HDR content darker and washed out

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Pucker---Up
Explorer

HDR content darker and washed out

I've been watching some videos on my 55XE9005 using the SmartYoutubeTV app as discussed in the other large thread.

 

This is my first HDR experience but I'm sure something isn't right. When I load up the HDR stream and the TV changes to HDR mode (as indicated in the picture settings) it appears like the brightness drops and everything looks LESS contrasty and washed out. When I switch the stream over to the SDR 4k option and the TV drops out of HDR, the overall brightness is noticeably higher and everything appears more contrasty.

 

I have brightness set to max for both modes and am using the Cinema Home picture mode.

 

This behaviour is basically the opposite of what I expected from the HDR stream, I thought the whole point was it should be brighter, higher contrast and more colour pop than the SDR equivalent but that doesn't seem to be the case

20 REPLIES 20
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rooobb
Expert

@Kontiki1977 are you aware the writing in uppercase is like shouting on a forum?

 

You have to specifiy first of all which content are you looking at on which platform . Then we can check which image setting you have on your tv. But respect is the first thing

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Kontiki1977
Explorer

hi,rooob

appologies for caps 

to buisness watching 4k uhd with hdr on my kdxg9005b tv having set hdr mode,dolby vision 

mode to on image is 50% less colour,less sharp,allot dimmer generally a picture that look like

something resembling an early colour production watching in bravia mode is brilliant so to sum up

i can only tolerate Bravia mode at present. lok forward to you input.

 

thanks Paul...

P.S  the above topic is 4k uhd blu-rays with hdr resolution

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rooobb
Expert

Sorry @Kontiki1977 I have some problem in understanding your english, maybe you are not mother tongue as well as me :wink:

Trying to recap, I'm missing some part... you cannot set the tv to Dolby Vision in any way, that's right? Your Tv switchs to DV only automatically as soon as it detect a DV feed. So on the other side you are using an UHD Bluray player (which one?) with a DV UH disk? Is the BD player set to display DV?

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Kontiki1977
Explorer

HI,rooobb

you know my tv model already my disc player is a SONY UBP X800M2 with the latest 

software update and 18gbps HDMI leads im no tech wizzard but when i set my disc

player to either HDR or DV  the results are the same screen res goes a sort of misty

grey and all picture settings contrast,colour,hue,sharpness,degrades by at least 50%

also my tv is set to auto detect DV. only HDR is ajustable  settings are HDR,HDR10,HLG

or just off its

very frustrating can"t enjoy HDR or D/VISION quality where am i going wrong can you 

help ??      thankyou 

 

PS  Im routing my d/player via my sony av reciever it supports all formats sony STR-DH790CEK

does this matter?

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rooobb
Expert

AFAIK your av receiver does not support Dolby vision, so you won't be able to see any dolby vision content through it. I suggest you start connecting your BDP directly to the tv and if you want still enjoy lossless audio connect the HDMI audio output only to the receiver too.

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rooobb
Expert

Than maybe is only a silly suggestion, I hope you are aware that you can enjoy HDR only if you have an HDR content. so you can set your bdp to dolby vision only if you have an UHD dolby vision encoded disk playing into it. Tha same is true for HDR10 content

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Kontiki1977
Explorer

HI,rooobb

Ive tried connecting bdp direct to tv no joy same result my AV STRDH790 does support D/VISION PASS THRU

and also HDCP2.2 content at all HDMI ports latest software is installed Im guessing Im not meant to enjoy 

HDR /D/VISION unless Im doing something stupid and not regonising  simple settings. Bravia Mode in bdp 

screen settings isseems to the trick but not sure it reproduces  HDR -D/V resolution.await your ideas.

 

 

thankyou...

profile.country.IT.title
rooobb
Expert

HI @Kontiki1977 I do not see in the specification nor in any firmware updgrade that your AV receiver support Dolby Vision. Atmos for Audio but not Vision for Video.

Nonetheless if you connected the BDP directly to the TV it doesn't matter.

Let's try to do a step back: which UHD BD encoded in Dolby Vision you are trying to display?

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sjd10001
Explorer

I have the same issue Sony AF8. Nothing booked up other than Sonos Beam. Dolby Vision via Netflix App displaying Dolby Vision is awful. I just thought that was what HDR/Dolby Vision was like. Not impressed. Not until I recently purchased an A8 that I really saw what HDR was about. Wow. The difference between two sets is staggering. 

Checked some other apps eg Disney + and it's same for Dolby Vision only. HDR10 is ok. Still not a patch on my new A8.

 

Any help appreciated

 

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Win_88
Specialist

Hi @sjd10001

 

Due to the way HDR works, the peak brightness drops when it's actually in use, so losing some brightness is expected. On the other hand, it's also perfectly normal to find the menus and all other content to be washed out and "not looking right" when HDR is enabled. This is because the screen basically displays the colours in a different way that is supposed to make HDR look good, but the rest of the user interface elements will look grayish.

 

If the issue you're facing is different, let us know more about it. Also, nothing will serve to bring the point across like pics/video.

 

Win_88