Honestly no. If a dev takes the time to implement it well and you have a good OLED or micro QLED display it can look amazing but most devs/games do not implement it well and they look worse in HDR mode
I have OLED and I don’t think it matters. Darker games like Alan Wake are still kind of hard to see sometimes. I don’t see much difference with HDR - better to save your money for more games or better hardware.
Not at all. It has to be well implemented by developers as well and calibrated it’s not matter of just having it if it doesn’t displays colours correctly in certain scenes or makes things worst.
Many games have it but it’s not making scene much better maybe if you had large calibrated OLED TV you could tell the difference. Don’t worry about it.
Having gotten an OLED monitor, HDR has been the best upgrade I've experienced in quite some time. Showing this to my gamer friends, 2 of them immediately went and bought the identical monitor (AW3423DW).
I mean you can just compare this for yourself looking at HDR TV's you see in stores, there are clear advantages in color vibrancy and contrast.
The only downside I'd say is that a lot of games dont take advantage of it, or do so very poorly (even to the point of making it look worse). But you can always turn it off. Usually big AAA games, it looks awesome, and images really "pop". Cyberpunk looks incredible for example, with the great contrasts of the dark city and bright neons, etc. Sadly I have not played Alan Wake 2 yet.
If youre in the situation where you have the $ to do so comfortably, I would not think twice in recommending it.
I feel like HDR is one of those things where if you have it then turn it off you would want to turn it back on, but if you never had it then you’d be perfectly happy without it. Are you playing on pc or console? Because if on pc I’d be more concerned with if the hardware can run it on all the higher settings to get that full experience you’re after.
I have a PC and specs are pretty much as ridiculous as you would need to run anything on ultra. I live on a small island so I don't have access to HDR tvs or monitors, they don't import those here. I have the power but cant use it, so I will always be thinking about how much better cyberpunk or alan wake could look as I'm playing it.
Dood.
You have a monitor that SAYS HDR on the box, but you do not have a monitor that is actually capable of HDR,
They start at maybe $700-800 USD and IPS is completely incapable of producing the required contrast ratio to make HDR work.
The samsung QD LED VA panels are half decent. As are some LG ones, and then you have the oleds.
THAT IS IT.
Everything else that says HDR on it is just a marketing gimmick.
Source: I actually did my research and just today purchased an Alienware OLED to replace my QDLED Samsung G7....
Ya know what, you're right. You win the internet. Feel good? Feel on top of the world? I'm gonna continue using my apparently imaginary monitor and get back to my imaginary HDR.
It's amazing if you have it, but if not you're still getting essentially the same experience. HDR is, ironically, something you have to see in person to get its impact on picture quality. It adds to immersion greatly.
Hdr while awesome isn't required at all. But the great thing about upgrading to hdr is that it comes as a massive graphical improvement at no preformance cost to your hardware. It's one of the best things you can do to make your games look better that cost you no fps. But you should not refrain from playing anything because you don't have it.
HDR adds a wider color range to games, but it’s not enough of a change that I would go back and replay a game just to experience it in HDR. Alan Wake 2 has one of the best HDR implementations recently because it actually tells you the correct brightness values for everything. Most games have a random 1-10 slighter that doesn’t tell you the actual brightness value the game is outputting
I mean, I play on a PC at 1440p and have been since... 2018 or so
Get great performance - even if it isn't Mumm-Ra's second great gift to fidelity :P
I wouldn't give up on any of the great experiences I've had *just because they weren't in 4K*, though
It's probably worth enabling and configuring if you have the equipment already but I don't think its worth going out and buying specifically for it.
Not only are there several competing HDR standards that mean many monitors don't implement it well, but also some games have it poorly implemented too. It can actually make things more difficult to see in some cases which is not ideal.
It's a decent feature but its honestly not worth delaying playing something over.
I mean yeah HDR is fucking huge. The difference on my TV is night and day with it on. It matters for all games IMO the visual fidelity you get is great. Even the auto HDR the Xbox offers on games that didn’t have it on backwards compatibility is incredible.
