The goal of High Dynamic Range (HDR) technology has always been to produce an image that looks like the one our eyes naturally see, with rich and vivid colours, good contrast and realistic lighting across the entire scene.
The trouble has always been that display technology hasn’t been advanced enough to make this happen, at least not until recently. In order to understand why HDR tech has become possible now, it’s important to know the history of how we got here. Let’s go back in time…
What Is HDR?
High Dynamic Range (HDR) means an image should have a greater range of colour and contrast than what you’re used to on most computer or TV screens. This new tech allows your games to have incredible visual fidelity, producing images that are brighter, crisper, and more natural looking than ever before.
The short explanation is: HDR makes games look more real, but it does require 4K displays for optimal results. To learn more about how HDR works in games head over to What Is HDR Gaming? You can also check out our guide for best HDR Monitors 2017 if you’re thinking of getting a new monitor specifically for HDR gaming.
For all other PC gaming monitors, we recommend checking out our Best Monitor Guide. If there’s anything else, you want to know about HDR feel free to ask away in comments below! #gaming #hdr #monitors #bestmonitors2017
Benefits Of Gaming In HDR
HDR makes some of your games come to life, providing better detail and contrast. HDR games can appear more lifelike in ways we haven’t seen before, improving graphics across platforms. Certain Xbox One and PS4 games support HDR already and it’s not hard to see why; they look incredible with HDR turned on.
If you want an upgrade from 1080p, HDR is one way to get it. The following are few benefits of HDR Gaming: ● Better Contrast: HDR provides improved contrast for clearer images overall. This means you’ll be able to pick out details that were once hidden by darker areas or bright spots in your image (as long as developers have taken advantage of these capabilities).
● Improved Colour: HDR brings out more natural colours than ever before—especially when paired with compatible TVs that offer wide colour gamut (WCG). You’ll notice richer reds and greens while everything else stays relatively true-to-life.
What Games Support Hdr?
You can now see HDR or High Dynamic Range content in select 4K UHD Blu-ray movies and certain HDR games, but it wasn’t easy. In order to stream or play HDR content, your computer will have to have an Intel i5 Koby Lake Processor or better and Windows 10.
At that point, you’re going to need to be sitting in front of an HDR display monitor (they start at around $350). One of those displays is not cheap; you might want to pick up an Xbox One X if you really want all things 4K. We’ll be looking forward to more affordable consumer displays with wider colour gamut when they roll out.
HDR gaming on PC has been limited to only a few titles including Gears of War 4 and Forza Horizon 3. HDR isn’t just for gamers though. Netflix offers some HDR programming as well as Amazon Prime Video, which has HDR support for Amazon original series like The Grand Tour and Mozart in the Jungle.
It’s also worth noting that while many people are excited about high dynamic range TVs, HDR does come with its share of limitations too: First off, don’t expect any sort of improvement on anything older than an HDTV set from 2012 or so – HDR is specifically designed for newer televisions capable of displaying far more colours than standard HDTVs ever could – even if you’re watching on an HDTV set from 2012 or later.
What Are the Requirements For HDR?
To get started, you’ll need a compatible display. Most HDR-capable monitors have 4K resolution (3840 x 2160 pixels), although it is possible to find some with QHD displays (2560 x 1440 pixels). Another factor that could affect your decision is price; most HDR displays cost between $500 and $1,000, so be sure that you can comfortably afford one.
In terms of games, only specific PC titles support HDR visuals at present. It’s possible to run non-HDR games in HDR mode by tweaking graphics settings or downloading wrapper software designed to apply those settings automatically.
How Do I Get an HDR TV?
HDR gaming, then, is pretty easy. You’ve already got an HDR-capable TV, and all you have to do is buy new games (or re-download your old games) that support HDR. If you don’t see it as an option when you hit new game or download it from Steam/Origin/UPlay, check to make sure that your game console supports HDR first.
Many of these consoles are getting updates (or will soon be updated) to support HDR. An example of one such update would be 4K video streaming in both Netflix and YouTube on Xbox One S or X consoles; they are getting their own HDR games app with specific programming from Netflix and YouTube.
Can I Play in HDR On My PC?
If you’re hoping to play HDR games on your PC, I have some bad news: not yet. Several of NVIDIA’s announcements focused on new HDR monitors and compatible GPUs. HDR isn’t just about increased brightness (although that does help when it comes to gaming) but also colours.
These new panels offer more colour depth for deeper blacks, brighter whites, and all shades in between. We still don’t know when we’ll see these panels paired with PC hardware—but all indications point to before 2017 is over.
You can check out our coverage of G-Sync HDR for what HDR gaming looks like now. But until HDR becomes an option on PCs, consoles are where you want to be. The Xbox One S and PS4 Pro both support HDR, which means there are several games available now or coming soon that will look better than ever before when played on an HDR TV or monitor.
On top of making existing games look better, it opens up possibilities for future titles too! A good example would be Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, which takes advantage of those extra colours to bring alternate history 1960s America to life in a very striking way.
Conclusion
In conclusion HDR will definitely bring a new experience to us. And if you have a 4K TV that supports HDR, I’d recommend picking up an HDR game. I can confirm it works quite well with Battlefield 1.
In addition, there are more games coming out with HDR support every day—so if you’re interested in being ahead of the curve, check regularly to see which titles are already supporting it (and read user reviews before spending your money). HDR is still a young technology, but one that’s rapidly expanding and improving.
The future looks bright for HDR-enabled gaming—though don’t expect miracles just yet. As we all know, Xbox one S has come back with many improvements, but now Xbox One S has been released, and what about HDR Gaming? Will Xbox One S be able to play HDR Games?
Here we will give you some details about Xbox One S HDR Gaming: What does HDR mean for gaming? For those who aren’t familiar with high dynamic range (HDR) imaging, it’s essentially an image or video format that enables greater colour depth and contrast compared to standard formats like sRGB or Rec 709. So, what does HDR mean for gaming?
