Troubleshoot Common HDR And WCG Color Problems In Windows 10

If you're experiencing color problems with an external monitor, you should check your computer to determine if the latest graphics driver is installed. If you need assistance updating the video driver, you can use these steps.

Troubleshoot Common HDR And WCG Color Problems In Windows 10

High end, professional PC displays have long supported color gamuts that are significantly wider than sRGB, such as Adobe RGB and DCI-P3 which cover around half of human-perceivable colors. And these wide gamut displays are becoming more common.

Windows has provided color management support APIs since Windows 2000 with the Image Color Management (ICM) and later Windows Color System (WCS) APIs. However, those APIs were only helpers for apps that wished/required to do color management; while most apps and digital content simply assumed the industry standard sRGB color space, and were never color-managed by the OS. That was a reasonable assumption in the past, but high-quality wide gamut displays are becoming much more common.

Thanks to Windows HD Color settings in Windows 10 and Windows 11, you're able to enjoy more vivid and detailed pictures than standard dynamic range display as long as you connect your high dynamic range (HDR) TV or display to a Windows 10/11 PC. That being said, Windows 10/11 HDR doesn't work as a perfect performer. Instead, it brings you a laundry list of problems, e.g., the common display or TV isn't showing HDR, Play HDR games and apps can't be turned on/off, Windows 10/11 HDR washed out, Windows HDR black screen, all SDR contents and apps are too bright or dim on HDR-capable display, etc.

"I'm using a high speed HDMI cable, capable of 4k 60hz HDR. I have tried many cables, ranging from standard high speed cables to zeskit 8k 48gbps cables. I plug it in to my laptop's port and it displays as expected to the TV. BUT, HDR is not enabled. So I go to windows color settings, and toggle HDR for the TV (2nd display). The TV and receiver both are set to "enhanced" HDMI 2.0 output. The TV goes black for a second, and returns with the same image but now completely GREEN."

On top of the above-mentioned Windows 10 HDR problems, a wide variety of other Windows 10 HDR issues also haunt you now and then, such as all SDR contents and apps on HDR-capable display are too bright or dark, color isn't displaying correctly, colors seem to be over saturated when night light is enabled, brightness appears to be incorrect after you restart, shut down or wake up your PC from sleep, etc. Faced with one of these problems, please resort to Microsoft official support webpage to find all the troubleshooting tips you need in a single page.

When Windows enters HDR mode, OS will convert the non-HDR content (such as desktop, common apps) into sRGB mode. Before entering the HDR mode, the icon will look a little bit washed out. More specifically, how it looks depends on the original mode before turning on Windows HDR (in HDR color setting). If sRGB mode is selected, the icon will look similar before and after HDR being turned on.

We repeat the process with the Rec. 2020 color space, which is wider and less common, but more content in the future may use it. Rec. 2020 xy is measured the same way as DCI P3 xy, by measuring the intersection of the Rec. 2020 color space and the CIE 1931 xy color space. More often than not, this coverage is lower than the DCI P3 coverage because it's a wider color space.

Rec. 709 is a basic color space used in SDR content that most HD TVs should easily display. However, it's fairly limited and doesn't display the wide range of colors needed for HDR content. DCI P3 and Rec. 2020 are the ones that we measure, and they're the most common ones for HDR content. Rec. 2100 is an even wider version of Rec. 2020. As technology evolves, wider color spaces will be released, and eventually, content will use those.

You may have heard of quantum dot technologies, commonly marketed as QLED, ULED, or NanoCell. Essentially, these LED-backlit TVs have a quantum dot layer between the backlight and pixels to emit light to create a wider range of colors by providing better control over each subpixel. Quantum dot TVs often have an advantage over standard TVs by displaying a wider color gamut. Nearly all quantum dot TVs we've tested display a wide color gamut, but there are exceptions, like the Samsung QN800A 8k QLED. However, if you feel that you watch a lot of HDR content and want a TV to display a wide color gamut, a quantum dot model is usually a safe bet.

A TV's color gamut is the range of colors it can display in HDR. This is an important aspect for picture quality because it tells you whether or not it can display the colors needed for HDR content. No TV can display the entirety of the DCI P3 or Rec. 2020 color spaces, but it's important to get one with high coverage of the commonly-used DCI P3 or wider Rec. 2020 color spaces.

We test for the color gamut with a computer and special software that measures the coverage of the two common color spaces. We define if a TV has a wide color gamut if it meets the threshold, and this helps you find the best TV for your needs if you tend to watch HDR content. 076b4e4f54