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[Keylime]

The only device I own that can do HDR is my iPhone, but I keep hearing about how HDR feels revolutionary.

I've seen the image comparisons, so there's no question in my mind that there's a benefit to it...

...but if you've had an HDR capable TV, can you tell when you're watching something that has HDR vs. doesn't? Like if the content isn't HDR does it feel like you're watching 480p YouTube videos and it's a massive eye-sore, or can you really just not tell?

I'm mainly asking because when I first got an HDTV, it was so obvious how much of an improvement the picture was over the SDTV. The jump to 4K TVs with actual 4K content is noticeable, but certainly not making me cum buckets in comparison to 1080p.

Is HDR an "SDTV to HDTV" level shift, or more of a "1080p to 4K" kind of shift in terms of impact?

 

[kunonabi]

Some movies are a little more restrained but yes HDR is incredibly noticeable. I actually find it way more striking than the jump to 4K. Depending on the film id absolutely put it up there with the shift to HD.

 

[notathing]

HDR on an LCD is a waste. We also got a new, wider color space, no? So, that's good.

I don't like high brightness

 

[Fbh]

My only experience with it is in gaming but I love it. I have a Ps Pro and I think HDR makes a bigger difference than every pro enhancement (better resolution and higher graphical settings,etc ), which is kinda sad since the base Ps4 also has HDR.
From my experience, colours just look nicer and brighter and more varied, dark stuff looks more defined without being crushed.

Of all the games I've played I think FFXV definitely does it best. The game does overall look much nicer with HDR but there is one time of day in particular that looks amazing and it's noon. Without HDR it looks fine but turn it on and you really get an awesome, warm bright shade of sunset orange that looks fantastic.

I wouldn't put it on the same level as SD vs HD IMO, it's not that big of a difference. I can walk into a room with a TV playing FFXV or Horizon and instantly tell you if it's running with HDR, but if the TV is playing a game or movie I haven't seen it wouldn't be that easy. With SD vs HD you can show me any content no matter if I have never seen it before and it's easy to tell if it's one or the other

 

[Aintitcool]

HDR finally gives people the chance to see films like in the theater with high luminance and 10bit color. I used to work in theater and 50k projectors from 2007 produce the same 4k 10bit image as UltraHD blurays. Its a step up but its not as amazing as the jump from LCD to OLED. True Black plus HDR is the real catcher.

 

[GenericUser]

...

...but if you've had an HDR capable TV, can you tell when you're watching something that has HDR vs. doesn't? Like if the content isn't HDR does it feel like you're watching 480p YouTube videos and it's a massive eye-sore, or can you really just not tell?

...
Is HDR an "SDTV to HDTV" level shift, or more of a "1080p to 4K" kind of shift in terms of impact?

I just recently upgraded from a shitty 1080P screen to a 4K 10 Bit HDR/Dolby Vision screen. Boy you wouldn't know. The jump from 1080P to 4K is noticeable, but imo not that significant. HDR on the other hand, that is a effin game changer. You have to see it in motion, no still image can do it justice. Everything feels so much more nuanced and well defined. Non-HDR is ok, but every color feels so crushing in comparison. HDR is really an eye opener. Thing is, the demo movies you see in the stores give a false impression on how HDR really improves the visuals. HDR imo is not only there to show of "more" colors and better contrasts, intead, the whole image is cleaner, smoother and more pleasing to look at, especially in motion. I would go as far and say, I enjoy a game more, if it has HDR support. If you have the cash, I'd say get a HDR TV set. I can see this technology improving fast, as newer panels will push more nits and the HDR range will definitly increase more.

 

[Rikkori]

 

[rofif]

After I got OLED like 2 months ago, I now finally understand.
The colors depth, the huge contrast, blinding sun... Hdr is now the first thing I check if game supports. Fantastic

 

[RJMacready73]

HDR on my LGCX is pretty incredible, the pictures just have this shine to them, defo reccommend an OLED because it can do true blacks rights beside pin sharp highlights, one scene that looks insane to me and the wife is the blood club scene in Blade, coupled with the banging music from my soundbar the scenes where the blood is covering everyone in this deep red with these incredibly bright highlights from the club lighting makes the scene a real showstopper and this movie is fucking ancient and imo one of the best to show off an OLED & HDR

 

[fran.fernandez]

LG C9 65. (Vivid mode), Sony X900H 65
Benq 4K HDR 27 designer calibrated monitor almost more expensive than tv.