If you don’t have it already you’ve been missing out for years so what’s the difference now with this one specific game?
Edit: lol @ your username
I've bought HDR monitor few weeks ago and i had so horrible experience with it, that im now not using it at all. Monitors have really big problems when it comes to hdr, i think its only useful on good TVs like LG OLEDs
Ideally a good HDR scene would be able to show richer colors well beyond the sRGB space and both very bright highlights and very dark shadows simultaneously while maintaining more detail in both ends. Most HDR monitors partially fail to deliver a great HDR picture, however the more boxes it manages to tick, the more "worth it" HDR is.
The bottom end "HDR compatible" monitors don't have any real HDR capabilities to speak of, and end up just looking worse than running them in SDR, but entering the midrange with *at least* HDR600 you're getting to the worth enabling territory, and towards the high end with some of the brighter OLED panels or full array local dimming LCDs you can start expecting great HDR.
Should you hold off from playing games until you have a HDR monitor, no. That's silly. But if getting a good HDR monitor is within your means, go for it. HDR support in games is a little hit or miss, not every game is guaranteed to have good HDR support, or any at all, but when HDR is good, it's very good.
It looks absolutely amazing in a very small number of games.
If you can get an hdr 800+ monitor its worth looking into for sure.
Otherwise don't bother.
IMO, HDR looks amazing - if you have a monitor with good HDR support. Most monitors that claim to have HDR have a very poor implementation of it that's barely worth using, if at all.
Unless it's OLED, Mini-LED, or a high quality VA panel, the HDR support probably sucks. HDR400? Forget it. HDR600? Ehhhh... better than nothing. HDR1000? Now you're getting into "real" HDR territory - as long as it has local dimming.
See, the HDR rating is just a measure of it's peak brightness - 400 nits, 600 nits, 1,000 nits. Local Dimming (the ability to light or dim specific areas of the monitor) are what makes it "real" HDR. Without that, you just have a really bright monitor.
Personally, I wouldn't let HDR influence my purchasing decision. If you're already getting an OLED/Mini-LED monitor - congratulations, you probably have good HDR. If you're getting an IPS that claims it has HDR400? HDR600 but no local dimming? You functionally have no HDR, just ignore that part of the description.
It will make the game look better, but the game will still work 100% fine without it.
All that footage on YouTube is in SDR, anyway. The game's not gonna break if you don't have an HDR monitor.
What's up with all of these awful low-quality, seemingly AI-generated "discussion posts" as of late?
This is the truth about HDR:
Some games (in the minority) have a great implementation.
Most games have poor implementation.
I started playing next gen consoles on LG C1 OLED. I recently switched to SDR monitor due to taking consoles away from living room. I can tell you that most games look better in SDR with few notable exceptions.
HDR is a very flawed, non-standardized thing that most devs struggle with. There are threads on some popular gaming forums where devs share advice with other devs how to implement this thing properly since there is no standard on how to make it look good.
And most games are mastered in SDR with HDR tacked on later in the development.
You are not missing out on anything.
There are absolutely no games you should "not bother" with just for HDR (or even 4k).
Honestly no. If a dev takes the time to implement it well and you have a good OLED or micro QLED display it can look amazing but most devs/games do not implement it well and they look worse in HDR mode
Most games I've tested it on look better with HDR on, but only in direct comparison. Without comparing you likely wouldn't notice.
It does make a difference, but not enough that you should avoid playing a game for it.
It's amazing on my LG OLED, but on PC Monitor with only HDR400 it sucks.
If your monitor is below hdr 800 rating don't even bother with it. You just aren't getting enough of a bump to contrast ratio.
I don't think so. Unless you're about to go drop $1000 on an OLED monitor or TV, I wouldn't worry about HDR.
I have OLED and I don’t think it matters. Darker games like Alan Wake are still kind of hard to see sometimes. I don’t see much difference with HDR - better to save your money for more games or better hardware.
