbal Space Program is so much better at 144fps lol

You can get an OLED TV that does 4K/120/HDR/4:4:4 for a little over a grand. There are no cards that have HDMI 2.1 yet, but there should be soon.
 
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CyberChulo

Member
When PS4 got he ability to play HDR games, I booted up Unhcharted 4. For a game that was retrofitted with HDR tech, it looks absolutely amazing! When I turned off HDR, everything was just dull looking. And I was giving this game high praise for it's lighting and graphics when it was only SDR. I couldn't believe what a difference it made. But it also comes down to the TV that you have and how many nits it can output for HDR to truly appreciate it. The TV that I have is a 2015 Sony XBR 75940c and that can output 1200 nits. So you really need a good bright TV to appreciate it.
 

fybyfyby

Member
HDR in movies is a subtle improvement. Dolby Vision helps achieve that glass window effect that's hard to describe, but makes the picture feel more alive.

HDR in games doesn't do it for me. First it relies on HDR10 and second, implementation tends to be subpar. Some games even have fake HDR, per Digital Foundry.

I'd love to see what games look like with Dolby Vision.
So you didnt saw really good implementation of HDR. If you saw it, you could never say HDR in movies is a subtle improvement. Bluray movies are mastered for 1000 nits usually. Did you saw a movie on really good hdr display? That means Last generation of oleds (they finally closing to 1000 nits) or some great LCD like top Samsung qleds (at least 8 or 9 line)? On the other hand HDR doesnt give you more then reality. It tends to be as close as possible. Dolby vision is better then hdr10, but its more important to have Very good display then to have Dolby vision. 90%of TVs claiming they are hdr are crap. Really!
 

J3nga

Member
If some of you only seen "HDR"on a one of those cheap 4K tv's with HDR 400 it's not really HDR, it's SDR + 50 nits. You need FALD LCD or OLED TV to appreciate HDR. If HDR is done right, it's really experience changer IMO and it's hard to go back to SDR content at least for me.
 
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Kuranghi

Member
It's such a hit or miss feature. When it works its great, when implemented poorly it can actually make the image worse.

I still have my Sony X900f, I used to play on it all the time until building my first gaming PC. Now I use a 27" Asus Rog pg279q, 1440p/144hz. It'd take a miracle to get me to back.

The overall gaming experience after a few months is much more enjoyable on my monitor vs my TV. I see the pros/cons of both sides but the benefits of gaming on a monitor even without hdr outweigh those of a TV for me personally.

I am curious what a 4k/hdr/144hz gaming monitor will run for once they're introduced. Surely they're gonna be priced way too high but we shall see.

*performs miracle*

Did you know your X900F can do 1440p/120hz? You just have to force the resolution in the amd/nvidia control panel, takes 30 seconds. It also reduces the input lag by 50% compared to 4K@60 + HDR, 13ms I think. Not as good as your monitor I'm sure, but getting there.

So you can have lower input lag, 1440p/120hz, a bigger screen, HDR AND possibly better response time. More on that below.

I just checked your monitor out and its response time is 4ms (grey to grey), while the X900F is 3ms, but I'm not sure if thats the grey to grey time because 10ms is also listed for X900F's "100%" response time. So you would also have less ghosting of certain colours in the image - not that you will have much on the monitor anyway - due to the TV being 33% faster.
 

kraspkibble

Permabanned.
HDR on PC is garbage. Only games I have with it are Destiny 2, The Division 2, Sekiro, and ..... Football Manager lol.

Doesn't help monitors have shit support. My monitor has HDR and it does look better than SDR but the blacks are so washed out and glowy because of the insane brightness.

I have yet to see HDR on a TV but I can't stand using HDR on my monitor. It's just way too bright and uncomfortable to look at.
 

Goro Majima

Kitty Genovese Member
I’m not sure if I really notice HDR as this immediately distinguishable thing.

I played Assassins Creed Odyssey at generally max settings on an ultra wide 100hz G-sync monitor and I’ve played Horizon Zero Dawn on an HDR TV.

To me Assassins Creed Odyssey looked and performed way better. HZD is a pretty game for sure but I still think graphics and frame rate are king at the end of the day.
 
I haven't even had my PC hooked up to a monitor for years. Right now I think Ubisoft does the best HDR is the PC world. Replaying FarCry 5 and I'm reminded of what a good job they did with it. Hitman 2 is also a winner.

