So, HDR: I don't get the appeal.

Gamer Bhoy 89

My better half just recently bought a new TV for herself -- 4K, HDR, etc.

I got a chance to play my PS4 on it over the weekend and the first thing I did was enable the HDR and turn on Uncharted 4 to see what the fuss was about.

Honestly -- even though I can somewhat see a difference, I really don't get how it's regarded as a big game-changer in terms of image quality or whatever. I came home this morning and hooked it back up to my own TV (1080p, no HDR) and I don't miss it at all -- looks perfectly fine to me.

So many people going on about how HDR makes the games look incredible -- they already look incredible. I don't get it lol.....

Am I missing something?

Wonda-Boy

Well as someone who recently got a PS4 Pro and a 4K TV there is a hell of a difference I tell you that (with the games I play) Granted not every game takes advantage of HDR but having played D2 to death and MHW on a 32" HD TV then to switch to a 55" 4K TV and a PS4 Pro was a huge difference.

If you invest in a really good 4K TV with a 10bit panel for the best colours its night and day picture wise.

theteal

What TV?

Canis Lupus

It gives a game a touch more detail but evening out light and dark areas. I don't think it's amazeballs by any stretch but it's good to have on I think.

sabat

Try googling the model number with "recommended calibration" or settings and see if some tweeking helps.

gimli2112

I'd agree with Wonda. Some games make much better use of HDR than others and not just new games. I spent hours looking at how to set the tv up for best performance, spent a whole weekend in Borderlands 2 (PS Pro), when I emerged into the real world I thought I'd gone blind.


First game I played in HD over SD was Resistance 2 on a PS3 and that seemed a bigger leap forward tbh.

ShadowHearth

I dont own 4k tv, but I did a lot dogging in to it and sow game demos in shops on 4k panels.

Just 4k and hdr on tv does not mean its going to give you proper hdr expensive. Those cheap 500eu 4k tvs are crap for that. Thats why people ask what tv and model you used to experience it.

If you want proper 4k hdr experience you need a decent tv for 1k++ at least. Sony 900 series are best.

gimli2112

I went for a fairly expensive Sony I think 9000 but may have been 900 series. Have to say it was painful trying to figure out what tvs were good. Some models are different depending on the country / region it is sold. It worked out in the end but still was taking a bit of a leap of faith.

_CreeD_

Wonda hit the nail on the head, what is the bit-depth of the panel? A lot of TVs accept HDR metadata but still only have 8-bit panels, you need a minimum of 10 in hardware to have any real effect.

pah

Would a PS4 not render the games similarly on both TV's? You need the PS4 pro to show the difference as well as the 4k TV no?

jones

_CreeD_ wrote: »

Wonda hit the nail on the head, what is the bit-depth of the panel? A lot of TVs accept HDR metadata but still only have 8-bit panels, you need a minimum of 10 in hardware to have any real effect.

This

I have a Bravia 4K tv with HDR. It's not a top of the line 4K tv so the HDR effect is probably not as good as a tv that cost two grand but i think whoever buy's a two grand tv is mad. That's just my opinion though. Mine was about 700euro and i thought that was pushing it. Could take or leave HDR personally after using it.

Varik

You might be odd and not think it's an improvement over SDR for some reason as many things are subjective, but it's definitely not an "even though I can somewhat see a difference" kind of change. Either you've a setting wrong or the TV isn't good enough.

ED E

theteal wrote: »

What TV?

This.

Pugzilla

Your mistake was using a console for gaming

Current consoles don't have the power to play at true 4K. It's faked via upscaling and other techniques.
Even most higher end graphics card struggle to get decent FPS at 4k.

theteal

Pugzilla wrote: »

Your mistake was using a console for gaming

Current consoles don't have the power to play at true 4K. It's faked via upscaling and other techniques.
Even most higher end graphics card struggle to get decent FPS at 4k.

He’s not talking about 4K

CatInABox

Pugzilla wrote: »

Your mistake was using a console for gaming

Current consoles don't have the power to play at true 4K. It's faked via upscaling and other techniques.
Even most higher end graphics card struggle to get decent FPS at 4k.

Yeah, but none of that has anything to do with HDR, which is what he's talking about.

If it's the XE900, then it should have HDR, but sometimes the TVs require settings turned on that may not seem related to HDR. Here's an example of settings for that TV, as you can see, it's not necessarily one switch and it's done.