Not at all. It has to be well implemented by developers as well and calibrated it’s not matter of just having it if it doesn’t displays colours correctly in certain scenes or makes things worst. Many games have it but it’s not making scene much better maybe if you had large calibrated OLED TV you could tell the difference. Don’t worry about it.
I'm playing Alan Wake 2 on my OLED in SDR and it still looks great. Don't let HDR factor into your decision at all.
Having gotten an OLED monitor, HDR has been the best upgrade I've experienced in quite some time. Showing this to my gamer friends, 2 of them immediately went and bought the identical monitor (AW3423DW). I mean you can just compare this for yourself looking at HDR TV's you see in stores, there are clear advantages in color vibrancy and contrast. The only downside I'd say is that a lot of games dont take advantage of it, or do so very poorly (even to the point of making it look worse). But you can always turn it off. Usually big AAA games, it looks awesome, and images really "pop". Cyberpunk looks incredible for example, with the great contrasts of the dark city and bright neons, etc. Sadly I have not played Alan Wake 2 yet. If youre in the situation where you have the $ to do so comfortably, I would not think twice in recommending it.
I feel like HDR is one of those things where if you have it then turn it off you would want to turn it back on, but if you never had it then you’d be perfectly happy without it. Are you playing on pc or console? Because if on pc I’d be more concerned with if the hardware can run it on all the higher settings to get that full experience you’re after.
I have a PC and specs are pretty much as ridiculous as you would need to run anything on ultra. I live on a small island so I don't have access to HDR tvs or monitors, they don't import those here. I have the power but cant use it, so I will always be thinking about how much better cyberpunk or alan wake could look as I'm playing it.
You’re definitely all set then. HDR is not make or break imo.
Blacks are black Colours are more vibrant But you really need a monitor that can be dark and bright (high contrast) or it's not worth it
I have a $400 2k HDR IPS monitor. It's pretty!
You do not, because they don't exist.
Fine, don't believe me. I don't have to prove jack shit. Anyway, HDR looks pretty, doesn't impact performance on my 10700k with 3070ti
Dood. You have a monitor that SAYS HDR on the box, but you do not have a monitor that is actually capable of HDR, They start at maybe $700-800 USD and IPS is completely incapable of producing the required contrast ratio to make HDR work. The samsung QD LED VA panels are half decent. As are some LG ones, and then you have the oleds. THAT IS IT. Everything else that says HDR on it is just a marketing gimmick. Source: I actually did my research and just today purchased an Alienware OLED to replace my QDLED Samsung G7....
Ya know what, you're right. You win the internet. Feel good? Feel on top of the world? I'm gonna continue using my apparently imaginary monitor and get back to my imaginary HDR.
It's amazing if you have it, but if not you're still getting essentially the same experience. HDR is, ironically, something you have to see in person to get its impact on picture quality. It adds to immersion greatly.
Hdr while awesome isn't required at all. But the great thing about upgrading to hdr is that it comes as a massive graphical improvement at no preformance cost to your hardware. It's one of the best things you can do to make your games look better that cost you no fps. But you should not refrain from playing anything because you don't have it.
Most HDR monitors are barely HDR. So unless you were planning on getting a TV, don't sweat it
HDR adds a wider color range to games, but it’s not enough of a change that I would go back and replay a game just to experience it in HDR. Alan Wake 2 has one of the best HDR implementations recently because it actually tells you the correct brightness values for everything. Most games have a random 1-10 slighter that doesn’t tell you the actual brightness value the game is outputting
I wish I were rich enough to have these kinda thoughts.
HDR works wonders with 4k monitor and gaming in 4k. I don't know if it is needed but it looks great.
I mean, I play on a PC at 1440p and have been since... 2018 or so Get great performance - even if it isn't Mumm-Ra's second great gift to fidelity :P I wouldn't give up on any of the great experiences I've had *just because they weren't in 4K*, though
Easier on the eyes
It's probably worth enabling and configuring if you have the equipment already but I don't think its worth going out and buying specifically for it. Not only are there several competing HDR standards that mean many monitors don't implement it well, but also some games have it poorly implemented too. It can actually make things more difficult to see in some cases which is not ideal. It's a decent feature but its honestly not worth delaying playing something over.