Hook that PC up to a TV my man.Ditch the desk.
 

tassletine

Member
Last of 2 is amazing graphically. Most games don't use the blacks like that title does.
Red Dead 2 on PC is quite a bit better than the PS4 version. The thing that changed gaming for me (more) was an ultrawide curved monitor, sitting that close is very immersive.
To me it's just a graphical option -- that can be used well -- but should never have been promoted to the level that it has been as most people can't see the difference.
 

DeaDPo0L84

Member
*performs miracle*

Did you know your X900F can do 1440p/120hz? You just have to force the resolution in the amd/nvidia control panel, takes 30 seconds. It also reduces the input lag by 50% compared to 4K@60 + HDR, 13ms I think. Not as good as your monitor I'm sure, but getting there.

So you can have lower input lag, 1440p/120hz, a bigger screen, HDR AND possibly better response time. More on that below.

I just checked your monitor out and its response time is 4ms (grey to grey), while the X900F is 3ms, but I'm not sure if thats the grey to grey time because 10ms is also listed for X900F's "100%" response time. So you would also have less ghosting of certain colours in the image - not that you will have much on the monitor anyway - due to the TV being 33% faster.

Hmm interesting. I have since this past august always gamed on a 55" usually high end 4k/HDR tv cause I was well into the tech at that time. I always pushed the belief that games are simply better on a big tv, especially when I played 1st party story driven games cause it gives it a much bigger scale. But I don't know, ever since I switched to my monitor I feel like I have just had a better time overall. I do appreciate the info, I am admittedly not that knowledgeable when it comes to what tvs can do compared to gaming monitors. I guess if I ever really got the bug to test it out I could just run a really long HDMI cord to my tv while never actually moving anything and see how it goes, hmmm. But I do lose g-sync now that i'm thinking about it and that has been an absolute god send since making the switch.
 
For those saying HDR is subtle, I'm not quite sure you've experienced it properly. If you have a OLED or FALD LCD, it's hard to watch movies or play games without it. The issue is that most TVs that people have will either have software dimming, global dimming or edge dimming. You won't see anything mindblowing with those dimming solutions.

OLED or FALD however, that's when it gets into game changer territory.

I really want an OLED but I hear burn in is a thing.

How's that going for you?

Worth the jump?
 

BadBurger

Is 'That Pure Potato'
It's why I play most games on my PS4 Pro now. Sure I can afford an expensive monitor that does HDR but I don't want to go through all that.
 

dcx4610

Member
I really want an OLED but I hear burn in is a thing.

How's that going for you?

Worth the jump?

I have a Samsung FALD/QLED. It's not quite OLED but I prefer it honestly so I don't have to worry about burn-in. murra effect or contrast shifting. The blacks are black and the processor is quick enough to keep up so you very rarely notice brightness shifting with the FALD.

We'll worth it. Anyone serious about 4K movies or HDR in games, make it a point to get a FALD or OLED. I know it's temping to get a 65 inch for $400 but there's a reason it's $400. If you can do it, pay the $1200+ and get a quality display that takes advantage of the perks of 4K. It's not just a number on a box.
 

dezzy8

Member
HDR annoys me. I turn it off when playing games. Maybe my settings are messed up but every time I walk into a dark area in TLoU2 the screen takes like a second or two to brighten the area up. It annoys me to no end.
 

EverydayBeast

thinks Halo Infinite is a new graphical benchmark
HDR, Blueray, HD, 4K etc. is good for business, TV's today has tremendous amounts of power.
 

pokerlife

Member
Still waiting for someone with OLED to fact check what i said earlier. ITS A SCAM
LG Oled owner here and i just finished Last Of Us 2 and it made me realize HDR is a SCAMMMM . Play in HDR and then switch your tv to Photo Mode. Photo mode and HDR look exactly the same.. Guess what photo mode is.? Photo mode is basically all processing and special contrast (etc) turned off. If you you OLED try it yourself
 

Toe-Knee

Member
HDR in movies is a subtle improvement. Dolby Vision helps achieve that glass window effect that's hard to describe, but makes the picture feel more alive.

HDR in games doesn't do it for me. First it relies on HDR10 and second, implementation tends to be subpar. Some games even have fake HDR, per Digital Foundry.

I'd love to see what games look like with Dolby Vision.
Andromeda has dolby vision
 
To me, it depends on what engine the game is using. I think that any games that are running on UE4 looks fantastic in HDR. Gears 4 & 5 pulled it off perfectly to me. Right balance of colour and black levels. All other games had really mess up colours, even when I adjust the TV settings. I keep it off and most of my games looks fantastic on my TV in SDR.
 
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