Even then, each game is mastered to a different level of brightness (nits), so settings that'll work for one game might not be the best for others. PUBG on the Xbox is pretty dark with HDR turned on, but Assassin's Creed Origins will burn your eyes out if you look at the sun.

heebusjeebus

The PC gods have not heard about HDR yet :pac:

heebusjeebus

heebusjeebus wrote: »

The PC gods have not heard about HDR yet :pac:

They probably don't want to hear about it given the pricing on the few 4k HRD monitors that are available at the minute.

Varik

Deleted User wrote: »

They probably don't want to hear about it given the pricing on the few 4k HRD monitors that are available at the minute.

There's the Vesa HDR standard but it's only finalised a short while with monitors only coming out now after being announced last CES, and most of those wouldn't be 4k in any case mostly 1440p.

Any so call HDR monitor is likely barely that and at best can do 350 cd/m2.

TerrorFirmer

The amount of people who buy crap €500 "4K HDR" TV's is mind boggling (not saying the one in the OP is that, but just on the point). You'd genuinely be far better off with a great to excellent quality 1080P set. I have a sort of mid-range 4K TV but even on that HDR does make a noticable difference.

Gamer Bhoy 89

The TV is a Samsung UE40MU6120

johnnysmack

Gamer Bhoy 89 wrote: »

The TV is a Samsung UE40MU6120

That model only has an 8 bit panel and wouldn't be capable of showing HDR the way its meant to be

Penn

Yeah I've a 10-bit HDR TV (Samsung KS7000) and I used a Digital Foundry video to calibrate it when I got it. Have to say, I definitely think the HDR was worth it. I'd put it far ahead of 4K in terms of the difference it makes to games (as most of the time you'll be that far from the screen that the difference the 4K actually makes isn't all that significant.

The HDR really makes the colours pop though, particularly in the right games. Horizon Zero Dawn came out shortly after I bought the TV and it really made the HDR worth it.

Stone Deaf 4evr

If you have access to an Xbox one X, (and possibly the S), theres an app called 'Insects', its basically an interactive thing that lets you toggle between resolution, HDR on/off etc in real time. handy to know what you're looking for, as a lot of the time, the difference isn't as stark as you'd imagine. I think people go in expecting the kind of leap we saw from Standard Definition to 1080p, but in reality it can be alot more subtle. Even the digital foundry videos zoom in massively on elements to show just exactly what they're talking about.

Wonda-Boy

I ended up paying more and getting the Samsung 55" MU8000 series, its a HDR1000 series certified Ultra HD Premium blah blah blah but it came with a 5yr warranty AND a 10yr Screen Burn warranty (select models only)

I really notice a huge difference coming from a crap 32HD TV, and tbh I know the PS4 Pro up scales and is not native 4K but hopefully next gen consoles will make my eyes bleed with pixel porn!

theteal

Wonda-Boy wrote: »

I ended up paying more and getting the Samsung 55" MU8000 series, its a HDR1000 series certified Ultra HD Premium blah blah blah but it came with a 5yr warranty AND a 10yr Screen Burn warranty (select models only)

I really notice a huge difference coming from a crap 32HD TV, and tbh I know the PS4 Pro up scales and is not native 4K but hopefully next gen consoles will make my eyes bleed with pixel porn!

I really hate Samsung's marketing bull - it's nigh on impossible to get a modern LCD to burn in. I suppose it's better than LG not covering year old OLEDs because the burn-in is "within spec" and blaming the user.

wes

theteal wrote: »

I really hate Samsung's marketing bull - it's nigh on impossible to get a modern LCD to burn in. I suppose it's better than LG not covering year old OLEDs because the burn-in is "within spec" and blaming the user.

The only reason they have that, is so that Samsung can have a go at LG OLEDs.

Shadowstrife

Question: How does regular 1080p/720p video quality look on a 4k 2160p TV?

Mickeroo

Shadowstrife wrote: »

Question: How does regular 1080p/720p video quality look on a 4k 2160p TV?

1080p you won't even tell the difference unless you're sitting close most of the time. 720p is more noticeable as you'll likely see artifacts in dark areas or whatever but for the most part it looks good enough.

theteal

Shadowstrife wrote: »

Question: How does regular 1080p/720p video quality look on a 4k 2160p TV?

1080/720 should be fine for the most part but upscaling and motion processing aren't going to be great on cheaper sets so SD can look very very bad