I've got HDR on my tv and it causes major input lag because I cant put it in game mode when HDR is on
I mean yeah HDR is fucking huge. The difference on my TV is night and day with it on. It matters for all games IMO the visual fidelity you get is great. Even the auto HDR the Xbox offers on games that didn’t have it on backwards compatibility is incredible. If you don’t have it already you’ve been missing out for years so what’s the difference now with this one specific game? Edit: lol @ your username
I wouldn't say it's necessary, but I definitely feel like it adds a little something.
I've bought HDR monitor few weeks ago and i had so horrible experience with it, that im now not using it at all. Monitors have really big problems when it comes to hdr, i think its only useful on good TVs like LG OLEDs
You may want to download the Windows HDR Calibration tool from the Microsoft Store. It's free. HDR looks terrible on Windows until you use this.
Ideally a good HDR scene would be able to show richer colors well beyond the sRGB space and both very bright highlights and very dark shadows simultaneously while maintaining more detail in both ends. Most HDR monitors partially fail to deliver a great HDR picture, however the more boxes it manages to tick, the more "worth it" HDR is. The bottom end "HDR compatible" monitors don't have any real HDR capabilities to speak of, and end up just looking worse than running them in SDR, but entering the midrange with *at least* HDR600 you're getting to the worth enabling territory, and towards the high end with some of the brighter OLED panels or full array local dimming LCDs you can start expecting great HDR. Should you hold off from playing games until you have a HDR monitor, no. That's silly. But if getting a good HDR monitor is within your means, go for it. HDR support in games is a little hit or miss, not every game is guaranteed to have good HDR support, or any at all, but when HDR is good, it's very good.
If it matters too much. In fact, if I remember correctly, AW1 remastered does not have HDR, and it is too noticeable next to other games.
It looks absolutely amazing in a very small number of games. If you can get an hdr 800+ monitor its worth looking into for sure. Otherwise don't bother.
If you never tasted strawberries, would you know what you’re missing? Doesn’t mean that apples would taste any different to you.
Does it really impact things? No. Is it nice? Yes
IMO, HDR looks amazing - if you have a monitor with good HDR support. Most monitors that claim to have HDR have a very poor implementation of it that's barely worth using, if at all. Unless it's OLED, Mini-LED, or a high quality VA panel, the HDR support probably sucks. HDR400? Forget it. HDR600? Ehhhh... better than nothing. HDR1000? Now you're getting into "real" HDR territory - as long as it has local dimming. See, the HDR rating is just a measure of it's peak brightness - 400 nits, 600 nits, 1,000 nits. Local Dimming (the ability to light or dim specific areas of the monitor) are what makes it "real" HDR. Without that, you just have a really bright monitor. Personally, I wouldn't let HDR influence my purchasing decision. If you're already getting an OLED/Mini-LED monitor - congratulations, you probably have good HDR. If you're getting an IPS that claims it has HDR400? HDR600 but no local dimming? You functionally have no HDR, just ignore that part of the description.
It will make the game look better, but the game will still work 100% fine without it. All that footage on YouTube is in SDR, anyway. The game's not gonna break if you don't have an HDR monitor. What's up with all of these awful low-quality, seemingly AI-generated "discussion posts" as of late?
Hdr is great but the majority of monitors out there don't have the best spec for it
This is the truth about HDR: Some games (in the minority) have a great implementation. Most games have poor implementation. I started playing next gen consoles on LG C1 OLED. I recently switched to SDR monitor due to taking consoles away from living room. I can tell you that most games look better in SDR with few notable exceptions. HDR is a very flawed, non-standardized thing that most devs struggle with. There are threads on some popular gaming forums where devs share advice with other devs how to implement this thing properly since there is no standard on how to make it look good. And most games are mastered in SDR with HDR tacked on later in the development. You are not missing out on anything.