HDR? Still can't see it

Edit; maybe I'm just used to it that I can't see it anymore? Lol

 

[Birdo]

How to get HDR without a HDR TV: Go into settings, turn the contrast to zero. BOOM that's basically HDR.

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

How to get HDR without a HDR TV: Go into settings, turn the contrast to zero. BOOM that's basically HDR.

Not really, but I played Ori and theWill of the Wisps in HDR and the shadows were completely crushed on the default HDR settings. And that's playing on the highly praised Lg C9. Same TV that one day decided to activate HDR when I started a non-HDR movie on Amazon Video, with results you can vaguely reproduce by choosing the "Vivid" preset on your TV and turning saturation to the max.

So for me, HDR is, if nothing else, another video setting to customize in your games.
I really doubt I could say "hey, that's HDR!" if I saw HDR content running on a TV without prior knowledge. It's another thing you easily notice in an A/B comparison, but will hardly pay any attention to when you're actually, you know, playing the game.

 

[Makoto-Yuki]

i was excited to get a 4K tv and wasn't bothered if it had HDR or not. my TV does have HDR and it turns out HDR makes a much bigger difference. if i had to pick between a 4K non HDR TV and a 1080p HDR TV i'd go with the 1080p.

of course you need a display that can do proper HDR. that means really damn good contrast ratio such as a QLED/Mini LED. the best is OLED because it can do infinite contrast ratio basically meaning 2 pixels that are right next to each other and one can be on and one can be off. my PC monitor has HDR and it sucks because the blacks glow up like crazy but on my OLED the HDR blew my mind.

 

[It's all in the wrist]

On an OLED, it's transformative. Everything looks better. Of course, the content needs to be mastered correctly.

To anyone naysaying, you're getting a much larger color and brightness range. That is significant in improving the image.

 

[YCoCg]

Most people don't know you're supposed to have two profiles, one for SDR and one for HDR, most just use their SDR settings on HDR and wonder what's the deal.

 

[Rayderism]

The TV I have (Samsung MU6300) only has "pHakeDR", meaning it supports HDR input, but doesn't have a wide color gamut, so SDR vs. HDR doesn't look much different. But I have noticed that HDR varies wildly between games, some do it well and look decent enough, while others can look washed-out or have weak colors when switching between SDR and HDR. I can only assume the variations appear so extreme because the TV's limited color gamut can't properly re-create whatever technique some devs use for HDR......or something like that. In those cases, I just go back to SDR.

I have attempted many times to calibrate HDR (through the TV, the game, and the PS4 settings), and have gotten it as good as it's going to get, but no matter what, different games produce different results. Most look good enough, some look crappy, and some are just....wrong. Never could find a happy-medium for HDR on this TV to suit all HDR games.

SDR, on the other hand, I was able to calibrate it to a happy-medium easily, where EVERY game running in SDR looks right without ever having to adjust anything, except maybe a notch up or down on the in-game brightness setting.

Someday, I'll get a better TV for HDR gaming, but I'm not really all that fussed about it.

 

[GHG]

I've got a Samsung Q70r, a Philips oled805 (LG OLED panel that is the same as the C1) and an LG ultra wide monitor that can do HDR. I also have an older OLED LG TV that can't do HDR.

I can tell you that if you want HDR get one of the newer OLED panels that can comfortably do 700+ nits. With HDR content it's a night and day difference to LED HDR, nevermind a panel that can't do HDR at all. HDR games look stunning, dolby vision content is incredible, to the point where you struggle to use other panels because you know you're missing out.

Anyone who says it's not a big difference or that it's not important is yet to experience it on a modern OLED. I'd rank them as follows:

LED without HDR < LED HDR < OLED without HDR <<<< OLED HDR

 

[Enjay]

HDR is as useless as blast processing or ray tracing.

