When playing an HDR-supported game or streaming a movie, even the darkest scenes have a slight tinge of a glow. With HDR enabled and calibrated, even the pitch-black scenes will have a depth in them, and the brightness will be automatically adjusted as well when needed, giving you the real feel of the scene. If you are unfamiliar with the HDR concept in Windows OS, then this article is for you. Read through the post to learn about HDR, HDR displays, how to enable it, and then how to calibrate it for the best graphics experience.
What is High Dynamic Range (HDR)
HDR is a graphics feature where the content provides information about brightness and color across a much wider range. The devices that support HDR can then read that information and provide more vivid images on the screen from a selection of a wider ray of color gamut, brightness, and contrast. Windows 11 allows you to turn HDR or on off on demand. Of course, it requires the minimum hardware requirements, both from your GPU as well as the display device. That said, simply enabling HDR isn’t always enough. Calibrating it to the right settings takes your video/gaming experience to another level. Let us walk you through the different steps involved:
How to Check if HDR is Supported
Windows 11 natively tells you whether your device as well as your display supports HDR. To check whether your device supports HDR, go to the following: Under the Display Capabilities section, you will see whether your current display device supports HDR streaming and using HDR. If you have multiple displays connected, you can check whether the other displays support HDR by changing your device from the drop-down menu. If your device supports HDR streaming and using HDR, then continue to enable and calibrate its settings.
How to Enable HDR on Windows 11
Enabling HDR in Windows OS is pretty straightforward – all that is needed is the toggle of a button. Follow these steps to enable HDR on Windows 11: HDR is now enabled. You will now notice a significant improvement in HDR-supported gameplay and video streaming. However, it does not end here. You can further enhance the graphics by calibrating your HDR settings, both natively and with the help of an app.
Use HDR Play streaming HDR video Auto HDR
If you do not see one or more options to enable in the Settings app, it means that your device does not support it.
Calibrate HDR Display on Windows 11
Calibrate HDR Display using Windows HDR Calibration App
As we mentioned before, there is an app available on Microsoft Store that can be used to best optimize the HDR experience by fine-tuning it. The best results can be accomplished by using the “Windows HDR Calibration” app as it offers more settings and options than the native tool in Windows 11. However, the Windows HDR Calibration app has specific system requirements. If your PC meets these requirements, only then will the app work. Otherwise, you will see the following error message when running the app: Here are the requirements for using the Windows HDR Calibration app:
Operating system: Windows 11 Display: HDR-supported (built-in or external display) HDR status: Enabled App mode: The app must be running fullscreen Graphics: AMD AMD RX 400 Series or later AMD Ryzen processors with Radeon Graphics Intel Integrated: Intel 11th Gen (Ice Lake) or later Discrete: Intel DG1 or later NVIDIA: NVIDIA GTX 10xx or later (Pascal+) Display driver: WDDDM 2.7 or later
If your system meets these requirements, continue using the steps below to calibrate your HDR display: Your HDR display is now calibrated. Enjoy your high-quality graphics when streaming videos and playing games. If prompted to open the Store app, click “Open Microsoft Store.” The app will now be in fullscreen mode asking you to make adjustments. You will now see the full frame for calibration, similar to the one in phase one above. You will now proceed to the color saturation adjustment phase. To calibrate more HDR-supported displays, you can relaunch the app, move it to the respective screen, and begin calibrating it as well.
Calibrate HDR Display using Built-In Calibration Tool
Another method to calibrate your HDr displays is using the built-in tool in Windows 11. It does not have any strict system requirements, only that you have Windows 11 and your display supports HDR. Additionally, it does not have many options to optimize HDR settings to the best of its ability; but only to enhance it a little more. If your computer does not meet the minimum requirements to use Windows HDR Calibration app, you can use these steps to calibrate your display using the built-in calibration tool: The tool will now open in fullscreen mode.