 

[EverydayBeast]

HDR 4K UHD RAY TRACING is must have in 2021.

 

[kittoo]

To me HDR, when even half properly implemented, is absolutely mind-blowing. Games like Ghost of tsushima, God of War, gears 5 etc look soooo gooooood.
Ghost of tsushima blows my mind every few minutes. The sun gleaming through the trees, sunlight illuminating grass, moonlight shining through trees and fog in the night. It just blows my mind.
Also, an OLED really helps with HDR due to the sheer contrast, especially in night scenes. C9 is one of the best purchases I have ever done.

 

[rofif]

How to get HDR without a HDR TV: Go into settings, turn the contrast to zero. BOOM that's basically HDR.

excuse me ?

 

[YCoCg]

The thing is, HDR isn't even at its best yet, wait until MicroLED screens are out and we get graded HDR2000 upto HDR4000. It's one of those techs that will continue to improve when screens can be mass produced for it. OLED is cited as one of the best for now but even that's only graded around HDR700/800.

 

[TMONSTER]

The problem with HDR is any crap display can slap a logo it and call itself HDR capable. Most peoples first experience with HDR is on these low quality displays and you end up with bad takes like those in this thread. If you haven't seen HDR on a recent OLED or high-end FALD LCD then you have not seen HDR.

 

[TGO]

It really depends on the HDR content and how good it is, but the overall even with SDR content on a HDR screen you'll notice a SDR screen looks flat and dull in comparison.
for real HDR content you see things like a flash torch lighting up the room like a flash torch would and your eyes will react to it in a realistic manner because it's as bright as the real thing.
But the blacks on the screen will remain dark and black and the light source will have pin point accuracy.
Apply this to anything else, a sunset, a gun flash, a explosion and you get the idea
And colours are more vibrant because of this.
I will say you do need a full array LED or OLED screen for this, although with OLED I believe don't get as bright as the top of line FALD screens, but they're bright enough
As for iPhone HDR.
nah, that's like a cheap HDR TV.

 

[cormack12]

HDR, when done well is good. Unfortunately 90% of implementations are poor or just inconsistent (both in single instance and across multiple mediums). That's where we are imo.

 

[Whitecrow]

For gaming is mostly a waste.
Yes, high contrast and whatever, but SDR is carefully crafted while HDR is not.

And HDR in Oleds with its low peak brightness is not that impressive.
People talk like if pure blacks was the ultimate feature but it's not. Peak brightness in daylight scenes can be as impressive as pure blacks at night.

My conclusion is that a well calibrated SDR at 444 Chroma is the best option

 

[B D Joe]

I've got an LG CX and all I know is it's the best TV I've ever had.

I dont know whether this is because of HDR but its definitely a big step up from my previous sony telly and that had HDR too

 

[OmegaSupreme]

For gaming is mostly a waste.
Yes, high contrast and whatever, but SDR is carefully crafted while HDR is not.

And HDR in Oleds with its low peak brightness is not that impressive.
People talk like if pure blacks was the ultimate feature but it's not. Peak brightness in daylight scenes can be as impressive as pure blacks at night.

My conclusion is that a well calibrated SDR at 444 Chroma is the best option

No. Every av enthusiast will tell you black levels come first. Every professional reviewer. Everyone.

 

[rofif]

For gaming is mostly a waste.
Yes, high contrast and whatever, but SDR is carefully crafted while HDR is not.

And HDR in Oleds with its low peak brightness is not that impressive.
People talk like if pure blacks was the ultimate feature but it's not. Peak brightness in daylight scenes can be as impressive as pure blacks at night.

My conclusion is that a well calibrated SDR at 444 Chroma is the best option

It depends how it's created. In Uncharted 4 when you exit a cave.. it's amazing. Same with Death Stranding

 

[Whitecrow]

No. Every av enthusiast will tell you black levels come first. Every professional reviewer. Everyone.

If we are talking about those specular highlights maybe, but everyone also speaks about the agressive ABL OLEDs have.

 

[Plies]

Perfection